Thaumaturgy: Like a Candle in the Wind
Usable By: Cleric
Spell Level: 0 (cantrip)
School: Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Duration: Up to 1 minute
Components: V
You manifest a minor wonder, a sign of supernatural power, within range. You create one of the following magical effects within range:
Your voice booms up to three times as loud as normal for 1 minute.
You cause flames to flicker, brighten, dim, or change color for 1 minute.
You cause harmless tremors in the ground for 1 minute.
You create an instantaneous sound that originates from a point of your choice within range, such as a rumble of thunder, the cry of a raven, or ominous whispers.
You instantaneously cause an unlocked door or window to fly open or slam shut.
You alter the appearance of your eyes for 1 minute.
If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its 1-minute effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.
Review by Sam West, @CrierKobold
A dark figure rises over the legion of the dead, blood red eyes piercing beneath their veil. A voice calls out, booming across the muck coated mire: “Bow before the lord of the damned, come to reap your souls and put your bones to better use serving the master of death himself!
MUAHAHAHA!”
This message was brought to you via Thaumaturgy. How quaint!
Oh, Thaumaturgy. Cleric’s cosmetic cantrip. You clerics out there know the feeling of being the “mom” of the group; somebody has to keep those crazy rogues and bards in line. Somebody has to be the moral compass. When people get to squabbling, that’s when you need a megaphone, and Thaumaturgy can be that megaphone.
It can also set the mood lighting, open and close doors in welcoming or spooky ways, change your eyes, make ominous or joyous sounds, and create harmless tremors to scare the daylights out of some miners. Of the cosmetic cantrips this list is the most narrow, yet the longest. It does specific things, and it does them well. One notable element is it doesnt light or snuff flames, but in exchange you get to brighten them, dim them, or change their colors. Nifty!
If you’re taking Thaumaturgy, it is to feel like a cleric. Every mode here amplifies story-telling. I honestly wish bards could pick this up, too, as it can be exceptional magical punctuation for tales of biblical proportions. Like Druidcraft and Prestidigitation, nothing here is going to be crazy powerful. More creative players will get a bit more out of it than others, especially with the ghost sounds you can make. At the end of the day, you take Thaumaturgy to feel magical. I call them cosmetic for a reason. If how your character looks and feels thematically is a major part of the game for you, Thaumaturgy belongs on your sheet. It almost always makes it onto mine.
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