cashew | Fixing Druidcraft (Reply)

It's been bugging me a while now that even in the eyes of most Druid players, Druidcraft really pales in comparison in RP utility compared to the equivalent cleric/bard/wizard cantrips (being Thaumaturgy, Minor Illusion, and Prestidigitation respectively). And I'd say that a huge part of Druidcraft's weakness comes from the fact that not only does it generate fewer and weaker (aka less useful) effects, the effects also don't last nearly as long. So, my proposed fix (with justifications explained):

Fundamentally, I think Druidcraft's effects need a boost. Given the Druid's affinity to nature, Druidcraft really ought to be able to produce a better result helping campers out on the road than Wizard's Prestidigitation. So, here's my proposed changes.

Druidcraft (fixed)

Transmutation Cantrip

Casting Time: Action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous or 1 hour

Whispering to the spirits of nature, you create one of the following effects within range.

Weather Effect. You create a Tiny, harmless weather effect that hovers in your location at a height based on your choice. The effect appears as a physical representation of the weather's effect such as a small glowing orb that gives off heat for clear skies, a flurry of snowflakes that can chill a drink for snowfall, a dark cloud that drizzles for rain, an electrical spark that can deliver a painful non-damaging shock for lightning, and so on. This effect persists for 1 hour or until you create another Weather Effect again. Alternatively, you may have the Weather Effect follow you.

Bloom. You instantly make a flower blossom, a seed pod sprout, or a leaf bud bloom. If you are near dense foliage, you can bolster leaf growth to form a debris hut or simple shelter.

Sensory Effect. You create a harmless sensory effect, such as falling leaves, spectral dancing fairies, a gentle breeze, the sound of an animal, or the faint odor of skunk. The effect must fit in a 5-foot Cube. This effect lasts 1 turn and provides enough cover to take the Hide action.

Fire Play. You instantly light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a campfire.

Justification: Prestidigitation is capable of warming up drinks, drying clothes, make food flavorful, and clean up a campsite instantaneously, providing huge outdoors utility. In addition, it also creates temporary facsimile of things like keys or illusions of treasure, giving it huge roleplay value when trying to trick NPCs. Finally, it allows you effectively send coded messages (by leaving magical marks on objects) that self-destructs (dissapears after an hour). And all of that is on top of the ability to deal the same sensory effects and fire play as Druidcraft.

Seeing as Druidcraft only has 4 effects, half of which are reproduced by Prestidigitation, I thought it was necessary to give Druidcraft its own unique utility.

Weather Effect. First, I changed the original Weather Sensor from just being a simple weather prediction to an actual effect linked to the weather it's referencing. I imagine Druids creating a tiny little sun to keep themselves warm on cold days, or summon a small rain cloud to take a quick shower in the woods, or generating a sustained eddie of hot desert wind to dry their hair, and so on and so forth. Since the effect lasts 1 hour (which is on par for Prestidigitation's effects), I made it so that you can only have one effect active at a time, to prevent players from leaving behind a trail of little sun globes to mark the path in a dungeon or something. And yes, in a pinch, the glowing orb can double as a very small source of light (less than a candle), but not nearly as illuminating as the Light cantrip.

Bloom. I gave Bloom an extra effect because making buds/pods open is a really limited effect with little roleplay or utility value. I don't want Survival skill checks to become completely pointless or replace the Tiny Hut ritual with a cantrip. But I think a rough debris hut that semi-protects against the weather and requires dense foliage (therefore conditional and not usable in a dungeon) is a reasonable expansion.

Sensory Effect. I gave this effect an extra perk compared to its original form by having it offer temporary obscurement. Druids are meant to be master supporters of the team, so making leaves fall to give the team Rogue or Ranger time to take the Hide action when in wide open areas is pretty useful. By making the effect last only one turn, the Druid cannot take advantage of the cantrip to hide themselves, thus forcing the cantrip to be used in an altruistic manner.

Fire Play. Untouched. This one is fine as is.

Aaaand, that's the new Druidcraft. I think this brings Druidcraft up to par with Prestidigitation, Minor Illusion, and Thaumaturgy, without actually replacing their unique uses.