Create Bonfire: Arson Made Easy
Usable By: Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Spell Level: Cantrip
School: Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Components: V, S
You create a bonfire on ground that you can see within range. Until the spell ends, the bonfire fills a 5-foot cube. Any creature in the bonfire’s space when you cast the spell must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 fire damage. A creature must also make the saving throw when it enters the bonfire’s space for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there.
At Higher Levels. The spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Fire Bolt: 1d10 with a decent range as a cantrip. This sets the standard for most of the other damaging cantrips. If it's not doing 1d10 damage, it needs to be doing something else meaningful. Create Bonfire is the next step up; 1d8 damage, but it has the potential to deal more than one instance of damage. Beyond just numerical advantages, Create Bonfire opens up way more interesting play experiences for the fire starters among us. This is an all star staple wizards will be picking up over Firebolt consistently for the rest of time.
Controlling areas in tight corridors is something most characters will want to do sometimes, but won’t need to do all the time. Create Bonfire will always be a decent option to just throw out there while also covering that scenario. Worst case scenario, you get a 1d8 fire damage cantrip; best case, you can cut off a path creatures have to move through, potentially getting multiple hits with it a round. Without the upside, it's nearly as good as Firebolt; if you’re ever hitting more than one creature with this, this starts to outclass 1st level spells in the higher tiers, and can actually be something you have incentive to cast as the game progresses.
The damage scales with the number of creatures passing through the area. Spending a single action to deal 1d8 damage to a creature is fine. Dealing 1d8 to two creatures for an action is great; if you ever get more than two creatures, this spell is 3d8 damage for a cantrip at 1st level. That’s bananas, and while unlikely to occur that often, makes the potential upside you’re trading worth it over the d10 damage Firebolt offers.
Having these clear windows of strength is something I want out of spells. Cantrips are designed to be reliable tools that you want to use consistently. They are how spellcasters match martial characters in reliable attacks. Create Bonfire isn’t fancy, but levels up cantrips dramatically. Every class that can take this can seriously consider using it as their only damaging cantrip and get what they need out of a damaging cantrip with it. It eating concentration will make it challenging for some builds to integrate easily, but if you’re not going into Hex builds or managing summons, this is probably the best damaging cantrip in the game.
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