I am playing a Warlock and I'm deciding what spell to take; Mold earth (cantrip), minor illusion (cantrip) or silent image (1st lv but warlock invocation makes it at will)
So my main desire is to create cover for myself (and maybe a team member if there's room).
Using mold earth I can form dirt or earth into a 5x5 mound as cover, minor illusion I can make a 5x5 static tree or rock (only an object) & silent image will give me a 15x15 image (it can be an object or creature, I can also 'move' it unlike minor illusion, both physically on the map and illusory - I can make leaves sway or make the 'legs' of the dog appear to walk so the illusion appears to 'naturally' move from A to B.
For mold earth I can ALSO create a 5x5 pit which may slow anyone chasing us, I can also form letters or messages in dirt which makes the 'message' cantrip redundant but also useful if the party splits up and a message needs to be relayed. Finally I can create difficult terrain AND make difficult terrain not difficult for my party. Another point is that I can use it to collapse or rebuild earth.
For minor illusions.. I can pretty much make an illusion if anything (as long as it's not touched or interacted with in any way).. a pile of treasure to lure out monsters, a forged document (on already existing paper so the guy can hold/interact with it), etc etc as long as it's in a 5x5 size and MUST stay static (so like forming a tree that the leaves don't move is sketchy but a rock is okay)
Lastly, silent image has everything of minor illusion but since it's a 1st lvl spell its increased to 15x15 size and DOESN'T need to remain static.
BUT unlike mold earth, illusion and image are both fake.. so if either are investigated they can be determined to be found an illusion and voided out whereas mold earth is a real mound (and real cover).. ALSO the biggest con is that in order to get it to become an at will spell (doesn't waste spell slots similar to a cantrip I would need to waste one of my precious invocation slots instead . Which can be really big factor.
So based off of the pros, cons and extra uses, which would you think is the best and most efficient spell that I can create cover and have other uses for as well?
A visual illusion can't provide cover. Cover is a physical obstruction, not a visual one. They're handy if you want to hide out of sight, but not for improving your AC.
Minor illusion can create an illusory object that is big enough for you to hide behind or within (assuming you're not Large+). However, if you're taller than 5 ft., you'll often have to be effectively prone if you're trying to attack from inside the illusion.
So it may not literally provide cover, but to an attacker, if they did not see me actually cast the spell, or if I animated a 'growth' like it would appear if I magically molded the earth for cover or 'grew a tree from the ground' with silent image then to the attacker's eyes, I am 'covered'. (which according to the DM may negate the +2 partial cover because the arrow simply went through the illusion and the attacker may just think he got a lucky shot.. but if I was fully covered, the attacker wouldn't even attempt because he has no LoS).
If i were to be blatant and literally attack through the illusion, then yea, everyone would know it's a fake and shoot through it... but I would be a little more subtle then that and move besides it, take a shot and go back behind it... So even if I don't take an action to hide myself, for all intents and purposes, wouldn't I remove my LoS from the attacker who STILL perceives it as a legitimate structure?
IMO the only difference between minor illusion and silent image (other then being able to animate my illusion) would be that I wouldn't have to crouch or get partial cover. The 15x15 space would give me full 'cover'. So this would be the biggest benefit when even comparing this to mold earth, which is a real, solid, physical form of cover (so it can't be discovered and made useless) but also would only provide a 5x5 cover (unless I had time before battle to do it twice.. unlike either illusion, I can simply clump up two mounds of earth).
Zee Bashew did a video on mold earth, which put it into a good light. I would choose that if it was more combat heavy. If it is more focused on the RP then take Silent Image.
Silent Image since it has other uses too but is DM dependent. Some are ok as Cover, others Concealment (arguably better). If the DM treats it like a see-through cartoon and doesn’t do the Intelligence checks, or says it does nothing then take something else.
The downside of silent image is that it is concentration. I think it's a great invocation, but if you're a fan of keeping hex up all day you might want to go a different direction.
I definitely think mold earth is the best from a combat/cover perspective with the caveat that you have to be standing on dirt.
Minor illusion is one of the most versatile cantrips in the game. It's less useful in combat than you might hope because it only takes one stray arrow for your DM to rule that as a physical interaction.
For versatility outside of combat, I think they're all great options. I'm less fond of silent image because of the invocation opportunity cost and the concentration requirement. I would also not try to forge documents with minor illusion because I wouldn't expect the illusion of ink to move with the real paper; minor illusions don't move.
Wow, thanks Pwhimp for pointing out that Silent Image requires concentration. That definitely knocks it down a few pegs as I do intend to have Hex or other concentration spells up. That's a shame. I know that the concentration mechanic is for balance but sheesh.. Some spells really shouldn't need to be concentrated on.. Some spells are just flat out ruined by it.
People keep saying that a player needs to target dirt, yet the description clearly states dirt OR stone so being outdoors in a forest or plain should work just as well as being in a cave or even a stone tower. The only time it wouldn't work is if you're on top of wood, or maybe like a palace or similar ornate structure with marble or similar floors... but I would think that as an adventurer, I will be standing on my fair share of both dirt and stone?
People keep saying that a player needs to target dirt, yet the description clearly states dirt OR stone so being outdoors in a forest or plain should work just as well as being in a cave or even a stone tower. The only time it wouldn't work is if you're on top of wood, or maybe like a palace or similar ornate structure with marble or similar floors... but I would think that as an adventurer, I will be standing on my fair share of both dirt and stone?
The most useful (in my opinion) effect of mold earth is only available on dirt.
"If you target an area of loose earth, you can instantaneously excavate it, move it along the ground, and deposit it up to 5 feet away. This movement doesn’t have enough force to cause damage."
Yes the spell targets stone or dirt, but the bullet point specifically requires "loose earth".
In one of my campaigns, we had a gnome wizard who constantly used Minor Illusion to be a rock. As a "rock" he would tend to use spells that weren't obvious "beams" like [Tooltip Not Found] but instead Sleep.
It became a friendly game between his creative usage for the gnome, and the DM with ways to thwart it without being a jerk.
So if I'm short wizard/sorcerer/warlock this has my vote.
Minor Illusion is also able to create sound, although not at the same time as an image. So you can use it to imitate the voice of anyone you've heard, you could create the sound of a growing beast or a knock on a door, you can also use it as a short range message, it also doesn't have verbal components do you can effectively speak of you're gagged, and you could even use it to roleplay a mute character.
TL;DR, Minor Illusion potentially has the most utility of any cantrip, even if you just use it to create sounds.
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They’re all great. It depends on your character and your playing style. I love all 3 of them.
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The illusion spells are much more practical because the mold earth spell only works on earth.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
A visual illusion can't provide cover. Cover is a physical obstruction, not a visual one. They're handy if you want to hide out of sight, but not for improving your AC.
Jeremy Crawford opinion:
So it may not literally provide cover, but to an attacker, if they did not see me actually cast the spell, or if I animated a 'growth' like it would appear if I magically molded the earth for cover or 'grew a tree from the ground' with silent image then to the attacker's eyes, I am 'covered'. (which according to the DM may negate the +2 partial cover because the arrow simply went through the illusion and the attacker may just think he got a lucky shot.. but if I was fully covered, the attacker wouldn't even attempt because he has no LoS).
If i were to be blatant and literally attack through the illusion, then yea, everyone would know it's a fake and shoot through it... but I would be a little more subtle then that and move besides it, take a shot and go back behind it... So even if I don't take an action to hide myself, for all intents and purposes, wouldn't I remove my LoS from the attacker who STILL perceives it as a legitimate structure?
IMO the only difference between minor illusion and silent image (other then being able to animate my illusion) would be that I wouldn't have to crouch or get partial cover. The 15x15 space would give me full 'cover'. So this would be the biggest benefit when even comparing this to mold earth, which is a real, solid, physical form of cover (so it can't be discovered and made useless) but also would only provide a 5x5 cover (unless I had time before battle to do it twice.. unlike either illusion, I can simply clump up two mounds of earth).
Zee Bashew did a video on mold earth, which put it into a good light. I would choose that if it was more combat heavy. If it is more focused on the RP then take Silent Image.
Silent Image since it has other uses too but is DM dependent. Some are ok as Cover, others Concealment (arguably better). If the DM treats it like a see-through cartoon and doesn’t do the Intelligence checks, or says it does nothing then take something else.
The downside of silent image is that it is concentration. I think it's a great invocation, but if you're a fan of keeping hex up all day you might want to go a different direction.
I definitely think mold earth is the best from a combat/cover perspective with the caveat that you have to be standing on dirt.
Minor illusion is one of the most versatile cantrips in the game. It's less useful in combat than you might hope because it only takes one stray arrow for your DM to rule that as a physical interaction.
For versatility outside of combat, I think they're all great options. I'm less fond of silent image because of the invocation opportunity cost and the concentration requirement. I would also not try to forge documents with minor illusion because I wouldn't expect the illusion of ink to move with the real paper; minor illusions don't move.
Wow, thanks Pwhimp for pointing out that Silent Image requires concentration. That definitely knocks it down a few pegs as I do intend to have Hex or other concentration spells up. That's a shame. I know that the concentration mechanic is for balance but sheesh.. Some spells really shouldn't need to be concentrated on.. Some spells are just flat out ruined by it.
Thanks for pointing it out.
People keep saying that a player needs to target dirt, yet the description clearly states dirt OR stone so being outdoors in a forest or plain should work just as well as being in a cave or even a stone tower. The only time it wouldn't work is if you're on top of wood, or maybe like a palace or similar ornate structure with marble or similar floors... but I would think that as an adventurer, I will be standing on my fair share of both dirt and stone?
The most useful (in my opinion) effect of mold earth is only available on dirt.
"If you target an area of loose earth, you can instantaneously excavate it, move it along the ground, and deposit it up to 5 feet away. This movement doesn’t have enough force to cause damage."
Yes the spell targets stone or dirt, but the bullet point specifically requires "loose earth".
To be more clear, you can only draw things on stone or make it difficult terrain.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
In one of my campaigns, we had a gnome wizard who constantly used Minor Illusion to be a rock. As a "rock" he would tend to use spells that weren't obvious "beams" like [Tooltip Not Found] but instead Sleep.
It became a friendly game between his creative usage for the gnome, and the DM with ways to thwart it without being a jerk.
So if I'm short wizard/sorcerer/warlock this has my vote.
Minor Illusion is also able to create sound, although not at the same time as an image. So you can use it to imitate the voice of anyone you've heard, you could create the sound of a growing beast or a knock on a door, you can also use it as a short range message, it also doesn't have verbal components do you can effectively speak of you're gagged, and you could even use it to roleplay a mute character.
TL;DR, Minor Illusion potentially has the most utility of any cantrip, even if you just use it to create sounds.