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<blockquote data-quote="Cap'n Kobold" data-source="post: 7414957" data-attributes="member: 6802951">What are you after when you say &quot;effective&quot;?In combat, you're generally always going to be better off making weapon attacks.So the cantrip is best used for utility out of combat. It then boils down to what sort of character your Paladin is, and what sort of thing you want to be able to do. Some options may be thematic, some not, depending upon personality.Some thoughts:Booming Blade: Generally you'll often be better off making extra attacks instead, but this cantrip has a reasonable synergy with Thunderous smite. You can deliver the smite with your Booming Blade attack to knock your target away and punish them if they move back towards you.Mold Earth: This is excellent for a utility-minded character. Other than preparing terrain for combats, it has a lot of out-of-combat use. You're not going to be able to undermine a castle build on bedrock, but given a couple of minutes, you can probably excavate down to a house's foundations to get into their cellar, or create a ramp to get over a wall for example. You can create graves to bury bodies easily or raise a mound to give yourself the high ground.Shape water: Another cantrip with a lot of utility. You can shape a source of water and then freeze it solid to create objects. Wedge doors for example by pouring a waterskin into it and then freezing the edges and lock solid. Create bridges or rafts to cross rivers or lakes.And so on.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Cap'n Kobold, post: 7414957, member: 6802951"] What are you after when you say "effective"? In combat, you're generally always going to be better off making weapon attacks. So the cantrip is best used for utility out of combat. It then boils down to what sort of character your Paladin is, and what sort of thing you want to be able to do. Some options may be thematic, some not, depending upon personality. Some thoughts: Booming Blade: Generally you'll often be better off making extra attacks instead, but this cantrip has a reasonable synergy with Thunderous smite. You can deliver the smite with your Booming Blade attack to knock your target away and punish them if they move back towards you. Mold Earth: This is excellent for a utility-minded character. Other than preparing terrain for combats, it has a lot of out-of-combat use. You're not going to be able to undermine a castle build on bedrock, but given a couple of minutes, you can probably excavate down to a house's foundations to get into their cellar, or create a ramp to get over a wall for example. You can create graves to bury bodies easily or raise a mound to give yourself the high ground. Shape water: Another cantrip with a lot of utility. You can shape a source of water and then freeze it solid to create objects. Wedge doors for example by pouring a waterskin into it and then freezing the edges and lock solid. Create bridges or rafts to cross rivers or lakes. And so on. [/QUOTE]

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