Word of Radiance: Ezekiel 25:17

Usable By: Cleric

Spell Level: 0 (cantrip)

School: Evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 5 feet

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: V, M (a holy symbol)

You utter a divine word, and burning radiance erupts from you. Each creature of your choice that you can see within range must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 1d6 radiant 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, @CrierKobold

Gameplay differences between the classes can get muddy. Fighters, monks, and barbarians can all feel pretty similar early on, and a lot of the full casters like bards, clerics, and wizards can start to feel similar when powerful area of effect magic gets involved. Then comes spells like Word of Radiance: a cleric exclusive area of effect radiant damage spell with a low range and mediocre damage dice. It's simple, encourages risk, rewards tactical uses, and has a fine floor and a high power ceiling. Going forward, I want all 5e damage only cantrips to be on par with Word of Radiance. This spell hits the damage cantrip sweet spot for me.

A big differentiating play element between the full casters and martial classes is how martial characters deal consistent damage to single entities, while casters leverage area of effects to deal moderate damage to lots of things. Word of Radiance out the gate establishes this difference. If it's only hitting one creature, its damage is worse than a regular weapon attack. Hitting two creatures is fine, about the same as a mace bash, but once you’re hitting three or more creatures, you’re getting more damage total than any single weapon attack can deal. This showcases the cleric classe’s intended strengths and locations in fights. Clerics want to deal area of effect damage and be in the thick of things to leverage their durability. You’re seeing what spells tend to be good at while encouraging being in a unique position compared to most of the other full casters. At the same time, this highlights weakness; against one enemy, you’d rather just make a weapon attack. This spell has clear moments of greatness and moments where it’ll be mediocre at best.

It may appear that Acid Splash, a cantrip I’m not all that excited about, compares well with this, the core difference between the two is their power ceiling. Word of Radiance can hit eight or more creatures with a single action. Acid Splash is capped at two. First level characters can never deal more than 2d6 damage with an Acid Splash. Clerics with a death wish and Word of Radiance can be dealing 8d6 or more damage in a single turn. There will be moments where Word of Radiance exceeds the power of some 1st level spells. It won’t be often, but it will happen enough times you’ll be glad you took it. There aren’t really any windows where Acid Splash can ever be that good. Plus, when you consider its scaling, it becomes multiplicatively better. This spell is dealing 1d6 extra damage each time it improves for each creature it hits, meaning its dealing enough damage where even in the mid tier of play you’ll sometimes want to use it over casting 1st or 2nd level spells.

If you’re a cleric and want to do the cleric thing, Word of Radiance is it. This isn’t a spell you’ll fire round after round, but something you’ll blast out when facing overwhelming numbers. Against groups of goblins, zombies, and kobolds, this can rack up great damage. At the same time, it’ll be handy to still have that mace on you for when you’re fighting a pair of orcs or the lone bear. Word of Radiance is an excellent addition to any low level cleric character sheet, and exactly the kind of damage cantrip you should be looking for.

5e Spells

Word of Radiance: Ezekiel 25:17