D&D General Limiting Utility Cantrips

[CleverNickName]

it's a good idea, but I would never take it.
in reality you have little cantrip slots at early levels. 3-5 maybe.
why take one of those in hope that you will be able to prevent someone to do 4 damage on average?

and it cost a reaction, a reaction that can be used on shield, absorb elements, silvery barbs? the reaction that can prevent real amount of damage.

and you will be able to pull this trick once if you arent know as spellcaster before, then the caster will just be 61ft away from you, sure some battle will be impossible to move away, then caster will just use a crossbow to shoot you.

The ability to circumvent it through strategy and varied play is a feature, not a bug. I wrote it to break my players out of their rut of standing in the same spot and spamming the same cantrip, every round of every battle. I wasn't trying to shut them down, just encourage them to be more creative.

 

[Horwath]

The ability to circumvent it through strategy and varied play is a feature, not a bug. I wrote it to break my players out of their rut of standing in the same spot and spamming the same cantrip, every round of every battle. I wasn't trying to shut them down, just encourage them to be more creative.

ok, but it's a NPC cantrip. cant see anyone playing taking it.
also if your wizard is spamming cantrip round after round, you are luckiest DM ever.
who cares about that pitiful amount of damage?

 

[Seramus]

The comments don’t seem to reflect the poll results.

Felt like this was an unstated + thread. So leaving it alone.
I appreciate a 'leave it alone' option exists in the poll!

 

[LordEntrails]

also mage hand has always been replaced by goblin-on-a-rope for traps.

 

[CreamCloud0]

damage cantrips are mostly trash tier. at 5rth level they become decent, but then you have better usage of your Action in combat and not hope to deal 10ish damage, maybe.
true strike helped a little with this in 2024 for low levels

I'm not counting warlocks in here as that is their thing to have good cantrip(s)

i mean, i'm not trying to claim damage cantrips are amazing but i still feel at baseline that they're too good for what they are, especially when you factor in that they auto-scale three times and exist in combination with levelled casting, it's just a combination of things that all add up together to result in a little too much kick IMO, i would just have them scale once at like, 7th and i'd consider the issue solved.

 

[CleverNickName]

ok, but it's a NPC cantrip. cant see anyone playing taking it.
also if your wizard is spamming cantrip round after round, you are luckiest DM ever.
who cares about that pitiful amount of damage?

You assume too much. It wasn't a wizard that was spamming cantrips, it was our warlock.

And although I wrote it for an NPC in my campaign, I was allowed to use it for my Abjuration wizard when it was someone else's turn to sit in the DM chair. It was perfect for dealing with enemy cultists even at higher levels: an incoming 17th level Eldritch Blast or Toll the Dead is no joke.

 

[Distracted DM]

Edited original post to add what comments etc. got me going on this train of thought

 

[Stormonu]

I don't really have an issue with cantrip-spam, but I can see where others might. So instead of adding rules restrictions like uses per day or concentration, how about an anti-cantrip? I posted this in another (and probably unrelated) thread, so I'll copy it here.

DIFFLE'S DENIAL​

Abjuration cantrip (Wizard)​

Casting Time: 1 reaction​

Range: 60 feet​

Components: S​

Duration: Instantaneous​

You attempt to interrupt a creature in the process of casting a cantrip. If the creature is casting a 0-level spell, the cantrip fails and has no effect. Spells of 1st level or higher are not affected by this cantrip.​

It's basically Counterspell, except it only works on cantrips. It wouldn't take much more elbow grease to create a version that would dispel cantrips that have already been cast.

For me, doesn't really solve the problem. Someone has to be there to cast it, or you start wondering why every trap-filled dungeon has glyphs with this on it.

For me, the problem is it's a no brainer issue. If you have unlimited Guidance or Mage Hand, there's no reason NOT to use it every. single. time. If there's a limit on usage, at least some thought has to be put into when to use it and when to try an alternative approach.

 

[Stormonu]

i mean, i'm not trying to claim damage cantrips are amazing but i still feel at baseline that they're too good for what they are, especially when you factor in that they auto-scale three times and exist in combination with levelled casting, it's just a combination of things that all add up together to result in a little too much kick IMO, i would just have them scale once at like, 7th and i'd consider the issue solved.

In my opinion, if your players aren't using damage cantrips you aren't throwing enough encounters at them between rests. Leveled spells should be for clutch moments, surmounting non-combat obstacles* or about 1-per-combat. Or at least, that's what I'd like to see.

* That the group doesn't have another way around/over/through.

 

[Bae'zel]

Make cantrips level 1 spells.

I would just let Wizards keep Prestidigitation (and other casters their equivalents, eg Druidcraft). Even in beloved "Appendix N" classic "low fantasy" films of the 80s, spellcasters did little neat things of minor utility just for fun and atmosphere.