Level
Cantrip
Casting Time
1 Action
Range/Area
30 ft
Components
S
Duration
Concentration
1 Round
School
Divination
Attack/Save
None
Damage/Effect
Foreknowledge
You point a finger at a target in range. Your magic grants you a brief insight into the target's defenses. On your next turn, you gain advantage on your first attack roll against the target, provided that this spell hasn't ended.
Blade of Disaster is the only 9th level spell with an attack roll, and it would only work on the very first attack (you get two per turn for one minute).
I'd fix it by removing the concentration requirement and giving advantage on all attack rolls on your next turn. It's still cantrip, so it should be situational.
Not a worth while spell to pick. However if are a wizard and you happen to come across a spell scroll then learn it
You can then make magic item imbued with the spell to give it to melee party members. They can use the item before the surprise round.
Little late here but hear me out, i'm new to DnD and DMing in general but i think (from reading all the answears) that people is taking this part " Your magic grants you a brief insight into the target's defenses." as flavor text, something to make the spell sound cool, when in reality i could be use to give the PC's some information about their enemies.
I been running the Frozen Sick campaign with 3 new players and there was a point where they had to fight 2 Animated Armors, since this was their first time fighting a "magical creature" they didn't know how to handle them, so our wizard use True Strike (again, a new player) expecting to get some usefull information about the monster, so as the DM that exactly what i did. I told them the AC of the monster, damage and condition inmunities and the "antimagic susceptibility" that the monster have because i read it as a weakness/defense the monster have and can be good for the party to know.
At the end of the day, my players didn't do anything exceptional to beat the Animated armors (they end up just rolling high and hitting them to death) but as soon as they knew what they can and cannot do, they were able to relaxed and just have fun.
I think this is the best way to implement the spell. Well done!
Perhaps marginally useful as a Bladesinger? You could use it as the second part of your multiattack in cases where you killed your target with the first attack. But this means you can't have any other concentrationspells going, which is bad.
This is the reason I took True Strike for my Sorlock to use in combat encounters. I want to be able to use Quickened Spell on my first round of combat so that I can still cast a spell then use True Strike as a bonus action to gain "insight into the target's defenses." On my next turn, having learned what the target is/is not resistant or immune to or any other useful info the DM divulges, I would use that knowledge to assist me in my selection of a spell for the next round while also attacking with advantage. I have not had an opportunity to use this in combat yet since picking it up, but I am hoping my DM reads "Your magic grants you a brief insight into the target's defenses" in the same way . Also, as stated in the comment above, I could also speak out loud to the rest of the party and inform them of my discovery to aid them in their attacks as well. If this is mechanically unsound please let me know as this was the only reason I picked up this cantrip.
Can't you get spell scrolls of cantrips?
The general consensus is that this spell is worthless as written, so what if it was rewritten to work exactly like Guidance and Resistance, but for attack rolls instead of ability checks and saving throws?
"You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one attack roll of its choice. It can roll the die before or after making the ability check. The spell then ends."
Still an action to cast and it still requires concentration. Range is reduced to Touch, but that's for the recipient (yourself or an ally), not the target of the attack, so the actual range is that of the weapon or spell used. Advantage is generally valued as a +5 to a roll, so reducing that value to a d4's average bonus of +2.5 would give the spell room to be improved in other areas like duration and versatility.
What do you think, would this salvage True Strike as a viable cantrip?
Quickened Spell metamagic option could work nicely with this, but having to spend 2 sorcery points is not a cheap way to get the advantage.
Still could be nice combo for casting a high damage spell against a boss. Nice example for 3rd lvl human sorcerer with Spell Sniper feat and Distant Spell as second metamagic option:
1st turn: cast damaging, non concentration spell (say Chromatic Orb) using the second highest available spell slot (still 2nd if not used yet, 4d8 dmg on hit) as action, quicken True Strike (2 sorcery points, has to be within 30 ft) as bonus action, back up as far as possible
2nd turn: cast Witch Bolt as a 2nd lvl spell with advantage, use distant spell (1 sorcery point, with Spell Sniper Witch Bolt becomes 120 ft range) as your action, keep your distance from the boss with your movement
next 9 rounds: remember the Emperor? Put down that Sunblade and keep frying! 120ft, 2d12, no attack required.
This is can be scaled nicely for higher levels. Other than quickening I don't really see much valid uses for it - well, maybe magic ammunition. Bonus action default casting time would be much appreciated.
War Magic (EK 7) was mentioned here before, but casting a cantrip will nullify your Extra Attack (Fighter 5), so you would be sacrificing one attack to gain advantage on your next turn for the first attack. I wouldn't recommend it.
Gaining information on resistances and weaknesses of the enemy would also make it way too powerful for a cantrip, especially on higher levels.
Its not advantage on your next attack. It starts on your first attack in your next turn.
have fun however you want, but none of this is RAW
I mean... keep it at 30 feet and make it the Cantrip Version of the Help action (You give someone else Advantage) and it would still only be an ok cantrip, but at least still usefull for example as a support bard player against a target with a high Wisdom save that makes Vicious Mockery not an Option...
Other than that, the only way I see this ever having any use would be the following very rare situation: You have no range options and cant reach your target this round unless you dash, and so instead of dashing into the targets range to just stand there you spend you action this turn casting true strike, so next turn you reach the target and attack with advantage... This is the only situation I can imagine where this is usefull.
Or maybe if you cast it exactly the moment before Battle starts "I ready my Action to cast True Strike when we have to roll initiative!" or something like that...
Thats two. But thats as much as I can imagine...
sadly witch bolt doesn't work like that, otherwise you would be on to a decent use of true strike. The spell states that only the initial damage from witch bolt is increased by spell level, the auto hit every turn after is still only 1d12. Still useful at low levels where it deals a little more damage than most cantrips, but very quickly dies off after 5th level, and still more useful than true strike.
I have read the comments, pondered for a bit, and my conclusion is that while this spell is not utterly useless, one has to be quite inventive and really search for the specific combos in which it isnt. The very specific wording makes most concieved ideas void.
Any scenario where you trade a standard or bonus attack action, for example haste, bladesinger or eldritch knight, you are always better off just attacking twice. Rolling two dice has just three outcomes, FF, FS and SS. In two of the cases the result is exactly the same between attacking twice or with advantage, but on two successes, you miss out on a hit if you pick advantage. In the end action economy is king, and any use of true strike that foregoes an attack is bad, unless that attack comes with extra costs, for example:
In theory it can help spellcasters get more value out of their slots. For this to be valuable I feel the DM must run a game in which the encounters are really deadly, and slots really matter from lack of rest. I need a seasoned crawl DM to verify this, but I'm not sure if the loss of action economy by only casting spells every second turn is ever going to be balanced by an increase in spell hits. If the encounters are many weak creatures you are better off slinging many cantrips, and if it's a few big boys just passing for a turn can cost you your rogue. Besides, switching to buffing spells or spells relying on saves are always options.
Certain other scenarios can be concieved where every action or attack has some negative effect back at the character. A DM can decide the spitting cobra-hydra cannot see you when you are standing still, but will as a reaction make you take poison damage for every attack you take, one reaction per head. (Not kidding, DM:s can do sh*t like that). In that and similar circumstances, you might want to make sure you hit every time. Most basic rules where this applies, it only applies to hits though (agathys, fire shield etc.) thus cancelling the benefit.
One use that isn't talked about much is it's use outside of, or more specifically, just before combat. Depending on your DM:s rule, the pointing can be considered the somatic component (the ONLY component) which can be interpreted as the spell is undetectable and can be cast in any situation that seems to be turning sour, BEFORE initiative is rolled. If initiative hasn't been rolled, technically your next turn will be the first turn of combat, and concentrating or recasting won't be a problem if the vague timeframe of a round runs out. So a character with True Strike could potentially just always have advantage on their first turn in combat, as long as they weren't surprised.
Which leads me to the elven assassin. Any rogue who isn't a swashbuckler or inquisitive could benefit from true strike in fights where they are alone and cannot benefit from sneak attack's secondary condition. As soon as you reach a level where sneak attack damage is more than double your regular damage, that is.
Also assassins who make best use of their damage early in the initiative order before people are in position, can be deadly without being hidden or backed up. Just straight up dagger to the face. For this to happen the assassin need to be elven to be able to know a cantrip though. Same goes for other rogues who aren't tricksters.
The last use is due to the fact that the target is not necessarily a creature. If you hide in the crowd and need to cut that hangmans rope at the right moment with a well tossed spadroon, or you are in a high stakes dart tournament, true strike will help you big time. As long as initiative/turn order isn't activated.
Summary: If you are a lone elven assassin, travelling around bars making their living from dart tournaments where the target is closer than 30 feet, and who are prone to initiating barfights, pick this as your racial cantrip. Otherwise, you probably shouldn't bother .
The spell could be used by a Rogue Arcane Trickster to guarantee a Sneak Attack on their next turn if stealth isn't an option and no conscious allies adjacent to the target. The spell only has Somatic components so you could in theory use it to sneak attack someone while standing right in front of them.
You somehow got separated from your group. You need to eliminate a person that's being extra vigilant, but isn't aggressive. Walk up to the person that's on guard or being extra vigilant, point to them and say "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Next turn Sneak Attack without stealth or an ally
Just attack twice instead...
or oif you really have to hit a sneak attack, use steady aim...
Steady aim is optional, ie won't be used at most tables, and requires you not to move and reduces your speed to 0.
The use cases for True Strike where the benefit outweighs the cost are:
- Triggering Sneak Attack when no other options are available and Sneak Attack deals more than half your total damage
- Used before a fight to gain advantage on round 1
- Used before a spell that uses a slot and an attack roll to increase per slot efficiency
- When there is a downside to attacking or missing that you want to avoid (make a judgement based on your chance to hit vs the cost of missing)
- When you have Elven Accuracy and you are unlikely to hit the enemy (make a judgement based on chance to hit vs damage)
This is a good spell to take if you are playing a High Elf Archer. High Elves learn one wizard cantrip for free, and this could be a great one for sharpshooters. It basically means that you are more likely to hit something if you take your time with one precise shot. Since this spell requires concentration, it is perfect for archers, because it works better if you stay out of the fray. In melee combat, it will be hard to use it unless if you have taken the War Caster feat.
There's several comments pointing out combos to use this in conjunction with high level spells that consume a spell slot. However, many of the examples given are for concentration spells.
Casting a concentration spell immediately ends your concentration on True Strike; the spell ends before you can gain it's benefit. So Blade of Disaster, Mordenkainen's Sword, Vampiric Touch, Witch Bolt etc, can never gain the benefit from True Strike.
This would combo well with a spell like Contagion, as the goal isn't to damage the opponent (where usually two attacks are better than one with advantage).
In terms of dealing damage, the highest damage qualifying ranged spell would be a 9th level Acid Arrow (average of 50 damage; Cause Wounds would deal 60.5 but it's melee). 2 Fire Bolts at that level would deal 44 average damage. So using a level 9 slot on Acid Arrow would only be slightly better than just casting Fire Bolt twice (though you ARE more likely to hit), and there are numerous spells that would do far more damage with a 9th level slot that can't be used with True Strike.
Other than for Contagion, I don't see any spells where it would be more worthwhile to spend two turns to gain advantage on one spell, rather than attacking once with that spell normally and then using a cantrip on the next turn.
I'm gonna dish a hot take with just two words: High-Elf Assassins