Level
Cantrip
Casting Time
1 Bonus Action
Range/Area
Self
Components
V, S, M *
Duration
1 Minute
School
Transmutation
Attack/Save
Melee
Damage/Effect
Bludgeoning (...)
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. If the attack deals damage, it can be Force damage or the weapon’s normal damage type (your choice).
The spell ends early if you cast it again or if you let go of the weapon.
Cantrip Upgrade. The damage die changes when you reach levels 5 (d10), 11 (d12), and 17 (2d6).
* - (mistletoe)
In the hands of a Druid, it's not really that great. It's like having a weak cantrip in exchange for it doing force damage (the ignore all damage resistance and immunity kind of damage).
In the hands of a martial it's wildly overpowered.
If you create an ability that is borderline useless in the hands of the class it's intended for, while at the same time being stupidly OP in the hands of literally anyone else, please don't do game design. If I wrote a bonus action cantrip that added 1d6 fire damage to my next attack it would be more balanced than this and I'd still be laughed off the stage.
Old shillelagh is reasonably good in the hands of a druid until level 11 where it immediately becomes obsoleted by other cantrips. Before then, 1d8+wis bludgeoning is better than Primal Savagery's 2d10 acid. You don't fix this by creating an OP weapon buff for other classes to poach.
(apologies for the math flood below.)
Lekkric70383 is right. It's not really the same, because the distribution is completely different.
WIth two dice, the probability is much higher for a roll of a 7 (1 in 6) than a roll of a 12 (1 in 36), where a 12-sided die, all of the results are even.
Here's why: There are six ways for two dice to add up to 7:
Die A=1 and Die B=6
Die B=2 and Die B=5
Die C=3 and Die B=4
(etc)
Here's a probability table
Result/# of ways/probability as percentage:
2 1/36 (2.778%)
3 2/36 (5.556%)
4 3/36 (8.333%)
5 4/36 (11.111%)
6 5/36 (13.889%)
7 6/36 (16.667%)
8 5/36 (13.889%)
9 4/36 (11.111%)
10 3/36 (8.333%)
11 2/36 (5.556%)
12 1/36 (2.778%)
"In bad faith" is pretty harsh language for something as trivial as a discussion over a cantrip. At my table, I let all weapon buffs and features apply to the pole strike, regardless of the source: vicious weapon, elemental weapon, shillelagh, divine smite, whatever. A hit with a weapon is a hit with a weapon, tip to tail. It's fun for my players and in practical use there's no noticeable imbalance. But, if your DM is of a different opinion, have the good grace to accept the ruling and move on.
No the average of 1d12 is 6.5 and the average of 2d6 is 7. The max is the same but the min for 1d12 is 1 and for 2d6 is 2.
I share this opinion. For most characters, we’re talking about investing two feats in Magic Initiate and Polearm Master to upgrade a single 1d4 bonus action attack. For most of your career, that’s a few points of damage per round, and in many combat rounds (including your first to cast Shillelagh) you’re using your bonus action for something else anyway. It’s not game breaking, and fun for a player who wants to spend their feats on a specific build.
Yes and no. The absolute maximum damage is the same but the minimum isn't. 2D6 damage can do no less than 2 damage, but a d12's minimum damage output is 1. So while the max damage potential of 2d6 and d12 is 12, one will always at least do 2 damage, the other won't.
Warlock 1. Cha 17, Pact of the Tome for Shillelagh and Truestrike.
Warlock 2. Agonizing Blast on Shillelagh and Truestrike. My club damage is d8+3+3+3?
Yes or no?
Warlock 4. Warcaster. Cha 18
Warlock 5. Pact of the Blade, Thirsting Blade, I now have the option of d10+d6+4+4+4 Truestrike or two d10+4+4 attacks?
Celestial Warlock 6. Radiant Soul, my Truestrike does d10+d6+4+4+4+4...
I believe this is roughly on par with just Eldritch Blasting.
I've been looking at a Paladin/Warlock "1 big attack per round" build that uses the above in addition to Aasimar/Radiant Soul/double smite (double smite comes online at level 8). At level 6 my damage spread is 18 to 32 for an average of ~25 with the option to drop some 5d8 smites.
Any insight is appreciated.
Warlock 1. Cha 17, Pact of the Tome for Shillelagh and Truestrike.
Warlock 2. Agonizing Blast on Shillelagh and Truestrike. My club damage is d8+3+3+3?
Yes or no?
Warlock 4. Warcaster. Cha 18
Warlock 5. Pact of the Blade, Thirsting Blade, I now have the option of d10+d6+4+4+4 Truestrike or two d10+4+4 attacks?
Celestial Warlock 6. Radiant Soul, my Truestrike does d10+d6+4+4+4+4...
I believe this is roughly on par with just Eldritch Blasting.
I've been looking at a Paladin/Warlock "1 big attack per round" build that uses the above in addition to Aasimar/Radiant Soul/double smite (double smite comes online at level 8). At level 6 my damage spread is 18 to 32 for an average of ~25 with the option to drop some 5d8 smites.
Any insight is appreciated.
for some reason when this is rolling from D&D beyond digitally it's taking the force damage and the bludgeoning damage and adding them instead of being either or.
the roller for this is bugged at the moment. it should be doing force OR bludgeoning damage but the values are being added together instead.
The new Sage Advice published today clarifies specifically that the damage die for Polearm Master's bonus action attack remains a d4 even if Shillelagh is cast on the weapon in question: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/sae/sage-advice-compendium#SAC-Spells-Shillelagh1
On the d12 vs 2d6, although the minimum and average are higher for 2d6, the range for a higher result is superior on a d12. You have a 3/12 or 25% chance of rolling a 10 or above on a d12, but only a 6/36 (2/12) or 16.6% chance of getting a 10 or higher on 2d6. A 9 or above is 33% on a d12, and still only 27.7% on 2d6. You finally break even at a result of 8 or higher, with both being 41.6%.
On low numbers, you have a 16.6% chance of rolling a 2 or less on a d12, but only an 8.3% chance of rolling 2 or less on 2d6.
I feel like the 2d6 isn't necessarily more prized for being higher damage, but for being more consistently average. The d12 might be the superior choice for abilities that only let you reroll one of an attack's die.