Summary
If you’re playing a spellcaster inDungeons & Dragons, at character creation, you’ll get to pick a handful of cantrips, which are basically free-to-cast spells that you always have prepared and can always cast. Typically, these spells aren’t necessarily all that powerful. They tend to do minimal damage or have somewhat useless effects.
However, there are some cantrips that, for their level, can actually be broken or even feel OP in the right circumstances. So, if you’re wondering which cantrips to pick for your character, look no further than this list. Here are some of the most broken cantrips in Dungeons & Dragons.
Concentration?
No
Spare the Dying is one of those powerful cantrips that’s so hilariously broken it’s hard to believe it still exists. When you touch a creature and cast this spell, you stabilize an unconscious creature with zero hit points. This means that they no longer have to make death saves.
At the very least, this should be a level one spell. The fact that you may cast this spell for free is somewhat absurd. Truly, the only deterrent with this spell is that it’s touch-based, but even that’s not too difficult to manage most of the time.
When you cast this spell, you create a circle of swords that swirls around you. Any creature in melee range of you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 force damage.
This effect is pretty straightforward, but there’s a key caveat worth highlighting in this spell. First, there’s no limit to the number of creatures this can target. That means, if four enemies are surrounding you, you may potentially do 4d6 cumulative damage to the group around you just by using a cantrip. That’s pretty impactful for a free-to-cast spell. Plus, for spellcasters who want to keep enemies out of melee range, this spell is a good deterrent.
30 feet
This spell has two key effects. First, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 1d4 necrotic damage. Obviously, this damage isn’t that great. But if they fail their save, they also fall prone. At lower levels, knocking an enemy prone can prove extremely useful.
If you’re dealingwith a ranged combatant, sure, this spell won’t work as well. But if you’re trying to get a squishy ally out of harm’s way, or just keep an enemy away from you, knocking them prone is a great way to do so. In this way, you can make sure that you can put more distance between yourself and enemies, which is always helpful for wizards.
60 feet
Like most of the other powerful cantrips on this list, this spell is super useful thanks to the fact that it does damage and also has a secondary effect. Cantrips that can do more than one thing in a single round are always so useful, particularly at lower levels of play when your action economy is severely reduced.
When you cast this spell, the target of your attack must make an Intelligence saving throw or take 1d6 psychic damage. From there, they must subtract 1d4 from their next saving throw (which must be made before the end of your next turn). Obviously, the duration cap on this spell can be a bit of a drawback, but if you team up with your allies and communicate well, you can use this spell super effectively to ensure your ally’s next spell succeeds.
This is a particularly great cantripfor a hexblade warlock, or any spellcaster in the above classes that has a weapon in addition to their spellcasting. When you cast this spell, you can attack with a weapon of your choosing, dealing damage as normal with said weapon. However, you can also cause an eruption of green fire to leap from the first target to a different creature.
This basically allows you to make two attacks for the price of one. Obviously, the damage for the second attack is pretty weak (only equal to your spellcasting modifier), but that can increase significantly at higher levels, meaning this cantrip only gets better with age.
This next cantrip is an interesting onefor roleplay-heavy campaigns, and only gets more powerful as you level up. When you cast this spell, you can pull a memory, idea, or message from your mind and create a tangible node of energy that lasts for eight hours. From there, if you cast the cantrip again, you receive the thought again.
At first glance, this spell might seem useless. However, there are two important caveats to note. One, when you remove the memory through the thought strand, technically speaking, your thoughts can’t be read, so this keeps secret information private. Two, if you cast a spell like Detect Thoughts or Modify Memory in conjunction with this spell, then you can use this effect on your target’s thoughts instead. There are a lot of creative ways to use this cantrip.
Yes, up to 1 minute
Resistance is a great support-based cantrip that often goes underappreciated. When you cast this spell on a willing creature, the target can roll a d4 and add that number to a saving throw of their choice. This effect lasts for one minute, meaning they have a choice as to when they might want to use it. However, they can only use it once.
Still, for a cantrip, being able to buff a saving throw in this way is immensely helpful. At lower levels of play, this can quite literally mean the difference between life and death.
Shocking Grasp is another simple, to-the-point cantrip that can prove immensely useful in the right circumstances. First, when you cast this spell, on a hit, the target takes 1d8 lightning damage. When you hit, they also can’t take reactions, meaning you may avoid attacks of opportunity from them if you’re trying to get out of melee range. This is a great added bonus.
Plus, if the target you cast this on is wearing metal armor, you automatically have advantage, no questions asked. This cantrip has so many uses beyond just the initial damage it does, and it’s really easy to get extra buffs like advantage thanks to the ubiquity of metal armor in Dungeons & Dragons.
When you cast this spell, you cause your teeth and fingernails to sharpen, preparing yourself to attack another creature. You can then make a melee spell attack against a creature. On a hit, they take 1d10 acid damage.
1d10 damage on a cantrip is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, this cantrip gives druids some melee prowess, which isn’t always their strong suit. Rounding out a character in this way with a simple cantrip can prove immensely powerful. Plus, you can talk to your DM about how corrosive the acid damage might prove to someone wearing metal armor. You might just be able to weaken their defenses with this attack.
Self (15-foot radius)
Most cantrips only have a single effect, which makes spells like Lightning Lure so impactful, particularly for multiclass characters that can cast spells. When you cast this spell, you send out a whip of lightning that strikes a target within 15 feet of you. They must succeed on a Strength-saving throw or be pulled ten feet toward you, subsequently taking 1d8 lightning damage.
If you may pull enemies into melee range with you, this leaves you perfectly positioned for a bonus action strike with a light weapon, or another melee cantrip that’s a bonus action if you have one available. At lower levels of play, being able to attack quickly twice in this way can prove immensely useful.
