Cantrips are a spellcaster’s best friend, always there when you need them. These five are some of our underrated faves.
Cantrips are some of the most frequently used spells in Dungeons & Dragons. There’s a reason for this, they’re basically at-will spells from the glory days of 4th Edition. As such, a spellcaster can always count on having a cantrip available. And though these are considered among the least complex of the spells, they still have a great deal of usefulness.
Cantrips, in a nutshell, are a great way to demonstrate your magical prowess without consuming an expendable resource. Except time, the one expendable resource we can’t stop spending. Unless you exist outside of time somehow. Assuming you don’t, here are five cantrips that are our underrated faves.
Chill Touch
Chill Touch is perhaps the most inaccurately named spell in the game. It’s neither chill nor is it a touch ranged spell. Instead, it lets you make a ranged spell attack that deals necrotic damage against an enemy. Any creature struck by it can’t regain hit points until the start of your next turn. This is huge, because it means that enemy can’t be healed no matter how much damage is done to it. So if you have a foe with regeneration or just a healer on their side, Chill Touch is a handy way of negating that advantage.
Guidance
This one is a skill challenge’s best friend. A simple action and a friendly hand on whoever you’re trying to help, and you can give a friend an extra d4 on a single ability check. Make every victory one you had a magical hand in.
Mind Sliver
A saving-throw using caster’s best friend. Mind Sliver was first introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, and it does a little bit of everything. Your target must save or take damage in addition to subtracting 1d4 from the next saving throw it makes before the end of your next turn. If you want to set up a critical ability, or ensure that someone stays Held in place or whatever, this spell works wonders.
Frostbite
What if you’re facing down an enemy who continually seems to hit you hard with a weapon? Frostbite can come in handy. Every time your enemy fails a save, they not only take cold damage but have disadvantage on the next weapon attack roll they make. A handy way to shut down a powerful attack like poison or whatever.
Thunderclap
Thunderclap is an underrated spell because not only is it a cantrip that does area of effect damage, it’s also one of the few cantrips you can hear from 100 feet distant. Thunderclap, for when you absolutely, positively have to make an entrance.
What are your favorite cantrips?
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