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Shillelagh cantrip1/6/2024 ![]() Now, I like the idea - I'm a big fan of enchanting weapons on-the-spot to target weaknesses, and swordmages are among my favorite archetypes - but I'm not entirely sure how to make a balanced cantrip that does what you're looking for perhaps a bonus action to add +1 elemental damage to weapon attacks for a round, growing with level. You may note that all of the cantrips I'm using for comparison have different costs - eldritch blast requires use of a class feature, booming blade loses almost half its potential damage if the enemy decides not to move, and shillelagh requires a multi-attacker to invest in Wisdom.Īrcane resonance has a higher damage ceiling than any of them, costs nothing but an action, and allows you to change the damage type to ensure you're always targeting a weakness. However, looking at the potential output, a full attack from a fighter armed with a shillelagh-enhanced weapon deals 4d8+4xWis - 4-52, depending on their Wisdom. Shillelagh adds up to a +6 bonus to attack and up to +10 damage, depending on the weapon and how poor your strength was to begin with. Shillelagh is an interesting case, and I can see, in a vacuum, why you might have thought arcane resonance was balanced against it. By way of comparison, let's examine eldritch blast, booming blade, and shillelagh.Įldritch blast, in the hands of a warlock with Agonizing Blast, deals 4d10+4xCha - 4-60, depending on their Charisma.īooming blade, assuming a greatsword again, deals 2d6+3d8+Str, and potentially another 4d8 - total potential damage of 5-73, of which 4-32 - almost half - is dependent on the enemy deciding to take it. If they're using a greatsword, that's 8d6+4d4+4xStr damage, or 12-84, depending on their Strength. Your cantrip, as written, lets a high-level fighter throw out an extra 4d4 a round, which doesn't seem bad at all on the surface, but you have to factor in their weapon damage as well. It's useful for melee casters, certainly, but it's hardly balanced. So, you have a cantrip that's a more potent version of an already existing first level spell - I'd probably put its effective power level somewhere between first and second levels. Arcane resonance doesn't require concentration and lasts up to 5.ĭivine favor is locked to a single element, while arcane resonance can easily be changed to whatever element is most beneficial. Having a cantrip do the same thing as a first-level spell is already problematic, to say the least, but the problems don't end there.ĭivine favor requires concentration and lasts up to a minute. So, the closest comparison to what you have here is divine favor, a first-level paladin spell.
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