My question primarily concerns game mechanics.* I am simply wondering if this plan for character development – which would have 10 cantrips at the Fourth Level – is a good idea (or a complete waste of time).
Race – Variant Human
This begins with a variant human character that has the Magic Initiate (Wizard). I think that the Wizard is the best choice not only because of the number of choices but, it works better with the character IMO.* This choice will permit the PC to start with the following:
Two Cantrips (since these would be based upon intelligence, I think it would be best to take two that do NOT have a DC or to hit):
This PC is going to be able to do a lot IMO. The spells, of course, will be for the heavy hits, but s/he will have a great deal of versatility with all the different cantrips available.
I am new to the game and am not certain that this is a wise choice. I just see it as possible and wonder what others think.
So, what do you guys think?
* In my opinion, this is a playable character that would have a strange back story that would easily lend itself to interesting role playing. The PC is impatient and lacks discipline. S/he is always looking for short cuts and the easy way of doing work. That is why s/he failed as a wizard and cut a deal with a Celestial for magical power. This, of course, causes friction with his/her patron who wants her to see things through and do good.
I’d swap out resistance for shocking grasp to get a way to disengage while still dealing damage if you get close to melee. You’ll probably never use resistance. I’d keep Sacred Flame for hard to hit but low save targets. Personally I’d drop Toll the Dead for Message since you have a lot of damage cantrips already. Message allows meta gaming to some extent and works well with stealth.
IMO - Theres nothing wrong with your idea but you’ll find your leveled spells will have a bigger impact in the game and the cantrips (aside from EB and Guidance) to be more filler. That said, having a good toolkit is always a good idea.
I’m currently playing my second “cantrip monkey” Warlock and my advice is to pick your cantrips so that you have a lot of utility out of combat and pick cantrips that aren’t on the Warlock list for your Magic Initiate feat and Pact of the Tome because you can’t swap out your cantrips the way you can swap out spells and at higher levels you’re going to run out of cantrips to pick from.
With a Celestial Patron, at 6th level your Sacred Flame cantrip will get a bonus to damage the same way your Eldritch Blast cantrip does. Eldritch Blast will still do slightly more damage, but not that much more damage. Plus your bonus action healing should be used to keep your companions conscious when they’re dropped to 0 HP. It’s not enough to keep them at full health, but it is enough to get them back on their feet when it counts the most.
The challenge with Warlocks is while their spells are better than their cantrips are, you’ll only have 2 spell slots so you have to pick and choose when to cast them carefully. A huge factor is how often your DM lets you take short rests.
One extra callout - make sure your party knows you can cast Guidance when they make skill checks. Guidance is a spell you could cast every single round in and out of combat but it is really key when someone goes to make a skill check. Players tend to just do it then realize they probably needed Guidance.
One extra callout - make sure your party knows you can cast Guidance when they make skill checks. Guidance is a spell you could cast every single round in and out of combat but it is really key when someone goes to make a skill check. Players tend to just do it then realize they probably needed Guidance.
I wholeheartedly agree. If I were to make a PC with this build, his/her job would be primarily utility to help other players.
I have a Tiefling Pact of the Tome Celestial Warlock, that is very successful. I run him almost like a Paladin. I took Shillelagh as a Tome cantrip and Green Flame Blade in melee or Fire Bolt/Sacred Flame at ranged.
At 4th lvl I took Flame of Phlegathos, so now every 1 I roll with every fire spell is rerolled and anyone who strikes me in melee takes an additional 1d4 fire from it.
a bonus action Shillelagh makes my quarterstaff now attack/damage with Charisma because it's a Warlock spell due to how Pact of the Tome is worded. Green Flame Blade works with Flame of Phlegathos and Shillelagh and Radiant Soul to be quite powerful, it means your Pact of the Tome is hitting like a Pact of the Blade.
I use Fire or Radiant instead of Eldritch Blast, although I keep that spell "just in case"
I have a Tiefling Pact of the Tome Celestial Warlock, that is very successful. I run him almost like a Paladin. I took Shillelagh as a Tome cantrip and Green Flame Blade in melee or Fire Bolt/Sacred Flame at ranged.
At 4th lvl I took Flame of Phlegathos, so now every 1 I roll with every fire spell is rerolled and anyone who strikes me in melee takes an additional 1d4 fire from it.
a bonus action Shillelagh makes my quarterstaff now attack/damage with Charisma because it's a Warlock spell due to how Pact of the Tome is worded. Green Flame Blade works with Flame of Phlegathos and Shillelagh and Radiant Soul to be quite powerful, it means your Pact of the Tome is hitting like a Pact of the Blade.
I use Fire or Radiant instead of Eldritch Blast, although I keep that spell "just in case"
Not in round 1 of combat he isnt. If you need time to spell up to be able to hit as a BladeLock, you arent hitting like a BladeLock, but not far behind a BladeLock. Big difference.
I have a Tiefling Pact of the Tome Celestial Warlock, that is very successful. I run him almost like a Paladin. I took Shillelagh as a Tome cantrip and Green Flame Blade in melee or Fire Bolt/Sacred Flame at ranged.
At 4th lvl I took Flame of Phlegathos, so now every 1 I roll with every fire spell is rerolled and anyone who strikes me in melee takes an additional 1d4 fire from it.
a bonus action Shillelagh makes my quarterstaff now attack/damage with Charisma because it's a Warlock spell due to how Pact of the Tome is worded. Green Flame Blade works with Flame of Phlegathos and Shillelagh and Radiant Soul to be quite powerful, it means your Pact of the Tome is hitting like a Pact of the Blade.
I use Fire or Radiant instead of Eldritch Blast, although I keep that spell "just in case"
Not in round 1 of combat he isnt. If you need time to spell up to be able to hit as a BladeLock, you arent hitting like a BladeLock, but not far behind a BladeLock. Big difference.
He can hit as hard as a Bladelock as Shillelagh is a bonus action to cast, then Green Flame Blade as attack action in melee.
For one attack yes. But a im guessing the average damage of a bladelock polearm master with sentinel is higher then that of a Shillelagh/Green Flame Blade toy soldier. Especially after lvl 6 when you get your second attack.
The key thing is Celestial Tome Warlock is uniquely synergized with Green Flame Blade more than any other class due to Radiant Soul.
as Jacqsynnpointed out they are both Cantrips so it doesn't violate the 2 spells in a turn rule. You can cast Shillelagh and Green Flame Blade on the same turn. If you do so.
3rd: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt), if 2nd creature takes CHA fire. 5th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 1d8 (fire), if 2nd creature takes 1d8 + CHA fire. 6th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 1d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 1d8 + CHA fire. 11th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 2d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 2d8 + CHA fire. 17th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 3d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 3d8 + CHA fire. †Radiant Soul's CHA damage can go to either target, but the 2nd target is not guaranteed, so I assume it goes to the 1st target.
The other benefit is because I'm a Pact of the Tome I have Find Familiar so almost every attack benefit from Advantage because my Owl grants me the Help Action, so I rarely miss. I do have 20 Charisma, but my damage from 6th through 10th has been 2d8+10 per attack (half fire half magical blunt) with another 1d8+5 fire if there is another target, and I'm almost always swinging with Adv, unless it's too dangerous for my owl. I mostly use Armor of Agathys for defense and combine it with Hellish Rebuke to punish anyone who attacks me.
Flames of Phlegathos means I reroll all ones for fire damage and adds another 1d4 fire to anyone who attacks me. My next feat will be the Elemental Adept Fire, because I use soooo much fire that Fire Resistance really hurts.
There are just so many useful cantrips that, yeah, focusing on them can be great. Warlocks are the class most capable of being customized in all sorts of unique ways thanks to the Patron/Pact/Invocation mechanics, so you can make a very useful character for both combat and out of combat. I'm playing a Tomelock 5/Lore Bard 3 right now, and have EB, Shillelagh, Spare the Dying, Guidance, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Vicious Mockery, and Minor Illusion for cantrips. Feels like there's always something I can be helping with, particularly with the Book of Shadows and being able to cast rituals (and having spent loads of money on scrolls to do so).
Yeah, combat is pretty one-note with Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast + Hex as the standard, but, outside of combat, you can kind of do all the little things, and that just makes for a very useful addition to any party.
The key thing is Celestial Tome Warlock is uniquely synergized with Green Flame Blade more than any other class due to Radiant Soul.
as Jacqsynn pointed out they are both Cantrips so it doesn't violate the 2 spells in a turn rule. You can cast Shillelagh and Green Flame Blade on the same turn. If you do so.
3rd: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt), if 2nd creature takes CHA fire. 5th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 1d8 (fire), if 2nd creature takes 1d8 + CHA fire. 6th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 1d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 1d8 + CHA fire. 11th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 2d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 2d8 + CHA fire. 17th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 3d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 3d8 + CHA fire. †Radiant Soul's CHA damage can go to either target, but the 2nd target is not guaranteed, so I assume it goes to the 1st target.
The other benefit is because I'm a Pact of the Tome I have Find Familiar so almost every attack benefit from Advantage because my Owl grants me the Help Action, so I rarely miss. I do have 20 Charisma, but my damage from 6th through 10th has been 2d8+10 per attack (half fire half magical blunt) with another 1d8+5 fire if there is another target, and I'm almost always swinging with Adv, unless it's too dangerous for my owl. I mostly use Armor of Agathys for defense and combine it with Hellish Rebuke to punish anyone who attacks me.
Flames of Phlegathos means I reroll all ones for fire damage and adds another 1d4 fire to anyone who attacks me. My next feat will be the Elemental Adept Fire, because I use soooo much fire that Fire Resistance really hurts.
There is no two spells in a turn rule
There is a two spells in a turn, if one of those spells uses a bonus action rule
The key thing is Celestial Tome Warlock is uniquely synergized with Green Flame Blade more than any other class due to Radiant Soul.
as Jacqsynn pointed out they are both Cantrips so it doesn't violate the 2 spells in a turn rule. You can cast Shillelagh and Green Flame Blade on the same turn. If you do so.
3rd: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt), if 2nd creature takes CHA fire. 5th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 1d8 (fire), if 2nd creature takes 1d8 + CHA fire. 6th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 1d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 1d8 + CHA fire. 11th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 2d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 2d8 + CHA fire. 17th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 3d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 3d8 + CHA fire. †Radiant Soul's CHA damage can go to either target, but the 2nd target is not guaranteed, so I assume it goes to the 1st target.
The other benefit is because I'm a Pact of the Tome I have Find Familiar so almost every attack benefit from Advantage because my Owl grants me the Help Action, so I rarely miss. I do have 20 Charisma, but my damage from 6th through 10th has been 2d8+10 per attack (half fire half magical blunt) with another 1d8+5 fire if there is another target, and I'm almost always swinging with Adv, unless it's too dangerous for my owl. I mostly use Armor of Agathys for defense and combine it with Hellish Rebuke to punish anyone who attacks me.
Flames of Phlegathos means I reroll all ones for fire damage and adds another 1d4 fire to anyone who attacks me. My next feat will be the Elemental Adept Fire, because I use soooo much fire that Fire Resistance really hurts.
There is no two spells in a turn rule
There is a two spells in a turn, if one of those spells uses a bonus action rule
The "no two spells in a turn" rule is the bonus action spell rule. Shillelagh is a bonus action cantrip. Green-Flame Blade is an action cantrip. They can both be cast in the same turn all day every day.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Not true. Most cantrips improve as you level up at levels 5, 11 and 17th level, allowing your cantrips to keep pace with the rising threat. A cantrip that's useful to you at the start of the campaign will be just as useful by the end, especially as a warlock with only 4 spell slots max (not counting mystic Arcanum)
Shillelagh doesn't scale so quickly becomes useless. I have found Primal Savagery to be more useful.
Other cantrips have also been really helpful - Mold Earth is invaluable for hiding bodies and digging latrine pits in the outdoors, let alone creating cover and all the rest of it's uses.
Shillelagh doesn't scale so quickly becomes useless.
Uhh... no, I beg to differ. A non-concentration, bonus action cantrip which allows you to use your spellcasting modifier for the attack and damage rolls with a melee weapon is always extremely useful. Most players I know would chop off an arm to get that cantrip on a non-Druid.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
The Cantrip Master is a ton of fun. A well-chosen load of cantrips and a devious mind can allow the character to accomplish quite a bit. People who dismiss cantrips as newbie-level magic that stops being useful after tier 1 play are people who don't really think like a spellcaster. I like to try and ensure my cantrip masters are also skillmonkeys just to really grind home the "I'm in this adventuring party but really, I don't need to be" Total Self Sufficiency angle, but a lot of folks hate adventuring with somebody like that. My head understands why, my heart does not. Nevertheless, a carefully curated buttload of cantrips is indeed a fantastic toolbelt to have, especially since unlike many other Coolguy Plans, it comes online early in a character's lifespan and allows you to enjoy your magical mastery for many levels to come. as the OP has likely discovered by now, what with this thread approaching two years old.
Shillelagh is an odd duck. It's one of the only damage cantrips that doesn't scale, but that's because its "scaling" is Multiattack rather than extra cantrip damage dice. For any of the classes likely to have it, i.e. druid or Tome warlock, they only ever get the one attack and so Shillelagh is kinda pants compared to Shocking Grasp as a close-quarters cantrip. A fighter with MI:Druid that snags Shillelagh and has oddly high Wisdom, or a ranger that uses that new Druidic Warrior fighting style to grab Shillelagh, could get some serious punch from the cantrip. Shillelagh is one of those spells that can be used to enable a certain sort of character vision, that being the Wizened Master who is not necessarily particularly physically powerful, but their boundless wisdom allows them to fight just as effectively as more musclebound sorts.
Shillelagh doesn't scale so quickly becomes useless. I have found Primal Savagery to be more useful.
Other cantrips have also been really helpful - Mold Earth is invaluable for hiding bodies and digging latrine pits in the outdoors, let alone creating cover and all the rest of it's uses.
The point of shillelagh is accuracy with greenflame blade or booming on builds like that. Greenflame blade does weapon + cha mod plus 3d8 to the primary target and 3d8 + cha mod to the secondary target. That beats 4d10 to the primary.
Shillelagh doesn't scale by itself but it does enhance other options. It's better than eldritch blast plus agonizing blast as long as there are 2 targets in range barring fire resistance / immunity.
I've done this with a melee lore bard who had shillelagh, booming blade, greenflame blade, shield, moderately armored, war caster, and dissonant whispers. Shillelagh was well worth it. Cantrips and low level spells powered it into a decent enough melee character using secrets to make those bard spells.
Shillelagh is just a self buff before the real attack.
My question primarily concerns game mechanics.* I am simply wondering if this plan for character development – which would have 10 cantrips at the Fourth Level – is a good idea (or a complete waste of time).
Race – Variant Human
This begins with a variant human character that has the Magic Initiate (Wizard). I think that the Wizard is the best choice not only because of the number of choices but, it works better with the character IMO.* This choice will permit the PC to start with the following:
Two Cantrips (since these would be based upon intelligence, I think it would be best to take two that do NOT have a DC or to hit):
This PC is going to be able to do a lot IMO. The spells, of course, will be for the heavy hits, but s/he will have a great deal of versatility with all the different cantrips available.
I am new to the game and am not certain that this is a wise choice. I just see it as possible and wonder what others think.
So, what do you guys think?
* In my opinion, this is a playable character that would have a strange back story that would easily lend itself to interesting role playing. The PC is impatient and lacks discipline. S/he is always looking for short cuts and the easy way of doing work. That is why s/he failed as a wizard and cut a deal with a Celestial for magical power. This, of course, causes friction with his/her patron who wants her to see things through and do good.
The only point for magic initiate wizard is for the familiar. Going tome allows picking that up via ritual already. Magic initiate for a cha class gives the same cantrips but a better DC if it comes up.
Storywise or not. ;-)
Otherwise, loading up on utility cantrips is fine. Having eldritch blast and sacred flame means not needing another damage cantrip for the damage like toll the dead. You'd be looking for the secondary effects (like reduced movement or denied reaction).
Warlocks use cantrips and invocations a lot regardless because of how pact magic is designed. Extra cantrip utility is good.
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My question primarily concerns game mechanics.* I am simply wondering if this plan for character development – which would have 10 cantrips at the Fourth Level – is a good idea (or a complete waste of time).
Race – Variant Human
This begins with a variant human character that has the Magic Initiate (Wizard). I think that the Wizard is the best choice not only because of the number of choices but, it works better with the character IMO.* This choice will permit the PC to start with the following:
Two Cantrips (since these would be based upon intelligence, I think it would be best to take two that do NOT have a DC or to hit):
Minor Illusion
Mage Hand
And, a first level spell (that can only be cast once a day):
Find Familiar
Class - Warlock
Take [class]Warlock[/class], obviously (I wouldn’t be posting this in here otherwise) and choose the following two cantrips
Eldritch Blast
Prestidigitation
Patron - Celestial
As a patron, take a Celestial. This will provide another two cantrips (the best lighting AND one that is not a to hit; it is a save):
Light
Sacred Flame
Pact of the Tome
Then, at Third Level, take the Pact of the Tome. It will give the PC another three cantrips.
Guidance
Resistance
Toll the Dead - or something else TBH
Fourth Level
The PC gets another cantrip.
This PC is going to be able to do a lot IMO. The spells, of course, will be for the heavy hits, but s/he will have a great deal of versatility with all the different cantrips available.
I am new to the game and am not certain that this is a wise choice. I just see it as possible and wonder what others think.
So, what do you guys think?
* In my opinion, this is a playable character that would have a strange back story that would easily lend itself to interesting role playing. The PC is impatient and lacks discipline. S/he is always looking for short cuts and the easy way of doing work. That is why s/he failed as a wizard and cut a deal with a Celestial for magical power. This, of course, causes friction with his/her patron who wants her to see things through and do good.
I’d swap out resistance for shocking grasp to get a way to disengage while still dealing damage if you get close to melee. You’ll probably never use resistance. I’d keep Sacred Flame for hard to hit but low save targets. Personally I’d drop Toll the Dead for Message since you have a lot of damage cantrips already. Message allows meta gaming to some extent and works well with stealth.
IMO - Theres nothing wrong with your idea but you’ll find your leveled spells will have a bigger impact in the game and the cantrips (aside from EB and Guidance) to be more filler. That said, having a good toolkit is always a good idea.
I’m currently playing my second “cantrip monkey” Warlock and my advice is to pick your cantrips so that you have a lot of utility out of combat and pick cantrips that aren’t on the Warlock list for your Magic Initiate feat and Pact of the Tome because you can’t swap out your cantrips the way you can swap out spells and at higher levels you’re going to run out of cantrips to pick from.
With a Celestial Patron, at 6th level your Sacred Flame cantrip will get a bonus to damage the same way your Eldritch Blast cantrip does. Eldritch Blast will still do slightly more damage, but not that much more damage. Plus your bonus action healing should be used to keep your companions conscious when they’re dropped to 0 HP. It’s not enough to keep them at full health, but it is enough to get them back on their feet when it counts the most.
The challenge with Warlocks is while their spells are better than their cantrips are, you’ll only have 2 spell slots so you have to pick and choose when to cast them carefully. A huge factor is how often your DM lets you take short rests.
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One extra callout - make sure your party knows you can cast Guidance when they make skill checks. Guidance is a spell you could cast every single round in and out of combat but it is really key when someone goes to make a skill check. Players tend to just do it then realize they probably needed Guidance.
I wholeheartedly agree. If I were to make a PC with this build, his/her job would be primarily utility to help other players.
I have a Tiefling Pact of the Tome Celestial Warlock, that is very successful.
I run him almost like a Paladin. I took Shillelagh as a Tome cantrip and Green Flame Blade in melee or Fire Bolt/Sacred Flame at ranged.
At 4th lvl I took Flame of Phlegathos, so now every 1 I roll with every fire spell is rerolled and anyone who strikes me in melee takes an additional 1d4 fire from it.
a bonus action Shillelagh makes my quarterstaff now attack/damage with Charisma because it's a Warlock spell due to how Pact of the Tome is worded.
Green Flame Blade works with Flame of Phlegathos and Shillelagh and Radiant Soul to be quite powerful, it means your Pact of the Tome is hitting like a Pact of the Blade.
I use Fire or Radiant instead of Eldritch Blast, although I keep that spell "just in case"
Not in round 1 of combat he isnt. If you need time to spell up to be able to hit as a BladeLock, you arent hitting like a BladeLock, but not far behind a BladeLock. Big difference.
He can hit as hard as a Bladelock as Shillelagh is a bonus action to cast, then Green Flame Blade as attack action in melee.
For one attack yes. But a im guessing the average damage of a bladelock polearm master with sentinel is higher then that of a Shillelagh/Green Flame Blade toy soldier. Especially after lvl 6 when you get your second attack.
The key thing is Celestial Tome Warlock is uniquely synergized with Green Flame Blade more than any other class due to Radiant Soul.
as Jacqsynn pointed out they are both Cantrips so it doesn't violate the 2 spells in a turn rule. You can cast Shillelagh and Green Flame Blade on the same turn.
If you do so.
3rd: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt), if 2nd creature takes CHA fire.
5th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 1d8 (fire), if 2nd creature takes 1d8 + CHA fire.
6th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 1d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 1d8 + CHA fire.
11th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 2d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 2d8 + CHA fire.
17th: 1d8+CHA (magical blunt) + 3d8+CHA† (fire), if 2nd creature takes 3d8 + CHA fire.
†Radiant Soul's CHA damage can go to either target, but the 2nd target is not guaranteed, so I assume it goes to the 1st target.
The other benefit is because I'm a Pact of the Tome I have Find Familiar so almost every attack benefit from Advantage because my Owl grants me the Help Action, so I rarely miss.
I do have 20 Charisma, but my damage from 6th through 10th has been 2d8+10 per attack (half fire half magical blunt) with another 1d8+5 fire if there is another target, and I'm almost always swinging with Adv, unless it's too dangerous for my owl.
I mostly use Armor of Agathys for defense and combine it with Hellish Rebuke to punish anyone who attacks me.
Flames of Phlegathos means I reroll all ones for fire damage and adds another 1d4 fire to anyone who attacks me. My next feat will be the Elemental Adept Fire, because I use soooo much fire that Fire Resistance really hurts.
There are just so many useful cantrips that, yeah, focusing on them can be great. Warlocks are the class most capable of being customized in all sorts of unique ways thanks to the Patron/Pact/Invocation mechanics, so you can make a very useful character for both combat and out of combat. I'm playing a Tomelock 5/Lore Bard 3 right now, and have EB, Shillelagh, Spare the Dying, Guidance, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Vicious Mockery, and Minor Illusion for cantrips. Feels like there's always something I can be helping with, particularly with the Book of Shadows and being able to cast rituals (and having spent loads of money on scrolls to do so).
Yeah, combat is pretty one-note with Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast + Hex as the standard, but, outside of combat, you can kind of do all the little things, and that just makes for a very useful addition to any party.
There is no two spells in a turn rule
There is a two spells in a turn, if one of those spells uses a bonus action rule
The "no two spells in a turn" rule is the bonus action spell rule. Shillelagh is a bonus action cantrip. Green-Flame Blade is an action cantrip. They can both be cast in the same turn all day every day.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
IMO, once you reach 3rd level and higher, most cantrips become less and less useful relative to the challenges you'll face.
It doesn't seem like a good idea to invest so heavily in them.
Not true. Most cantrips improve as you level up at levels 5, 11 and 17th level, allowing your cantrips to keep pace with the rising threat. A cantrip that's useful to you at the start of the campaign will be just as useful by the end, especially as a warlock with only 4 spell slots max (not counting mystic Arcanum)
Shillelagh doesn't scale so quickly becomes useless. I have found Primal Savagery to be more useful.
Other cantrips have also been really helpful - Mold Earth is invaluable for hiding bodies and digging latrine pits in the outdoors, let alone creating cover and all the rest of it's uses.
Uhh... no, I beg to differ. A non-concentration, bonus action cantrip which allows you to use your spellcasting modifier for the attack and damage rolls with a melee weapon is always extremely useful. Most players I know would chop off an arm to get that cantrip on a non-Druid.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
The Cantrip Master is a ton of fun. A well-chosen load of cantrips and a devious mind can allow the character to accomplish quite a bit. People who dismiss cantrips as newbie-level magic that stops being useful after tier 1 play are people who don't really think like a spellcaster. I like to try and ensure my cantrip masters are also skillmonkeys just to really grind home the "I'm in this adventuring party but really, I don't need to be" Total Self Sufficiency angle, but a lot of folks hate adventuring with somebody like that. My head understands why, my heart does not. Nevertheless, a carefully curated buttload of cantrips is indeed a fantastic toolbelt to have, especially since unlike many other Coolguy Plans, it comes online early in a character's lifespan and allows you to enjoy your magical mastery for many levels to come. as the OP has likely discovered by now, what with this thread approaching two years old.
Shillelagh is an odd duck. It's one of the only damage cantrips that doesn't scale, but that's because its "scaling" is Multiattack rather than extra cantrip damage dice. For any of the classes likely to have it, i.e. druid or Tome warlock, they only ever get the one attack and so Shillelagh is kinda pants compared to Shocking Grasp as a close-quarters cantrip. A fighter with MI:Druid that snags Shillelagh and has oddly high Wisdom, or a ranger that uses that new Druidic Warrior fighting style to grab Shillelagh, could get some serious punch from the cantrip. Shillelagh is one of those spells that can be used to enable a certain sort of character vision, that being the Wizened Master who is not necessarily particularly physically powerful, but their boundless wisdom allows them to fight just as effectively as more musclebound sorts.
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The point of shillelagh is accuracy with greenflame blade or booming on builds like that. Greenflame blade does weapon + cha mod plus 3d8 to the primary target and 3d8 + cha mod to the secondary target. That beats 4d10 to the primary.
Shillelagh doesn't scale by itself but it does enhance other options. It's better than eldritch blast plus agonizing blast as long as there are 2 targets in range barring fire resistance / immunity.
I've done this with a melee lore bard who had shillelagh, booming blade, greenflame blade, shield, moderately armored, war caster, and dissonant whispers. Shillelagh was well worth it. Cantrips and low level spells powered it into a decent enough melee character using secrets to make those bard spells.
Shillelagh is just a self buff before the real attack.
The only point for magic initiate wizard is for the familiar. Going tome allows picking that up via ritual already. Magic initiate for a cha class gives the same cantrips but a better DC if it comes up.
Storywise or not. ;-)
Otherwise, loading up on utility cantrips is fine. Having eldritch blast and sacred flame means not needing another damage cantrip for the damage like toll the dead. You'd be looking for the secondary effects (like reduced movement or denied reaction).
Warlocks use cantrips and invocations a lot regardless because of how pact magic is designed. Extra cantrip utility is good.