more cantrips?

[duhtroll]

Anyone ever figure out:

1) Why wizards/sorcerors never get bonus cantrips. (or ANY spellcasters getting more than 4 0-lvl spells per day) You'd think they'd get 27 of 'em at higher levels.

2) How to get more of them short of "extra slot" feat?

Thanks,
-A

 

[kenobi65]

IMO: because cantrips can be nice little utilty spells, but they're generally not meant to be anything approaching the usefulness of "real" (level 1+) spells. Give more per day, give extra slots, and you start to encourage overuse of 'em.

I remember, when cantrips were first introduced in Unearthed Arcana (the 1985 version), we had magic-uses who just went ape with cantrips, using them constantly in combat (in place of spells that are actually meant to be effective in combat). Drove me up a tree.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I had such a fantastic use for the Hide cantrip in UA(1e).

-Hyp.

 

[Jack Simth]

Probably a matter of the formula used for calculating bonus spells: For a given spell level, the number of bonus spells is (about) (4 + Key Ability Modifier - Spell Level)/4 (round down). You'd be getting a bonus spell with a 0 modifier.

Besides, without an Archmage's Arcane Fire, how often are you going to actually use those four slots up?

 

[duhtroll]

I use them. A lot.

Cantrips are wonderful things. It just seems to me that a wizard with a 22 INT should have a bonus spell (or spells) of 0-level. You can get bonus spells of any level except 0. Doesn't make sense to me.

-A

Probably a matter of the formula used for calculating bonus spells: For a given spell level, the number of bonus spells is (about) (4 + Key Ability Modifier - Spell Level)/4 (round down). You'd be getting a bonus spell with a 0 modifier.

Besides, without an Archmage's Arcane Fire, how often are you going to actually use those four slots up?

 

[FireLance]

Obligatory "it doesn't have to make sense - it's magic" comment.

That said, if you really want to get more cantrips, you can use higher level spell slots. Consider the bonus slot you get for having a 12 in your spellcasting stat. Most players would rather use it for a 1st-level spell, but you could use it for an extra cantrip if you want. The same goes for the bonus slots you get for higher ability scores. With a 20, you could get as many as 6 extra cantrips.

 

[Sledge]

In most of our groups campaigns we simply set 0-level bonus spells as the same amount as first level spells. Just makes more sense to us.

 

[StealthyMark]

...How to get more of them short of "extra slot" feat?

Well, you can always prepare them as 1st-level spells...