I mean, a greatsword weighs less than 10 lbs... and a player could argue that the hand could just "drop the sword on the bad guy"... is there some balancing reason why a wizard can't use their action to make an attack with the mage hand spell?
Probably multiclassing. A wizard stabbing you at range isn't a problem, but a Fighter with magic initiate making four attacks per round might be. Or a rogue sneak attacking. A lot of combat features are restricted to melee to force the characters to expose themselves.
Also, even as a monoclass wizard:
cast mage hand 30 feet away
cast wall of force, which blocks spells due to the line of sight rules
It's a mechanics choice; Mage Hand is a simple, free cantrip that in general utility , already rivals ones like Simple Illusion, and Prestidigitation. It doesn't need to do damage to be fantastically useful. Damaging cantrips, typically only have one well-defined game mechanical effect beyond doing damage; the ability to do everything Mage Hand can doand also do damage would push it into Leveled Spell tier.
As far as being able to do damage by dropping a sword, it feels like it would be an "unlikely to hit, would only do any damage at all if dramatically appropriate, do not count on this ever working again" scenario.
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🎵I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, wreaking death and devastation with my mind.
As the power that I've found erupts freely from the ground, I will cackle from the top of the world.🎵
I mean, a greatsword weighs less than 10 lbs... and a player could argue that the hand could just "drop the sword on the bad guy"... is there some balancing reason why a wizard can't use their action to make an attack with the mage hand spell?
Probably multiclassing. A wizard stabbing you at range isn't a problem, but a Fighter with magic initiate making four attacks per round might be. Or a rogue sneak attacking. A lot of combat features are restricted to melee to force the characters to expose themselves.
Also, even as a monoclass wizard:
It's a mechanics choice; Mage Hand is a simple, free cantrip that in general utility , already rivals ones like Simple Illusion, and Prestidigitation. It doesn't need to do damage to be fantastically useful. Damaging cantrips, typically only have one well-defined game mechanical effect beyond doing damage; the ability to do everything Mage Hand can doand also do damage would push it into Leveled Spell tier.
As far as being able to do damage by dropping a sword, it feels like it would be an "unlikely to hit, would only do any damage at all if dramatically appropriate, do not count on this ever working again" scenario.
🎵I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, wreaking death and devastation with my mind.
As the power that I've found erupts freely from the ground, I will cackle from the top of the world.🎵
Charisma Saving Throw: DC 18, Failure: 20d6 Psychic Damage, Success: Half damage