Guidance: You Got This

Usable By: Artificer, Cleric, Druid

Spell Level: 0 (cantrip)

School: Divination

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Duration: 1 round

Components: V, S

You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one ability check of its choice. It can roll the die before or after making the ability check. The spell then ends.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

Are YOU performing skill checks outside of initiative? Do you have ample time to do them? Then you want Guidance! For the low low cost of one cantrip on your cleric, druid, or artificer, you too can get a d4 bonus to nearly EVERY out of combat skill check you make! Get Guidance for your party TODAY!

Guidance is the ideal support cantrip. It's a commonly used d4 boost to skill checks that get players working together. I wish so badly it was a bard spell, as Guidance via sick lute riff sounds like something I need at my table. For just artificers, clerics, and druids, it adds a class feature like effect to bolster a ton of skill checks, and help make the party feel like a team.

While pervasive, Guidance isn’t able to affect a lot of types of crucial skill checks. Concentration limits it to one character at a time, so group Stealth, Investigation, or Perception checks all are limited to one member of the team per guidance. As you go into the upper tiers, it having concentration at all limits when you can cast it if you intend to concentrate on conjuration effects or other persistent effects you’ll want over multiple encounters. This puts it in a great spot: low tiers will see its use frequently. Players will immediately feel aided and supported in the elements of exploration players need to succeed in to progress. It’ll help the ranger calm down the frantic horse, the rogue swipe a key ring off a guard, and the wizard recall in their studies the relevance of necromancy magic in relation to this strange glyph.

I know Guidance isn’t universally beloved, but I think where it is currently at is nearly perfect. It requires touch, meaning you have to stick together to get use out of it, and it lets the people who want to specialize in doing something succeed more often at that thing. It helps EVERYONE feel amazing at their chosen skills, and does so in a way that has a little variance and gets you rolling more dice. Cooperative features like this are a net positive to the game, as there are so few that actually exist. I want every class to have more stuff like Guidance. If you can pick it up, I highly recommend it.

5e Spells

Guidance: You Got This