Green Flame Blade: Eco Stabbing

Usable By: Artificer, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Spell Level: Cantrip

School: Evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self (5-foot radius)

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: S, M (a melee weapon worth at least 1 sp)

You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects, and you can cause green fire to leap from the target to a different creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of it. The second creature takes fire damage equal to your spellcasting ability modifier.

At Higher Levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d8 fire damage to the target on a hit, and the fire damage to the second creature increases to 1d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. Both damage rolls increase by 1d8 at 11th level (2d8 and 2d8) and 17th level (3d8 and 3d8).

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

The Gish archetype is generally thought of as a hybrid magic user and martial fighter. In one hand they brandish a longsword, and in the other a spellbook. Arcane Tricksters, Eldritch Knights, and Bladesingers are clear examples of these two separate worlds merging together to create something different. The cantrips presented in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide seek to supplement that play style; Green-Flame Blade offers you a neat little cleaving style effect, but struggles to make a major impact.

Rules wise, Green-Flame Blade gives you a melee weapon attack roll when cast. The silver piece or more rule functions as a way to exclude some improvised weapons, which is kind of dumb, but doesn’t take away any of the simple or martial options most characters casting this would have. The attack still qualifies for all the normal things that you get to do when you make a melee weapon attack; you can divine smite with it, sneak attack can apply to the attack's damage, etc.

What sets Green-Flame Blade up for failure is how low an impact it can feel like it has, especially in low tiers of play. If you can get beyond 5th level, the damage this starts to deal becomes far more noticeable and starts to feel quite good to cast. Dealing a bonus 1d8 to the hit creature and 1d8+ mod to the nearby enemy suddenly feels like extra attack, but with a different modifier. As you get to levels 11 and 17, the bonus damage becomes quite substantial, and can even justify usage over multi attacks. Up until that point, it can feel hard to justify doing this over just making two attacks with extra attack.

Classes like rogue then are set up best to use this. They only want to be making a single attack roll a round anyway, so arcane tricksters may consider opening up their damage repertoire to dealing damage to more than one target at a time. Warlocks can be pretty happy to pick this up, especially fiend locks and hexblades, as it just improves their melee weapon damage numbers in the mid to high tiers without asking them to spend invocations on extra attack.

At higher tiers of play, multi-attacking make it harder to justify using the cantrip over attacking multiple times with eldritch knights, but if you’re a ranger or paladin who is taking the arcane initiate feat or multiclassing into one of the classes who get it, it may be worth it over attacking twice when you’re facing down a pair of creatures.

The full casters really have no need nor want for this unless you’re going for a very off-brand melee focused abjurer or necromancer. Most of the time you’ll want to be spending your actions in combat casting your 1st level or higher spells; Green-Flame Blade asks way too much of you there.

Ultimately I’m a big fan of these kinds of spells; I just wish it was better initially. Still, consider it if you’re in the mid-tier and are getting your third or fourth cantrip for your gish characters. It can be a major boon in a lot of fights.

5e Spells

Green Flame Blade: Eco Stabbing