I'm probably overthinking things and confusing myself.
I know I would add my spell casting modifier (wisdom) to the d20 roll to determine if the spell hits, but when it does, do I get to add anything to the damage? Or is it always just the indicated die roll? Ex. Thorn Whip deals 1d6 at level 1, do I get to add anything to my 1d6?
Poison Spray: The enemy has to make a constitution saving throw to see if they avoid my attack -- what number are they trying to beat? how do I know what it is? My spell casting ability? Or does the DM just make a decision based on the circumstance?
Edit: on my D&D Beyond character sheet, it shows a CON 14 as the score to beat for Poison Spray -- but none of my scores are a 14, so where did that come from?
Second Edit: OK, Maybe I've got it now. See if this sounds right:
My wisdom modifier is +4 currently, so that 14 for the constitution save above came from a 10+4 or someone else had explained it as a native 8+proficiency (which is +2) + 4. It doesn't help that different pages explain the math differently! At least I figured out where on my D&D Beyond sheet I should be looking! For an attack roll, I get to use my spell modifier of +4 + my proficiency of +2. So I get a d20 +6 to see if the spell hits. And then no bonuses added to the damage, just whatever is rolled.
Also, if anyone has a strong opinion of which of those I should choose, please let me know! Looks like the trade off is that Thorn Whip allows me to be 30ft away, and Poison Spray requires that I'm up close, 10 ft away, but then I can do 1d12 damage.
You got the attack bonuses, saving throws, and damage correct.
In answer to which attack cantrip is best, none of them. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, they all have different damage types, and many opponents are resistant or immune to different damage types. Being resistant means they take half damage rounded down from the type of damage that they’re resistant to. I almost always suggest 2 different attack cantrips with different types of damage. Druids are the exception to that because they have fewer cantrips than other spell casters have.
You got the attack bonuses, saving throws, and damage correct.
In answer to which attack cantrip is best, none of them. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, they all have different damage types, and many opponents are resistant or immune to different damage types. Being resistant means they take half damage rounded down from the type of damage that they’re resistant to. I almost always suggest 2 different attack cantrips with different types of damage. Druids are the exception to that because they have fewer cantrips than other spell casters have.
In addition I would recommend that casters have at least one cantrip you can use in melee without disadvantage. This can be either a saving throw or a melee attack.
Also, if anyone has a strong opinion of which of those I should choose, please let me know! Looks like the trade off is that Thorn Whip allows me to be 30ft away, and Poison Spray requires that I'm up close, 10 ft away, but then I can do 1d12 damage.
Largely, this choice will depend on how your stats fell out, and how you intend to play your character. Are you going to be making full use of Wild Shape, getting in for melee frequently? Or are you going to save that for a defensive action when things go south, and focus more on manipulating the battlefield and applying damage opportunistically?
If you're going to find yourself in melee frequently between Wild Shape usage, I'd say use Poison Spray. You'll already be close, and you can deal more damage. Thunderclap is also an option, but be careful about friendly fire -- it hits allies as well as enemies.
If you're going to keep your distance, you'll be safer with Thorn Whip. Though I'd also recommend looking at Frostbite and Infestation for other options.
In addition I would recommend that casters have at least one cantrip you can use in melee without disadvantage. This can be either a saving throw or a melee attack.
This is good advice, and I really recommend having a saving throw cantrip in your arsenal if possible. Not only will you want a backup plan for when you're in melee range, it's also really handy when you have disadvantage on attack rolls for other reasons (e.g. you're prone or restrained) or when you're facing high AC enemies.
Another thing to think about is that Dex saving throws benefit from cover while other saving throws do not. (The exception is the cleric cantrip Sacred Flame which causes a Dex saving throw but says the target does not benefit from cover)
Even your allies can give half cover to enemies, so this can be an issue if you don’t want to be in the front line.
Also, if anyone has a strong opinion of which of those I should choose, please let me know! Looks like the trade off is that Thorn Whip allows me to be 30ft away, and Poison Spray requires that I'm up close, 10 ft away, but then I can do 1d12 damage.
Between the 2, I recommend Thorn Whip. It has a range of 30 ft, but is a melee spell, so no disadvantage of an enemy is close or target is prone. Being able to pull targets 10 feet closer can move them out of cover or into range for your allies or open them up to being surrounded. Last reason is while poison spray is one of the most damaging cantrips, poison is the most resisted damage type with almost 200 monsters fully immune to it.
Wow, thanks. You have given me a lot of good ideas to think about! I was only vaguely aware of monsters making saving throws, and now I'm starting to see why that would be useful to me.
I'm not sure how battle-heavy the campaign will be. We're still in the meeting and buying supplies stage. Right now as a baby-level 1 player, I only get 2 cantrips, and because we've got kind of an archaeological story going, I'm keeping Mold Earth as one of the two for the time being. DM wanted me to do Circle of Spores, which is going to be interesting/weird, but it means I won't have the Combat Wild Shape from Circle of the Moon. I'm looking forward to being able to choose more options when we all level up and I have more spells I can prepare.
Keep in mind, you can’t swap out cantrips the way the rules are written. You pick them and that’s it. You can swap out higher level spells, but not cantrips.
I love Mold Earth though. It’s great for throwing up a quick rampart for the party to hide behind when they’re attacked by opponents who they can’t get to easily.
I'm probably overthinking things and confusing myself.
I know I would add my spell casting modifier (wisdom) to the d20 roll to determine if the spell hits, but when it does, do I get to add anything to the damage? Or is it always just the indicated die roll? Ex. Thorn Whip deals 1d6 at level 1, do I get to add anything to my 1d6?
Poison Spray: The enemy has to make a constitution saving throw to see if they avoid my attack -- what number are they trying to beat? how do I know what it is? My spell casting ability? Or does the DM just make a decision based on the circumstance?
Edit: on my D&D Beyond character sheet, it shows a CON 14 as the score to beat for Poison Spray -- but none of my scores are a 14, so where did that come from?
Second Edit: OK, Maybe I've got it now. See if this sounds right:
My wisdom modifier is +4 currently, so that 14 for the constitution save above came from a 10+4 or someone else had explained it as a native 8+proficiency (which is +2) + 4. It doesn't help that different pages explain the math differently! At least I figured out where on my D&D Beyond sheet I should be looking!
For an attack roll, I get to use my spell modifier of +4 + my proficiency of +2. So I get a d20 +6 to see if the spell hits. And then no bonuses added to the damage, just whatever is rolled.
Also, if anyone has a strong opinion of which of those I should choose, please let me know! Looks like the trade off is that Thorn Whip allows me to be 30ft away, and Poison Spray requires that I'm up close, 10 ft away, but then I can do 1d12 damage.
You got the attack bonuses, saving throws, and damage correct.
In answer to which attack cantrip is best, none of them. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, they all have different damage types, and many opponents are resistant or immune to different damage types. Being resistant means they take half damage rounded down from the type of damage that they’re resistant to. I almost always suggest 2 different attack cantrips with different types of damage. Druids are the exception to that because they have fewer cantrips than other spell casters have.
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In addition I would recommend that casters have at least one cantrip you can use in melee without disadvantage. This can be either a saving throw or a melee attack.
Largely, this choice will depend on how your stats fell out, and how you intend to play your character. Are you going to be making full use of Wild Shape, getting in for melee frequently? Or are you going to save that for a defensive action when things go south, and focus more on manipulating the battlefield and applying damage opportunistically?
If you're going to find yourself in melee frequently between Wild Shape usage, I'd say use Poison Spray. You'll already be close, and you can deal more damage. Thunderclap is also an option, but be careful about friendly fire -- it hits allies as well as enemies.
If you're going to keep your distance, you'll be safer with Thorn Whip. Though I'd also recommend looking at Frostbite and Infestation for other options.
This is good advice, and I really recommend having a saving throw cantrip in your arsenal if possible. Not only will you want a backup plan for when you're in melee range, it's also really handy when you have disadvantage on attack rolls for other reasons (e.g. you're prone or restrained) or when you're facing high AC enemies.
Another thing to think about is that Dex saving throws benefit from cover while other saving throws do not. (The exception is the cleric cantrip Sacred Flame which causes a Dex saving throw but says the target does not benefit from cover)
Even your allies can give half cover to enemies, so this can be an issue if you don’t want to be in the front line.
Between the 2, I recommend Thorn Whip. It has a range of 30 ft, but is a melee spell, so no disadvantage of an enemy is close or target is prone. Being able to pull targets 10 feet closer can move them out of cover or into range for your allies or open them up to being surrounded. Last reason is while poison spray is one of the most damaging cantrips, poison is the most resisted damage type with almost 200 monsters fully immune to it.
Wow, thanks. You have given me a lot of good ideas to think about! I was only vaguely aware of monsters making saving throws, and now I'm starting to see why that would be useful to me.
I'm not sure how battle-heavy the campaign will be. We're still in the meeting and buying supplies stage. Right now as a baby-level 1 player, I only get 2 cantrips, and because we've got kind of an archaeological story going, I'm keeping Mold Earth as one of the two for the time being. DM wanted me to do Circle of Spores, which is going to be interesting/weird, but it means I won't have the Combat Wild Shape from Circle of the Moon. I'm looking forward to being able to choose more options when we all level up and I have more spells I can prepare.
Keep in mind, you can’t swap out cantrips the way the rules are written. You pick them and that’s it. You can swap out higher level spells, but not cantrips.
I love Mold Earth though. It’s great for throwing up a quick rampart for the party to hide behind when they’re attacked by opponents who they can’t get to easily.
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