Level
Cantrip
Casting Time
1 Bonus Action
Range/Area
Touch
Components
V, S, M *
Duration
1 Minute
School
Transmutation
Attack/Save
Melee
Damage/Effect
Bludgeoning
The wood of a club or quarterstaff you are holding is imbued with nature's power. For the duration, you can use your spellcasting ability instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of melee attacks using that weapon, and the weapon's damage die becomes a d8. The weapon also becomes magical, if it isn't already. The spell ends if you cast it again or if you let go of the weapon.
* - (mistletoe, a shamrock leaf, and a club or quarterstaff)
WoTC will eventually end up making a feat that lets you choose a druid cantrip, and which of the three mental scores you want to use for it. Divinely Favored came so close...
RAW: To hold a weapon, the weapon must be in your hands. Your familiar holding the weapon is NOT "you" holding the weapon. Which means: even if you could use Find Familiar's "Deliver Touch Spells" to empower a weapon you aren't holding, Shillelagh will end immediately as per it's last line.
HOWEVER, if the "Rule of Cool" prevails and you are allowed to enhance someone else's weapon: the weapon would use YOUR Wis modifier for Attack and Damage rolls (unless the wielder's attacking stat is higher), but THEIR Proficiency bonus (assuming they are Proficient in Clubs and/or Quarterstaffs, which all PC's are, but NPC's and Familiars are not).
I strongly suggest, if you want to do something like this, you consider taking the Magic Stone cantrip instead. Magic Stone does everything Shillelagh does (with slightly lower average damage per attack), has no restrictions on who/what can attack with them (including Familiars), and always uses your full Spell Attack modifier. Bonus: as both a Spell Attack *and* a Ranged Weapon Attack, Magic Stone could benefit further from abilities like Spell Sniper, Sharpshooter, Sneak Attack, or Elemental Cleaver.
This spell has 3 effects, which last as long as you hold the weapon, or up to 1 minute (whichever ends first):
1. Turns any stick (including a Club or Quarterstaff) into a Magic Weapon (Important for overcoming Resistances)
2. Sets the weapon's Damage to 1d8+Wis (overwriting any existing damage dice it had)
3. Allows you to use Wis for the weapon's Attack Roll, instead of Str.
Our druid used this to move a log in a obstacle course (moving it was required and he had a very low strength.) he wasn’t even able to move it the full distance after that. ShillelaghIng on someone’s log became a double entendre.
Shi-lay-lee is how I have always understood it is pronounced
The last time I played a Druid I had trouble pronouncing it so I started calling the spell "big stick energy"
I know it’s been years … but I would say YES, the damage of a quarterstaff with shillelagh should be D8 -one handed and D10 -two handed. I say this because the spell says the damage die increased to D8, but it doesn’t say your quarterstaff loses the versatile property. Plus, the entire point of the spell is to buff your weak wooden weapon in every way.
Rules as written, the spell ends when you cast it again. Therefore, when you cast the spell on the second weapon, it ends on the first weapon.
This spell would be really good if only that pesky last sentence were removed! Dual weilding or enchanting your allies' weapons would be sick.
Shil-Lay-Lee
No, can only cast it on one club.
This gave me the idea of a multiclass Druid/Sorcerer using Twinned Spell to Shillelagh two clubs at the same time and dual-wield them. Technically this is not allowed, since as written the Twinned Spell feature says it only works on spells that target "only one creature" and this doesn't target a creature, but honestly it's such a cool image that if I were DMing I'd probably let someone do it.
Shillelagh sets your weapon dice to d8, it doesn't add a d8; it also doesn't seem to scale with level like other cantrips. It also costs a bonus action, so you'd have to do it across multiple turns
I know it's been 6 years but I hope this information finds you well lol; I was listening to critical role c2 during the fight in the Sour Nest, listening to Neela using her shillelagh to crack skulls, and decided to look up the spell
Does this spell works only on a club and quarterstaff or on any wooden weapon?
Under Rules As Written, it only works on a club or a quarterstaff. These are the only melee weapons listed in the Player's Handbook that would reasonably be made entirely of wood anyway, but you can certainly bring it up with your DM if you want to work out something different.