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<blockquote data-quote="TwoSix" data-source="post: 8756464" data-attributes="member: 205">That never seemed to me to be a function of damage type; that appears to be a consequence of fire bolt and eldritch blast not having any utility riders.&nbsp; Ray of frost is 1d8 but has the &quot;slow movement speed&quot; rider.&nbsp; Poison spray is a d12, and can hit 2 targets, but restricted to close range.&nbsp; Toll the dead is a necrotic d12 at range, but take a damage penalty if the target is uninjured.&nbsp; I would agree fire's niche is that it generally does more damage, but that's primarily because it has no rider effects to go with it.&nbsp; Ergo, swapping it to another damage type that also doesn't bring a rider is a neutral swap.I'm not advocating for free swapping at cast time, but I have no issue with swapping at the time of spell acquisition.&nbsp; A player who wants to learn thunderball instead of a fireball because the game features a bunch of fire-resistant demons, to me, is a player who's connecting to the narrative, and that's definitely something I want to encourage.Plenty of tier 3 cantrips outdamage MM, I'm not really sure what that proves other than 1st level slots being spent for damage generally isn't worth it past low levels.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="TwoSix, post: 8756464, member: 205"] That never seemed to me to be a function of damage type; that appears to be a consequence of [i]fire bolt[/i] and [i]eldritch blast[/i] not having any utility riders. Ray of frost is 1d8 but has the "slow movement speed" rider. Poison spray is a d12, and can hit 2 targets, but restricted to close range. Toll the dead is a necrotic d12 at range, but take a damage penalty if the target is uninjured. I would agree fire's niche is that it generally does more damage, but that's primarily because it has no rider effects to go with it. Ergo, swapping it to another damage type that also doesn't bring a rider is a neutral swap. I'm not advocating for free swapping at cast time, but I have no issue with swapping at the time of spell acquisition. A player who wants to learn [i]thunderball[/i] instead of a fireball because the game features a bunch of fire-resistant demons, to me, is a player who's connecting to the narrative, and that's definitely something I want to encourage. Plenty of tier 3 cantrips outdamage MM, I'm not really sure what that proves other than 1st level slots being spent for damage generally isn't worth it past low levels. [/QUOTE]

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