by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Cantrip Necromancy spell available to Clerics, Warlocks, and Wizards. It deals 1d12 Necrotic against a wounded target, or 1d8 if the target is at full health. That 1d12 is the biggest damage die any cantrip rolls.
Spell description: Ring the bell of impending doom. If the target is at full health, you deal 1d8 Necrotic damage instead of 1d12.
Spell properties
- Damage: 1d12 Necrotic, or 1d8 if the target is at full Hit Points
- Damage type: Necrotic
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Save: WIS save
- Cost: Action
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
At character level 5, damage increases to 2d12 Necrotic (2d8 if the target is undamaged). At character level 10, it increases to 3d12 Necrotic (3d8 if undamaged).
How to obtain Toll of the Dead
- Cleric, Warlock, Wizard at Class level 1
- Death Domain (Cleric) at Class level 1, as a Domain Spell
- Eldritch Knight (Fighter) and Arcane Trickster (Rogue) at Class level 3
- High Elf and High Half-Elf at Character level 1
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Cleric, Warlock, or Wizard
Damage:
1-12
1d12, Necrotic
Ring the bell of impending doom. A wounded target takes 1d12 Necrotic; a target at full health takes 1d8.
When to cast Toll of the Dead
This is the hardest-hitting damage cantrip in the game, as long as the target has already taken a scratch. Use it as your follow-up: someone chips the enemy, then you ring the bell for a full 1d12, scaling all the way to 3d12.
It is a Wisdom save with no attack roll, so it ignores Armour Class but whiffs entirely against high-Wisdom enemies. Against the average wounded target it is the best cantrip a Cleric or Wizard can throw.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Cantrip Divination spell available to Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. It grants Advantage on your next Attack Roll against a target. It looks useful and is, in practice, a trap.
Spell description: Divine a character’s defences to give you Advantage on your next Attack Roll against it.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 2 turns
- Concentration spell
- Cost: Action
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
This cantrip does not scale.
How to obtain True Strike
- Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard at Class level 1
- Arcane Archer (Fighter), Arcane Trickster (Rogue), and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
- High Elf and High Half-Elf at Character level 1
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard
Divine a creature’s defences to give you Advantage on your next Attack Roll against it.
When to cast True Strike
The maths does not work. You spend a whole Action to get Advantage on one later attack, which means two turns to make one good hit instead of just attacking twice. You are almost always better off casting a real damage cantrip now.
It is also Concentration, so it competes with anything worth holding. There are edge cases, setting up a guaranteed critical with a big smite, but for most builds this is a cantrip to leave unprepared.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Cantrip Enchantment spell available to Bards. It deals 1d4 Psychic and, on a failed Wisdom save, hands the target Disadvantage on its next Attack Roll. Small damage, real control.
Spell description: Unleash a string of enchanted insults at a creature. It takes damage and receives Disadvantage on its next Attack Roll.
Spell properties
- Damage: 1d4 Psychic
- Damage type: Psychic
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 1 turn
- Save: WIS save
- Condition: Disadvantage on its next Attack Roll
- Cost: Action
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
At character level 5, damage increases to 2d4 Psychic. At character level 10, damage increases to 3d4 Psychic.
How to obtain Vicious Mockery
- Bard at Class level 1
- Pact of the Tome (Warlock) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Bard
Damage:
1-4
1d4, Psychic
Unleash enchanted insults at a creature. It takes Psychic damage and has Disadvantage on its next Attack Roll.
When to cast Vicious Mockery
You do not cast this for the damage. You cast it to make the enemy’s next attack miss, which on the boss about to swing at your fragile ally is worth far more than the 1d4. It is ranged, it needs no attack roll, and Psychic is rarely resisted.
The Wisdom save means disciplined enemies shrug it off, but against the average brute it lands often. It is the Bard’s bread-and-butter cantrip: a little damage and a little defence, every single turn.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Cantrip Evocation spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. It deals 1d8 Lightning and, more importantly, stops the target taking Reactions until your next turn.
Spell description: Lightning springs from your hand and prevents the target from taking reactions. You have Advantage when using this spell on creatures wearing metal armour.
Spell properties
- Damage: 1d8 Lightning
- Damage type: Lightning
- Range: Melee (1.5m)
- Duration: 1 turn
- Attack type: Melee spell Attack Roll
- Condition: Cannot take Reactions
- Cost: Action
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
At character level 5, damage increases to 2d8 Lightning. At character level 10, damage increases to 3d8 Lightning.
How to obtain Shocking Grasp
- Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 1
- Eldritch Knight (Fighter) and Arcane Trickster (Rogue) at Class level 3
- High Elf and High Half-Elf at Character level 1
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Sorcerer, Magic Initiate: Wizard, Spell Sniper
Damage:
1-8
1d8, Lightning
Lightning springs from your hand and prevents the target from taking Reactions. Advantage against metal armour.
When to cast Shocking Grasp
The no-Reactions clause is the trick. Hit an enemy with Shocking Grasp and you can walk away without an opportunity attack, which is exactly what a Wizard caught in melee wants. It also shuts down enemy Reaction abilities for a turn.
You get Advantage against anything in metal armour, so it lands reliably on the heavily armoured brutes who are usually the ones you most want to disengage from. Niche, but genuinely useful on a squishy caster.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Cantrip Evocation spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. It deals 1d8 Cold and slows the target’s Movement Speed by 3m. The slow is what makes it more than a damage cantrip.
Spell description: Call forth a frigid beam of blue-white light and reduce the target’s Movement Speed by 3m.
Spell properties
- Damage: 1d8 Cold
- Damage type: Cold
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 1 turn
- Attack type: Attack roll
- Condition: Movement Speed reduced by 3m
- Cost: Action
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
At character level 5, damage increases to 2d8 Cold. At character level 10, damage increases to 3d8 Cold.
How to obtain Ray of Frost
- Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 1
- Eldritch Knight (Fighter) and Arcane Trickster (Rogue) at Class level 3
- College of Lore (Bard) at Class level 6 via Magical Secrets
- Bard at Class level 10 via Magical Secrets
- High Elf and High Half-Elf at Character level 1
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Sorcerer, Magic Initiate: Wizard, Spell Sniper
- Source item: Mourning Frost
Damage:
1-8
1d8, Cold
Call forth a frigid beam that deals Cold damage and reduces the target’s Movement Speed by 3m.
When to cast Ray of Frost
It is a solid all-round attack cantrip with a bonus: the slow helps you kite melee enemies who are already struggling to reach you. Chip damage plus a little control for one Action.
Cold also plays into the wet-and-freeze combos, and it feeds Chilled and Encrusted with Frost effects from certain items. A dependable default cantrip for an arcane caster.
Range: 18m (60ft)
Save: WIS save
Duration: 2 turns 
