Mold Earth: Can You Dig It?

Usable By: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: Cantrip

School: Transmutation

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: 30 feet

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: S

You choose a portion of dirt or stone that you can see within range and that fits within a 5-foot cube. You manipulate it in one of the following ways:

If you target an area of loose earth, you can instantaneously excavate it, move it along the ground, and deposit it up to 5 feet away. This movement doesn’t have enough force to cause damage.

You cause shapes, colors, or both to appear on the dirt or stone, spelling out words, creating images, or shaping patterns. The changes last for 1 hour.

If the dirt or stone you target is on the ground, you cause it to become difficult terrain. Alternatively, you can cause the ground to become normal terrain if it is already difficult terrain. This change lasts for 1 hour.

If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have no more than two of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

If you’re ever touring through your DM’s world of massive structures, ancient temples, and enormous feats and wonder “how could this happen?”, read Mold Earth! This lowly cantrip could be responsible for every society's basic infrastructure and planning on a massive scale, functioning as an invaluable tool that could build the pyramids and beyond with next to no technology!

Beyond the world scope question literally nobody was asking about, Mold Earth can solidly slot in your cantrips. It is one of the introduced Prestidigitation style cantrips for the four elements in Princes of the Apocalypse’s Elemental Evil player's companion alongside Gust, Control Flames, and Shape Water. The four of these have the aimed purpose of providing elementalist character fantasies some tools to enrich their flavor, succeeding tremendously on that front. Outside of flavor, Mold Earth does come with some fun practical uses that will vary in applicability DM to DM. It usually is a small part of a larger solution, and can open up creative outlets otherwise closed.

The bulk of this comes with its first ability; moving a 5 ft. cube of dirt permanently can open up some magical moments. First, it's probably wise to clear up on a case by case basis with your DM what constitutes “loose earth”; does this spell only really work on sand dunes or in active worksites, or can it turn over the first few feet of dirt around the world? In either case, having the ability to instantly excavate the space and put it somewhere else can prove surprisingly useful at creating cover, burying a creature alive, excavating a precarious portion of a cliff, or even in fashioning a tunnel just below the surface. The bulk of this element of the spell is tightly controlled by the DM and their willingness for managing subterranean hijinx.

Mode two, creating hour long writings, sculptures, or adjusted colors, is mainly a flavor effect. Practical uses beyond communication or showing off are severely limited. Your typical best case scenarios could include deceiving a creature about the nature of the area, or otherwise masking your presence. I feel like this effect could have been either permanent or at minimum lasted a day, but alas, an hour will have to suffice.

Difficult terrain isn’t typically a striking option to consider. For a whole action, creating 5 feet of it is lackluster. Having it last an hour and allowing for two instances of it that can even affect stone does open it up to being particularly handy in tight hallways where you intend to funnel enemies through. If you’re casting while fleeing you aren’t taking the Dash action, so it ultimately is slowing you down more than your pursuer in chase scenes.

All together, Mold Earth brings a lot to the table for a cantrip mainly from its first effect. It offers you some niche, but interesting tools that can open up doors previously closed to you, and get you and your party thinking in new ways. Could we tunnel into the dragon’s lair? Is the giant dung heap considered “loose earth” if it's mostly fertilizer at this point? What happens to a kobold when a cube of dirt buries them in an empty grave?

5e Spells

Mold Earth: Can You Dig It?