Thunderclap: Give ‘Em the Clap
Usable By: Artificer, Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Spell Level: 0 (cantrip)
School: Evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: S
You create a burst of thunderous sound, which can be heard 100 feet away. Each creature other than you within 5 feet of you must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d6 thunder damage.
At Higher Levels. The spell’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
You can only ask for so much out of a cantrip, especially a damaging one. These level zero spells aren’t out to destroy everyone and everything, but mimic weapon attacks. The PHB options ended up feeling pretty bad, specifically the combat ones, as without adding a modifier you’ll often low roll just a point of damage or two for your entire action. This design is aimed at making weapon-like abilities for the non-martial classes, ultimately leaving them just feeling like worse attack rolls. Enter Thunderclap: a cantrip that out the gate highlights the differences between the two class groups, and offers a different, yet decent, combative tool that outclasses the snore inducing Fire Bolts and Acid Splashes of old.
A 5 ft. range may seem small, but ends up covering a fifteen foot square around you. Great placement can hit a whole group of angry little creatures, but comes with at the cost of needing to be in melee range. The potential upside here is massive over the most apt comparison, Acid Splash. 1d6 to two targets within 5 feet of each other often will be what Thunderclap does, and there will be some windows where you’ll want the extra range to throw it from safety. However, the upside of moments where you’re hitting six or more enemies that have surrounded you makes Thunderclap a potential massive upgrade, and slots in as a cantrip that isn’t the best damage to one or two things, but a pretty great option when dealing with large quantities of fast little critters.
This highlights to me good cantrip design; you don’t want to build cantrips you constantly spam and override any other choice you’d like to make. Instead, having cantrips that reward you for getting yourself in specific circumstances or flexibility pop out when you can juice just a bit more out of them give needed flexibility and decision making I find pivotal to interesting encounters.
Thunderclap isn’t going to change your life, but is a massive upgrade over Acid Splash and some of the other weaker damage only cantrips out of the PHB. This affecting an area highlights what casters feel like they’re designed to cover well: area of effect damage. Your martial characters are going to out damage you against single targets, but you come with area of effect damage that can out damage them in some circumstances. It being accessible in basically all the classes means a lot of builds, especially melee focused ones, can slot this on their sheet pretty easily, and while it won’t radically power up your character at any stage, can come in handy as a useful damage option to have.
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