weaseldust
2015-10-31, 08:38 AM
There are two main goals here: to allow a Cleric to focus as much on damage reduction as on damage dealing, and to make the Potent Spellcasting ability more useful.
Enduring Ally
Abjuration cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: Touch
Components: Somatic, Verbal
You touch a creature that has taken damage since the end of its last turn, but was not reduced to 0HP and has not regained HP since. The damage it took from one attack or failed save is reduced by 2d4, to a minimum of 0. The amount you reduce the damage by increases by 2d4 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17, and if you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount reduced.
Illumination
Evocation cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration (1 round)
Range: 120 feet
Components: Material (a parabolic mirror), Somatic, Verbal
Provided you are outdoors, a ray of light is directed from the sky to a point on the ground you can see within range. It sheds bright light within 10 feet of that point, and until the start of your next turn, when a creature takes damage in the illuminated region, you may use your reaction to decrease the damage by d6, to a minimum of 0. The damage you can reduce increases by d6 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17. If you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature, you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount reduced. This cantrip is dispelled by any spell of 1st level or higher that creates magical darkness in the illuminated region, and it fails automatically when it targets a point already affected by such a spell.
Indomitable Ally
Enchantment cantrip
Casting time: 1 reaction, taken when a creature you can see within range is attacked
Duration: Concentration (1 round)
Range: 10 feet
Components: Somatic, Verbal
Before the attack is resolved, the creature that was attacked gains d4 temporary HP until the start of its next turn. The amount increases by d4 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17, and if you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount added.
Wingbeat
Conjuration cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: 60 feet
Components: Material (a Pegasus feather), Somatic
You target a willing or unwilling creature you can see within range that is at most Large in size. A willing creature gains the ability fly up to 10 feet at the start of its next turn in addition to any other movement it has. An unwilling creature must succeed on a strength save or be pushed 10 feet in a direction of your choice.
The following are obviously based on the new SCAG cantrips, so that domains other than Arcana get some way to magically augment their attacks, especially domains that don’t get Divine Strike, but I made sure not to have them straightforwardly add damage as Clerics don’t lose anything by attacking only once.
They are still strictly better than just attacking (unless you dual wield or are in the area of effect of Silence), but I figure that a cantrip that you could use as a bonus action after an attack would be OK and could accomplish much the same thing, so you might as well just roll it into a slightly better attack. Besides, they do cost you your concentration, and there’s also an opportunity cost each turn in that the best target for these cantrips isn’t necessarily the best target for the Cleric to try to walk up to and attack.
Fury Abated
Enchantment cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration (1 round)
Range: 5 feet
Components: Material (a patch from the garment of a martyr who did not resist their arrest and execution), Somatic, Verbal
As part of casting this spell, you make a melee weapon attack against a creature within 5 feet with a weapon you hold. If you hit and deal damage, the first time the target makes a melee weapon attack before the start of your next turn, the damage it deals is reduced by d4, to a minimum of 0. The damage reduced increases by d4 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17. If you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature, you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount reduced. You may also choose to replace the damage from your attack with psychic damage equal to the amount you reduce the creature’s attack by.
Fury Aroused
Enchantment cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration (1 round)
Range: 5 feet
Components: Material (a pennant soaked in the blood of a martyr who died in battle), Somatic, Verbal
As part of casting this spell, you make a melee weapon attack against a creature within 5 feet with a weapon you hold. If you hit and deal damage, your allies experience a surge of righteous anger towards the target, and on their first turn before the start of your next turn they may use their bonus action to add d4 magical damage of the same type as their weapon to the damage from one melee weapon attack against it. The damage increases by d4 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17, and if you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount.
EDITS: Removed damage-dealing from Illumination and Wingbeat. Reduced the range of Indomitable Ally and added a concentration requirement. Added a material component to Fury Abated.
Enduring Ally
Abjuration cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: Touch
Components: Somatic, Verbal
You touch a creature that has taken damage since the end of its last turn, but was not reduced to 0HP and has not regained HP since. The damage it took from one attack or failed save is reduced by 2d4, to a minimum of 0. The amount you reduce the damage by increases by 2d4 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17, and if you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount reduced.
Illumination
Evocation cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration (1 round)
Range: 120 feet
Components: Material (a parabolic mirror), Somatic, Verbal
Provided you are outdoors, a ray of light is directed from the sky to a point on the ground you can see within range. It sheds bright light within 10 feet of that point, and until the start of your next turn, when a creature takes damage in the illuminated region, you may use your reaction to decrease the damage by d6, to a minimum of 0. The damage you can reduce increases by d6 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17. If you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature, you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount reduced. This cantrip is dispelled by any spell of 1st level or higher that creates magical darkness in the illuminated region, and it fails automatically when it targets a point already affected by such a spell.
Indomitable Ally
Enchantment cantrip
Casting time: 1 reaction, taken when a creature you can see within range is attacked
Duration: Concentration (1 round)
Range: 10 feet
Components: Somatic, Verbal
Before the attack is resolved, the creature that was attacked gains d4 temporary HP until the start of its next turn. The amount increases by d4 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17, and if you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount added.
Wingbeat
Conjuration cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: 60 feet
Components: Material (a Pegasus feather), Somatic
You target a willing or unwilling creature you can see within range that is at most Large in size. A willing creature gains the ability fly up to 10 feet at the start of its next turn in addition to any other movement it has. An unwilling creature must succeed on a strength save or be pushed 10 feet in a direction of your choice.
The following are obviously based on the new SCAG cantrips, so that domains other than Arcana get some way to magically augment their attacks, especially domains that don’t get Divine Strike, but I made sure not to have them straightforwardly add damage as Clerics don’t lose anything by attacking only once.
They are still strictly better than just attacking (unless you dual wield or are in the area of effect of Silence), but I figure that a cantrip that you could use as a bonus action after an attack would be OK and could accomplish much the same thing, so you might as well just roll it into a slightly better attack. Besides, they do cost you your concentration, and there’s also an opportunity cost each turn in that the best target for these cantrips isn’t necessarily the best target for the Cleric to try to walk up to and attack.
Fury Abated
Enchantment cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration (1 round)
Range: 5 feet
Components: Material (a patch from the garment of a martyr who did not resist their arrest and execution), Somatic, Verbal
As part of casting this spell, you make a melee weapon attack against a creature within 5 feet with a weapon you hold. If you hit and deal damage, the first time the target makes a melee weapon attack before the start of your next turn, the damage it deals is reduced by d4, to a minimum of 0. The damage reduced increases by d4 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17. If you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature, you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount reduced. You may also choose to replace the damage from your attack with psychic damage equal to the amount you reduce the creature’s attack by.
Fury Aroused
Enchantment cantrip
Casting time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration (1 round)
Range: 5 feet
Components: Material (a pennant soaked in the blood of a martyr who died in battle), Somatic, Verbal
As part of casting this spell, you make a melee weapon attack against a creature within 5 feet with a weapon you hold. If you hit and deal damage, your allies experience a surge of righteous anger towards the target, and on their first turn before the start of your next turn they may use their bonus action to add d4 magical damage of the same type as their weapon to the damage from one melee weapon attack against it. The damage increases by d4 when you reach levels 5, 11, and 17, and if you gain the Potent Spellcasting feature you may add your wisdom modifier to the amount.
EDITS: Removed damage-dealing from Illumination and Wingbeat. Reduced the range of Indomitable Ally and added a concentration requirement. Added a material component to Fury Abated.