This poll is to sample the popular vote for the best wizard cantrips. The most interesting information I hope to glean here is where people go after the standards. Therefore, it is important to cast at least 5 votes in this poll. Voting for the the top two or three spells really doesn't provide any interesting information. I don't know if it does, but if you can change your vote, if you change your mind, you should do so.
I know it's tough to make these choices, and that selecting spells requires a lot of context. Assume you know nothing about the adventure ahead, you have just made the lowest level character able to cast these spells, you don't know what the other party members are going to be, or how many, and that the campaign is going to be a long one. If you need some information about your character, assume a regular human with good class-required ability scores, and average scores for all other abilities. Assume no houserules in making your selections, but the DM has veered off the by-the-book path before, so this isn't a bang-your-head-against-a-wall kinda DM. However, he will rule on any relevant houserule requests after you have made such a selection, just to make sure you make the selections in good faith. In brief, make all reasonably safe assumptions necessary for the poll.
Extra credit: explain some of your off-the-beaten path selections in your post, argue against other folks' selections, correct grammar, or berate the original poster for screwing up the poll.
Right now I'm pleasantly surprised at the results. Everyone always seems to go crazy over the SCAG cantrips, however Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, and Minor Illusion are currently in the top spots (FYI - these three are amazing and offer so much versatility when played correctly).
I find minor illusion more useful than Prestidigitation.
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My name, is Balthazaar Cage! Savior of Ravenscrest, defender of the light, reincarnated chosen one of the gods, rightful ruler of all that can be seen and half of that which is unseen. If that's to long you may simply refer to me as "Sorcerer Supreme."
Prestidigitation for it's RP elements. It's pretty much the most fun cantrip, although minor illusion is probably more useful in combat.
* Adding a puffing "wind" and an unpleasant odor to the barbarian just as he sits down to flirt with the barmaid.
* Adding special effects for dramatic flair. I especially love using it for a "the more you know" sparks after successful arcana/history checks; also, it's a rare comedic situation that isn't improved with awkwardly timed sparkles. Or add a gust of wind to ruffle your companion's hair/feathers/fins as s/he flirt or haggles. If your DM is kind, you might even be able to use the cantrip for distraction or to help your mates gain advantage on checks.
* Pranking anyone trying to light (or snuff) a candle or fire.
* Upgrading goods for the clearance sale: suddenly that table swill is the kingdom's finest wine and worth a small fortune.
* Literally make someone filthy. Great party trick. If you could make your game's version of Joffrey Lannister suddenly look and smell like he bepooped himself at the formal supper, would you hesitate? (Nope. You wouldn't. That small bit of prestidigitation could undo a major alliance, too.)
* "Drawing" a word or mark on the person who just taunted my character, lost in a drinking bout, or otherwise deserves some public shame. It's like a one-hour sharpie ... that you can recast as long as you want.
* Complaining about food at every inn and then improving it with a small spell. There are entire reality TV shows about this!
* Make a small, illusory bug crawl around one character's face while another character talks to them.
Minor Illusion is my favorite. Very versatile. No verbal component. Good in social as well as combat situations. Aganist low int foes like beasts and golems it can be as good as higher circles illusions. Good for creating cover, crowd control obstacles and all sorts of creative uses.
Mage Hand - Opening doors like I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. Better for the Arcane trickster. Still usefull and very thematic for any wizard.
I love shocking grasp as a last resort and I use it combined with my owl familiar delivering for ranged attacks. Advantage against metal wearing foes is good. 1d8 dmg lightning is a saver against fire resistant or imune monsters.
Lightning Lure is better for eldritch knights, but even regular fullcaster wizards can benefit from the battlefield control aplications of this spell. Still I wish it was a ranged spell attack with damage regardless of distance - As thorn whip is for the druid.
Fire bolt is my current wizard bread and butter ( I like de d10 fire dmg) But sometimes I regret not having picked something with more utility like ray of frost or Chill Touch.
I find Mage hand, Minor Illusion,and prestidigitation to be great spells. However, I think one of the top wizard cantrip must be Thunderclap. The fact the wizard can just clap his/her hands together to cause thunder damage and get everyone's attention is great. For instance, everyone is talking over you, just thunderclap to make everyone pay attention.
I love Thaumaturgy so far. One of my companions was looking for me in a dark room while I had Darkvision and she did not. When she called out my name I used Thaumaturgy to whisper "RUN" right next to her ear. When she did it again I caused the ground to shake beneath her. To end it, I changed the color of my eyes to a bright glowing red that shined through the darkness to look at her. My DM played along and said I moved in front of two mason jars that made my eyes bigger and projected multiple sets of eyes all around the room.
I finally used my stealth to sneak up behind her and scared her with a little girl's voice. She turned around and punched me. Took 1 bludgeoning damage, worth it. Muahaha.
I went with Firebolt for the range and damage, and Chill Touch because necrotic is pretty reliable for avoiding resistance as long as you avoid undead. Light seems like a waste, but your party members without darkvision will thank you for it.
Fire Bolt is the only Wizard damage cantrip that affects both creatures and objects.
Shocking Grasp is like a lighter version of the Mobile Feat or the Swashbuckler subclass feature. A Wizard can use it to dip in and then dip out or just to dip out. Sometimes you can save a Misty Step just by being in the right place at the right time with it.
Gust and Frostbite should see more play -- they seem low but there are clearly a lot of good options.
This poll is to sample the popular vote for the best wizard cantrips. The most interesting information I hope to glean here is where people go after the standards. Therefore, it is important to cast at least 5 votes in this poll. Voting for the the top two or three spells really doesn't provide any interesting information. I don't know if it does, but if you can change your vote, if you change your mind, you should do so.
I know it's tough to make these choices, and that selecting spells requires a lot of context. Assume you know nothing about the adventure ahead, you have just made the lowest level character able to cast these spells, you don't know what the other party members are going to be, or how many, and that the campaign is going to be a long one. If you need some information about your character, assume a regular human with good class-required ability scores, and average scores for all other abilities. Assume no houserules in making your selections, but the DM has veered off the by-the-book path before, so this isn't a bang-your-head-against-a-wall kinda DM. However, he will rule on any relevant houserule requests after you have made such a selection, just to make sure you make the selections in good faith. In brief, make all reasonably safe assumptions necessary for the poll.
Extra credit: explain some of your off-the-beaten path selections in your post, argue against other folks' selections, correct grammar, or berate the original poster for screwing up the poll.
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
Prestidigitation has 4? Come on guys! :(
"What are you lookin' at, filthy mortal?"
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
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ModeratorRight now I'm pleasantly surprised at the results. Everyone always seems to go crazy over the SCAG cantrips, however Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, and Minor Illusion are currently in the top spots (FYI - these three are amazing and offer so much versatility when played correctly).
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I think those three are both the most fun and the most flexible, you can use them in a hundred different ways.
I like Prestidigitation the best but I find myself using Minor Illusion more often, usually for creative sounds/whispers.
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I find minor illusion more useful than Prestidigitation.
My name, is Balthazaar Cage! Savior of Ravenscrest, defender of the light, reincarnated chosen one of the gods, rightful ruler of all that can be seen and half of that which is unseen. If that's to long you may simply refer to me as "Sorcerer Supreme."
I think minor illusion sits on the top spot for me too. So much fun!
Prestidigitation is an incredible spell for role-playing opportunities, and it can provide some comic relief at certain times if used correctly.
Was it any surprise that the tried and true mage hand would be on top?
minor illusion all the way. its got so many uses
Prestidigitation for it's RP elements. It's pretty much the most fun cantrip, although minor illusion is probably more useful in combat.
* Adding a puffing "wind" and an unpleasant odor to the barbarian just as he sits down to flirt with the barmaid.
* Adding special effects for dramatic flair. I especially love using it for a "the more you know" sparks after successful arcana/history checks; also, it's a rare comedic situation that isn't improved with awkwardly timed sparkles. Or add a gust of wind to ruffle your companion's hair/feathers/fins as s/he flirt or haggles. If your DM is kind, you might even be able to use the cantrip for distraction or to help your mates gain advantage on checks.
* Pranking anyone trying to light (or snuff) a candle or fire.
* Upgrading goods for the clearance sale: suddenly that table swill is the kingdom's finest wine and worth a small fortune.
* Literally make someone filthy. Great party trick. If you could make your game's version of Joffrey Lannister suddenly look and smell like he bepooped himself at the formal supper, would you hesitate? (Nope. You wouldn't. That small bit of prestidigitation could undo a major alliance, too.)
* "Drawing" a word or mark on the person who just taunted my character, lost in a drinking bout, or otherwise deserves some public shame. It's like a one-hour sharpie ... that you can recast as long as you want.
* Complaining about food at every inn and then improving it with a small spell. There are entire reality TV shows about this!
* Make a small, illusory bug crawl around one character's face while another character talks to them.
The scenarios are nearly endless.
Minor Illusion is my favorite. Very versatile. No verbal component. Good in social as well as combat situations. Aganist low int foes like beasts and golems it can be as good as higher circles illusions. Good for creating cover, crowd control obstacles and all sorts of creative uses.
Mage Hand - Opening doors like I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. Better for the Arcane trickster. Still usefull and very thematic for any wizard.
I love shocking grasp as a last resort and I use it combined with my owl familiar delivering for ranged attacks. Advantage against metal wearing foes is good. 1d8 dmg lightning is a saver against fire resistant or imune monsters.
Lightning Lure is better for eldritch knights, but even regular fullcaster wizards can benefit from the battlefield control aplications of this spell. Still I wish it was a ranged spell attack with damage regardless of distance - As thorn whip is for the druid.
Fire bolt is my current wizard bread and butter ( I like de d10 fire dmg) But sometimes I regret not having picked something with more utility like ray of frost or Chill Touch.
Mage hand, great to open the chest from 30' away and standing behind the fighter after the rogue dies 😂
--
DM -- Elanon -- Homebrew world
Gronn -- Tiefling Warlock -- Amarath
Slim -- Halfling Cleric -- CoS (future Lord of Waterdeep 😁)
Bran -- Human Wizard - RoT
Making D&D mistakes and having fun since 1977!
I find Mage hand, Minor Illusion,and prestidigitation to be great spells. However, I think one of the top wizard cantrip must be Thunderclap. The fact the wizard can just clap his/her hands together to cause thunder damage and get everyone's attention is great. For instance, everyone is talking over you, just thunderclap to make everyone pay attention.
I love Thaumaturgy so far. One of my companions was looking for me in a dark room while I had Darkvision and she did not. When she called out my name I used Thaumaturgy to whisper "RUN" right next to her ear. When she did it again I caused the ground to shake beneath her. To end it, I changed the color of my eyes to a bright glowing red that shined through the darkness to look at her. My DM played along and said I moved in front of two mason jars that made my eyes bigger and projected multiple sets of eyes all around the room.
I finally used my stealth to sneak up behind her and scared her with a little girl's voice. She turned around and punched me. Took 1 bludgeoning damage, worth it. Muahaha.
Not that I’d vote for it but Friends is missing from the list
I went with Firebolt for the range and damage, and Chill Touch because necrotic is pretty reliable for avoiding resistance as long as you avoid undead. Light seems like a waste, but your party members without darkvision will thank you for it.
Fire Bolt is the only Wizard damage cantrip that affects both creatures and objects.
Shocking Grasp is like a lighter version of the Mobile Feat or the Swashbuckler subclass feature. A Wizard can use it to dip in and then dip out or just to dip out. Sometimes you can save a Misty Step just by being in the right place at the right time with it.
Gust and Frostbite should see more play -- they seem low but there are clearly a lot of good options.
Toll the dead from Xanathar is missing and is one of the best damage cantrips.