Top 10 Spells to Pick With Magic Initiate Feat - DnD 5E
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
- The magic initiate feat allows you to choose 2 cantrips and one 1st level spell from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell lists. The cantrips can be used whenever you want, but the 1st level spell can be used once per long rest, and it can't be upcast. So in this video we'll be going over the best spells to pick up with this feat.
Video set up by Selty
-The List-
Intro: (0:00)
#10. Mage Armor: (0:15)
#9. Eldritch Blast: (2:20)
#8. Booming Blade/Green-Flame Blade: (4:42)
#7.Prestidigitation: (6:38)
#6.Mage Hand: (8:25)
#5. Goodberry: (9:45)
#4. Bless: (11:21)
#3.Guidance: (12:32)
#2. Minor Illusion: (14:16)
#1. Find Familiar: (16:14)
-Social Media-
/ hirumared
/ thedndlogs
- #DnD #5e #DungeonsAndDragons
Art Assets:
Item Cards: www.sageadvice.eu/2016/08/20/...
Condition Images: crobi.github.io/dnd5e-quickre...
Potion Cards: www.dmsguild.com/product/3063...
Spell Cards: redd.it/6fga8k
Skill Screen Caps: arcaneeye.com/players/skill-c...
Icons: marketplace.roll20.net/browse...
Production Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com - Hry
Honestly, I think it would have made more sense to split this video into two: The best spell, and the best cantrips to pick.
Word
Disagreed.
agree. 1lvl spells use only one per day, so most of them useless, but cantrip work normaly
I play a fighter/brute. I LOVE being blessed. However as our cleric has leveled up, he very much wants to use his concentration on other things, like Spirit Guardians. I love Bless so much I took a one level splash in Cleric so 'I' could cast and concentrate on Bless. I chose forge cleric so I could also take Identify, which our party did not otherwise have access to.
Find Familiar is super useful for clerics when paired with ceremony.
Cat wedding, crow funeral, etc
Goodberry as a Life Cleric is disgusting. A single 1st level slot healing a total of 40 health is insane and makes each berry almost a healing potion.
The ruling WotC made that says that works was a mistake. 40 HP is waaaaaay too much for a 1st level spell.
@@tehrulefoo there is a literal sage advice thread telling that it works exactly as a 40 hp of healing. The point is not of an imbalanced spell, but of a clever use of a class unique feature of life cleric.
When choosing cantrips many people ignore the practical value of the prestidigitation and mending cantrips. With prestidigation your character can not only easily start a campfire, but he can always have clean clothes to wear. Remember that there are no matches lighters and electric washing machines and dryers in D&D. With the mending cantrip every time your characters gets hit and his clothes get torn, the torn clothes can be repaired. While camping and adventuring things break, mending can fix them. Mending can repair some leaky ships, and it can fix torn shoes. There are many clever uses for these 2 cantrips....
Spelljammer made Mending very valuable.
@@gmradio2436 OK
Mending has big limits. Last I checked you don't make con saves vs exhaustion for wearing dusty pants. But hey I could be wrong. Could be.
I chose Mending at the beginning of the campaign and recently would’ve chosen Prestidigitation but went with Mage Hand
@@zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba0 The mending spell can do a lot. Have you ever gone rough camping for an extended period of time with rain and mud and walking through and very cold streams and/or swamps? Do you know what it feels like to have your boots/shoes socks and clothes soaking wet and dirty with mud in the freezing cold? Have you ever felt what it like to wear the same dirty mudy clothes for days on end? I was a boy scout years ago and I camped in the north east of the USA. Later in life I camped in a temperate rain forest in Washington State.
In the D&D world many combat situations will result in your character getting his clothes stained with blood of himself, other PCs, and of course many type of monsters. Fighting is messy. Do you want your character to be a stinking blood stained torn up clothes kind of guy walking around in dirty wet shoes and socks when he meets the beautiful fair maiden and the king? There are no electric washing machines and dryers in D&D. You could hire washer woman to wash and hang dry your clothes, but that will take a lot of time and will NOT get the blood stains out of your character's clothes as there is no hydrogen peroxide in D&D.
WOW!!!!! I'm very stunned to see that you completely ignored the Shield spell being on this list!! Who doesn't want a +5 reaction increase to their AC?!?! When I get to level 8 in our current campaign, I'm absolutely taking Shield for my paladin!!
Because a 1/day reaction to add+5 ac is infinitely worse than any of the other spells mentioned; especially compared to free advantage every round
I like going Shillelagh, Guidance and Absorb Elements on the Monk. Especially on Astral Self. Gives you a magic weapon. You can make Wisdom your primary stat no problem as you can use it for all your attacks. I don't need to explain Guidance. And having that once per day resistance on a bad saving throw against high damage is quite good.
Just to note: an unconscious character RAW can not eat a good berry to regain HP. The unconscious condition states that the affected creature is incapacitated, meaning it cannot take actions (including the action needed to eat the goodberry). If your DM let's you use an action to feed another creature something, that's a home rule and not technically how the spell works.
Still you can technically spend all your spellslots on Goodberry before a long rest and have at least 30+ worth of hp to use out of combat, thus saving spellslots from your healer
@@gersoncordero9598 very true, but you should be careful about dropping all of your spell slots before taking a long rest. Getting ambushed would put you in a pretty rough spot with no slots remaining
I would argue healing word would be in the top. Maybe not #1 since it is only once a day but popping a a downed member is clutch...especially if your a sorcerer who can twin it to bring 2 members up.
OMG I won the spam prize! I can't wait to give away identifying information!
One thing I did with my Familiar(Owl) was cast Dragon’s Breath on it and have it breath on enemies. It’s technically not an attack, and I still get to make my attack while my Familiar flies in, breathes on enemies, and flies out thanks to Fly-By(does not provoke opportunity attacks).
Genius. I've never thought to cast it on my familiar. I was about to refute you on a couple things, but after double-checking the rules, I can't find any actual breaking of the rules. Well done. Personally, I would say breathing out the energy of Dragon's Breath is logically an attack, but the rules say it's just "as an action." Absolute madness hahaha.
I really like message, especially for stealthy characters that want to convey newly discovered information to the rest of the party without giving away their position.
I don't know how stealthy pulling out some wire (Material component), chanting (Verbal component), making some gestures(Somatic component), pointing at your target and whispering to yourself(Part of the description), really is.
@@masaruuchiha Component pouch, 1A casting time means it isn't a lengthy incantation, and whispering that ONLY the target can hear ... seems fairly reasonable.
Ngl, I almost wish Tasha's errata'd Magic Initiate to work like Artificer Initiate, where you have the free cast of the 1st level spell, but can also use spell slots to cast it as well. That would open up _so many_ other 1st level spells that one can use.
The new play test massively changes magic initiate to make it much better.
You get to choose the casting attribute you want to use with the spells.
You also get to switch out the 1st level spell to another spell on the same list when you level. This helps ensure the 1st level spell investment continues to be if some use. The Sleep spell for example is quite useful at lower levels, but falls off at higher levels, so it can be switched out after a few levels.
While it still provides a free use of the first level spell, it also allows for any spell slots the player has to be used in case you want to cast that spell again. This also allows for the spell to be upcast with higher level slots if that provides a benefit or becomes necessary.
Armour of Agathys go brrr
Have you checked out the One D&D playtest yet?
I LOVE Magic Initiate. It's my favorite feat in 5e.
Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade are really good for melee Clerics that don't have Extra Attack, and this is one of the only ways they can get access to those cantrips!
If you do get Extra Attack, though, just go for something else.
Great video, as usual😀. I'd love to see a list of the best bonus action spells. Other lists based on circumstance or usage would also be awesome.
I would put detect magic as a good 1st level spell as well. Maybe even comprehend languages.
As a primary spellcaster, magic initiate is more of a way to make space for utility spells when you're gearing up on combat spells.
Great Video! I love watching your content for ideas and a better understanding of the game!
The editing in this episode is especially good
On eldritch blast. Everyone likes to say it's the best cantrip. And I would say on average it is a pretty good cantrip, but not the best. D10 force damage is pretty good, but the reason why eldritch blast is so good is due to the invocation, mainly agonizing blast.
Just putting this out there for everyone that's only heard about eldritch blast and not actually used it or seen it used
I mean for offensive options what is better? Firebolt has the same damage scaling but is more all or nothing, whereas you are more likely to hit some rays of blast at higher levels than miss entirely. Obviously the damage type is better than other options also. Toll the dead does do more damage circumstantially but it's also a saving throw which can often lead to it being less reliable. Most of the other attack cantrips other side benefits are not that amazing.
Range and the damage type is probably why. Force is barely negated. I think repelling blast would be a better choice, since even doing 1 damage you can still push enemies 10ft away. Personally would pick a utility spell instead. Just depends what style of character I'm playing.
The familiar/rogue combo was used at one of my tables. Really fun.
I knew I recognized your voice from somewhere, then I remembered its from the WoW videos haha. Love your content!
Goodberry if cast by a Life Domain Cleric will heal 4 hitpoints plus one day's worth of nourishment. If you want a versatile Wizard spell, Chromatic Orb is one option. If you want to add something to a fighter class, Primal Savagery does acid damage.
Back when it was still UA (I got permission), I had made an Artificer, but since it's attack options were garbage at the time (and had 0 cantrips), I made them a Half Elf and picked up the Magic Initiate feat. I mostly got it for Eldritch Blast (since it's still one of the best attack Cantrips), but my lv 1 spell (mostly for flavour) was Unseen Servant. This one innocuous spell choice I made for flavour caused one of the most absurdly hilarious scenes in our campaign.
**Minor spoilers for Tomb of the Mad Mage/Undermountain 2nd floor**
We got to an underground goblin market and through random nonsense, had 2 tasks - remove the goblin leader (who had a crown with Disguise Self to make him look human) from control as he was being a jerk and also kill a dwarf for a revenant who the dwarf betrayed, causing her death. The dwarf was the manservant of the goblin leader. We were allowed to stay in the market town so long as we didn't cause problems, so they gave us a side room to rest where they also coincidentally beat up their prisoners in. There was actually a goblin there (let's call him Bob for the sake of this), though we threatened him into secrecy while we plotted. After a bit of work and when everyone had gone to sleep, we decided the best course of action would be to nuke the room the goblin leader and the dwarf slept in with a good old-fashioned fireball, but of course doing so would be pretty obvious as well as dangerous to blow a room up you're in. We needed a way to do it subtly.
I should note that our party Rogue wanted the crown, so she snuck in and stole it while they were asleep. This is important for later.
Then I remembered I had Unseen Servant... and one last bead from a necklace of fireballs. So, I deployed my servant with the bead, snuck it into the room, then had it set off the bead while I stayed our room. We realized later this probably wouldn't work RAW for a few reasons... but the DM loved the idea and let us try. Sure enough, the massive explosion shook the area and, while all the goblins woke up to see what was happening, we opened the door to our room with a "What the hell was THAT?!?" (passed the deception check) and rushed to the leader's room to see what happened (make sure our targets were destroyed) in "concern".
The room was a charred mess. The dwarf was dead - the goblin leader was still alive (but very badly burnt). That's when his two orc bodyguards show up to see what happened. It was at this point, the DM starts rolling dice... then his eyes go a bit wide and starts laughing. He decided that the orcs likely never saw the goblin leader outside of his human guise and seeing a the dwarf dead and a charred goblin-looking individual they've never seen before, both of them draw their mauls and yell "Assassin" as they rush over and begin caving their leader's head in. It's not until another goblin from the market runs in and essentially says "Leader, NO!" do the orcs stop... not that it matters... because he was already dead. Upon realizing that they had killed their boss, weren't getting paid and having a small army of goblins who would likely not be too happy with them right now, the orc bodyguards decided it would be best to get the hell out of Dodge and left.
The goblins distraught and without guidance began wondering what they should do. That's when my second spark of genius came in. I tried to disguise my voice and cover my mouth and said "Where's Bob? He would know what to do!" (deception check again passed, especially with the Bard following my lead and doing the same). The goblins fell for it and we said we'd go get him for them. A little run-down on what had happened, another casual threat and a bunch of prestidigitation to make him look like the second coming of Goblin Jesus and Bob was carried towards his new followers (while the Bard played him in). They made Bob their new leader, we were given our reward for a job well done, and goblin leader Bob gave us safe passage (with a shared wink and a nod between us).
All because I thought Unseen Servant would be a neat spell to make an "assistant" for my scientist Artificer.
Aside from the 60ft range limit on unseen servant I don't see why this wouldn't work RAW.
@@Omega97DX Mostly the range issue but we didn't think about it at the time.
Our Nature Domain cleric chose Find Familiar, because the DM said he was OK with her having a fox. For her cantrips she first took Booming Blade - lethal when combined with Shillelagh and Divine Strike. For utility she added Message, to keep in touch with my ranger when she's scouting.
I personally believe Magic Initiate to be the best feat a Rogue can take,
Find Familiar alone increases a rogues power ten-fold, always getting sneak attack, being a master of scouting, etc. Booming Blade is perfect for a Skirmisher that only makes one attack, especially if you happen to have a Bonus Action Disengage, and minor illusion is just instant hide, among a bunch of other things. Mage hand, Prestidigitation, and Friends if you have disguise kit or are a changeling can also be good choices
(Friends states that in the casting, you apply makeup to your face, so we can assume the person the creature becomes hostile towards is the one they perceive when the spell is cast)
"always getting sneak attack"
You mean spending 10 gold and then getting it once and costing the enemy one turn to swat your familiar because they're much easier to hit than you are and instantly poof if that hit does land. All the out of combat stuff is still super helpful though.
@@ZeroKitsune well if your familiar is just setting up camp next to an enemy then yeah it’s going to get slapped, but that’s an easy thing to avoid, just have your familiar mount your shoulder, ready a help action, and then disengage, or just use an owl with flyby to better avoid AOEs
I let my chain warlock use his familiar and wand of magic missile together. Thay way he can hide if he has time before a combat or as an ambush and use the wand of magic missile to hit his target from around corners since you just need to see the object. So o.p.
Familiars are relatively squishy in combat! With pact of the chain and some investment they're not nearly AS squishy anymore but still usually easier to take out than a PC, so be careful with that.
Booming blade is great for assassins, it's an alternative paladin multiclass for smites for much less AND you can use it indefinitely.
Critical sneak attack booming blade with an enchanted weapon that deals bonus dice damage instakills ANYTHING
One of my favorite uses of Prestidigitation is to allow you to add a higher amount of poison to a drink without anyone noticing it by its smell or flavor. Good for assassins to take if they have the option.
Oh that's neat, I didn't think of using it that way, that's cool.
I feel like in the average game, poisoning someone subtly doesn't come up that often but I could see it...
@@ZeroKitsune It's really useful in noble courts or in high social, low combat scenarios. It also works with things like truth serum or other ingested effects.
Don't forget that casters can take Magic Initiate in their own class. That gives them an extra 1st level spell and 2 more cantrips, which can be VERY good at 1st level.
Bards, Rangers, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Eldritch Knight Fighters, and Arcane Trickster Rogues cast spells that they know. So if they take the 1st level spell from their own spell list, then the can use spell slots as well as the one free use per day. For Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Wizards, if they prepare the Magic Initiate spell from their own list, then they can use spell slots for it as well as the one use per day. If Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Wizards don't prepare Magic Initiate spell from their own list, then they only get the free use. For something like Alarm, Goodberry, etc, they may only want one use per day.
Bards can ritually cast Bard spells that they know, so the 1st level Bard ritual spells would be a good spell for a Bard to take with Magic Initiate. I especially like Unseen Servant as the Bard can cast it once a day for free or as a ritual with 10 minutes warning. Unseen Servant is a great stage hand for a Bard and is useful in adventuring.
I am convinced that Goodberry is the Senzu Bean of DnD... We need a Krillin build now...
Yessir, let's goooo
Rules as written guidance can be used for initiatives rolls. I rarely get a table that bans the use of guidance this way
Summon familiar will be number 1.
The One Dnd revision lets the caster use any casting mod for the spell and swap to any spell of the 1st level in that school upon level and use any slots from any class feature to cast the spell more. Eldrich blast was lost from the Arcane spell list though, meaning you're probably stuck with firebolt for ranged options. I think assuming spells remain the same that Shield becomes an insane pickup for like Paladins and other classes. It's a really powerful and clutch spell, especially if you front line more often. It's also notably absent from the divine and primal schools.
expect every paladin, cleric, ranger, and druid to take Magic Initiate for Shield alone, and getting an ranged attack cantrip is nice for cleric & paladin.
I can also see Wizards, Sorcs & Warlocks taking MI for Healing Word & Guidance which is the best cantrip and 1st level healing spell for cleric.
Or just play an Idyllic Ardling... I expect a lot of arcane casters being Idyllic Ardlings since it essentially gives you a 1 lvl dip into cleric and you can fly as a BA which is a pseudo Misty Step.
@@saveordeath2308 Yep, as soon as I saw the revision I thought it's an autopick for Paladin. Gives them a ranged and utility cantrip option and makes them an absurd AC tank at the start of the game.
Sorcerer can also gain like 3 spells known from combining magic initiate and something like High Elf, greatly shoring up their spells known problem (even if it's just low level ones). For Wizard I feel like they might rather have something like Bless as a low cost buff option, although healing word is also a good choice if the party is lacking healing options.
In general the race and feat options are absurd for most casters, greatly expanding spell availability at the beginning of the game.
@@TheEmperorGulcasa agreed, personally sorcerer is my favorite class. An Idyallic Ardling Clockwork Sorcerer with Magic Initiate.
Likely pick Guiding Bolt or Shield of Faith & Sacred flame for MI. Healing Word at lvl 3 is right on time with meta-magic making literally any of your bonus spells known perfect for twinning.
@@saveordeath2308 I am glad Sorcerer is getting help. Metamagic is such a fun idea, but their low base spells known and limited sorcery point supply were a bit annoying.
I took magic initiate with my Arcane Trickster and got Find Familiar as the 1st lvl spell. Gave him a fey weasel, and instantly a partner in crime A scout. I also gave him Firebolt and Shocking Grasp as the cantrips. Later in level when he got access to lvl 2 spells I gave him flock of familiars and had him forget Find Familiar which led to a sad separation scene between the two with the flavor that each time he casts Flock of Familiars his original Weasel pal would always be one of the three summoned.
I dont think the feat allows you to change the spells.
@@TrixyTrixter The feat doesn't, no. Find Familiar wasn't a spell I took with the feat. Shield was. Find Familiar was a spell I took as an Arcane Trickster.
Top ten Cleric sub classes seriously they have like a really big pool of Domains to choose from
I don’t allow a Goodberry being force-fed.
Unconsciousness keeps creatures from swallowing.
Healing word for when the cleric goes down.
Yummy new video :D
You overlooked one of Find Familiars greatest abilities.
"As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you."
Raw, this does not require line of sight. You can temp dismiss your familiar, then have it reappear behind a door/wall/etc, then look through its eyes and scout a sealed room. Why is this important? Because, once you "see" inside, you can cast spells like misty step (bonus action, since you just used your action). Now you are in a sealed room.
Dont want to go in yourself? "blink" your familiar in, then have it cast Gaseous form on itself after it loots the place clean. Now it and everything its carrying, can escape "through a crack"
Or if you REALLY REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY need an item that is sealed away, behind guarded doors and completely inaccessible? "blink" your spider familiar in, then have it stealthily find the item you seek, and then cast Instant Summons on said item.
Then boom, whenever it pleases you, speak the name of the item, and crush your 1k sapphire. Said item instantly teleports to you. Congrats on stealing that 6ft tall platinum statue that is worth millions. Oh and Instant summons is ritually summoned and lasts "until dispelled". And the mark is invisible. So ya. enjoy your plundering.
Oh and if you really wanna exploit this, take 3 levels in warlock, go pact of the chain, pick up "Voice of the Chainmaster" invocation.
As written, it DOES NOT say it requires an action to do so.
SSSSOOOOOOOOOOO what this allows you to do. hehehe.
Eldritch blast from behind total cover. RAW, eldritch blast does not require light of sight. "A beam of crackling energy streaks toward a creature within range." The only requirement you have to satisify is knowing the creature is there (so you arnt accused of metagaming). Which means if you are within range, you can fire off eldritch blast while looking through your invisible imp's eyes, and the enemy will have a very difficult time locating you (note, the imp is not casting this, you are just using its vision. And because of the wording of "Voice of the chainmaster" you dont have to use an action to see through your familiars' eyes.)
This also works for any spell that doesnt require line of sight. Have fun with the shenanigans!!!!
The problem with the recasting trick with Find Familiar is that you only get 1 cast per day for most people who take Magic Initiate so you could end up unable to resummon your familiar if it dies later or leave it trapped for the day somewhere sealed. A lot of tricks with Find Familiar beyond just basic scouting and the flyby help trick kind of require more flexible casting.
@@TheEmperorGulcasa its not recasting,.you can temporarily dismiss your FF as an action, and have it reappear within 30 feet, as an action.
The non up casting was the first thing I changed in 5e, the 1dnd feat also did this.
yeah. Tho for upcasting you need to spend your oqn spellslot. The free cast is still only level 1 version.
Best combo imo is a martial cleric with magic initiate, Booming Blade and GFB. The lvl 1 spell is secondary to those cantrips for a cleric. Clerics can get the required profis to make melee useful but they don't get extra attack so they benefit the most from weapon cantrips. And because you can cast a cantrip and a spell during the same turn, you can basically replace every attack with a weapon cantrip for extra damage. Combine the weapon cantrips with the Divine Strike dmg bonus and spirit shroud for a pretty sweet melee damage that scales well throughout the campaign. If you are a death cleric, you can also add your Channel Divinity for pretty devastating bursts. And to sweeten the deal, lvl 2 spiritual weapon is bonus action repeat every turn spell and not concentration so you can use it to give yourself a practical extra attack as a bonus action. And to put the cherry on top, the spirit shroud dmg bonus is added to your spiritual weapon too if your target is within 10ft. And spiritual weapon scales too, so you can pump it up at higher levels. I was so excited to learn this combo, because it makes melee clerics so cool. It's a bit time consuming to get the combo rolling, cause both shroud and spiritual weapon are bonus actions, but it's worth it imo.
3.5 bless was area of effect (50 ft), though it was only +1, and it lasts for a minute per lvl
Healing word is a pretty good level one spell for this.
Only because the standard dying mechanics of 5E are so bad.
You'd probably rather have someone able to cast it more than once, but yeah it's pretty good, comes up a lot.
Bysen's bad build: the supportadin
2 levels of paladin for smite and fighting style defender.
4 levels of rogue for sneak attack, cunning action hide.
subclass arcane trickster, you'd think take a cha class but what you really want is shield and just more spell slots
lv4 feat [which would be character lv6], magic initiate for more spell slots.
Naturally these can all be smites but they're actually heals and other support abilities.
Only use medium armor that doesn't give DA on stealth and wear a shield.
Halfling for the reroll 1s and the abilities to occupy and hide within the same space as an medium creature.
Attack/heal/buff as an action, bonus action hide which only require you to break line of sight [which can be done if occupying the same space as another creature without leaving threat range], if the creature your hiding in is attacked use defender to impose disadvantage in the attack [this breaks stealth] or if attacked use shield spell, if not then attack from stealth with advantage and hope for the sneak attack smite crit.
option: go fighter for crits on 18+.
So the lesson I got from this is that magic initiate is really only good if you want more cantrips as the spells are too limited in the number of casts and duration to really be worth it through this feat.
Alarm gives you 8 hours of an area that will sound a warning if something trespasses.
Bless give you up to 10 rounds with concentration of a +d4 to an attack roll or saving throw each round to 3 creatures. Sanctuary gives you 10 rounds of safety from attack, unless they make a Wisdom saving throw.
Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Disquise Self, Longstider, Tenser's Floating Disc, or Unseen Servant works for 1 hour. Mage Armor works for 8 hours and gives you a 13 +Dex AC, plus you can use a shield if you are proficient with a shield. Shield of Faith gives you a +2 AC for up to 10 minutes with concentration and stacks with armor, Mage Armor, and shields.
Expeditious Retreat makes Dash a bonus action for 10 minutes with concentration.
Create or Destroy Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison and Disease, Goodberry, Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Identify, and Purify Food and Drink are all useful once per day.
Needing proficiency in order to help another player outside of combat is not a Homebrew... it's actually RAW if you're using the Player's Handbook.
Page 175, "Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The character who's leading the effort-or the one with the highest ability modifier-can make an ability check with advantage, reflecting the help provided by the other characters. In combat, this requires the Help action (see chapter 9).
*A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she could attempt alone* . For example, trying to open a lock requires proficiency with thieves' tools, so a character who lacks that proficiency can't help another character in that task. Moreover, a character can help only when two or more individuals working together would actually be productive. Some tasks, such as threading a needle, are no easier with help."
Find Familiar is very good. And slightly cheesey.
A little bit, but the in-combat stuff doesn't actually work out as well as people think it does on paper. All the out of combat stuff can be ridiculous, though.
@@ZeroKitsune No plan survives first contact with the GM or dice.
I have no one else to DM for me but Ive been really wanting to play a Bard as they're quickly growing more and more awesome in my mind. I was thinking of a Lore Bard Variant Human who has Magic Initiate as their starting feat
If they take Magic Initiate: Bard or pick spells that are on the Bard spell list, then they can use spell slots for the Magic Initiate spell as well. And if they take a spell on the Bard list that is also a ritual spell, then they can cast that spell ritually as well, since Bards can ritually cast Bard spells that they know.
For a 1st level Bard with the Magic Initiate feat, I would take Magic Initiate: Warlock to get Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand, and Unseen Servant. Since Unseen Servant is on the Bard spell iist, they should be able to ritually cast it, cast it once per day without a slot, and cast it with a slot. Unseen Servant is a great stage hand for a Bard, plus has uses adventuring as well. Chill Touch is an alternate to take for an attack cantrip instead of Eldritch Blast. Then you take Prestidigitation and Minor Illusion for the Bard cantrips, to be well rounded for a show or an adventure.
Any martial with the Polearm Master and War Caster feats can make great use of Booming Blade by using it when the enemy gets close enough to hit. Avoid Sentinel, because you want your opponent to make the decision to either move and take damage, or waste their turn to stay safe. And a LVL 18 Cavalier Fighter can make even more use out of that strategy because they can do one Opportunity Attack through Polearm Master once every turn without using your reaction.
I can see Monks take Magic Initiate (Cleric) for a long-range damaging cantrip (Sacred Flame or Toll the Dead) patching their weakness when unable to get "up close and personal" while using Wisdom (they want it high anyway). For the second one, they can pick many options and depends on the flavor - second damaging cantrip for battle options, Thaumaturgy for general shenanigans (it's worse than Prestidigitation, but nice enough), Guidance or even Resistance (to cast on self) or even just humble Light.
For the "level 1 spell", Shield of Faith seems like a natural choice to bump their AC for the important combat to near-ridiculous levels.
It also makes sense flavor-wise, having the Monk train in the religious mysticism of Clerics as well without multiclassing.
Or take Magic Initiate: Druid for Produce Flame or Magic Stone. Goodberry is a useful 1st level Druid spell. The Monk can take Shillelagh and have a 1d8 magical staff for early levels. The Monk weapon damage doesn't go to 1d8 unitl 11th level and Monk attacks don't become able to be magical for overcoming resistance and and immunity to non-magical weapons until 6th level.
Mage armor ♡
I'd like to request a ten best spells with no verbal components. I want a shortlist of things I can still do while silenced
Don't know if it was mentioned but in the errata Mage Armor was added to the sorcerer spell list. Also funny enough your rouge buddy will love you when you Twin spell your Mage Armor being a single target touch spell.
Mage Armor lasts for a third of the day. It would be better to just get the invocation Armor of Shadows and cast it twice per day (3 if you want to sleep with mage armor active).
You do get two cantrips with Magic Initiate also, though! But I agree if the Mage Armor is the only thing you care about, Eldritch Adept is probably better.
I’ve used prestidigitation and thaumaturgy to be the best musician.
Where can I find the spell cars he uses in his videos?
Where would you rank find familiar if you didn't use the help action in combat? Also can familiar give goodberry to downed allies?
I don’t see why not, I’d allow it.
Good amount of DMs would allow that if said family is able to grasp a berry.
So, I was playing an illusionist sorcerer for a one-shot. He was basically like a really childish imp, as he loved playing pranks.
We were walking down a path at a local fayre, while coming from the opposite direction was a young family… a man, his wife, with their young kid between them, all happily holding hands as they walked together.
I split off from the party and hid in a nearby bush. As the family walked by, I cast Prestigitation on a bush on the other side of the path, making it rustle rather vigorously as if something was inside.
As the family stopped to investigate, I cast Minor Illusion on the bush to create a really load roar, just as the guy looked closer.
He jumped so hard (failing a WIS save by the DM) that he swung the first thing he had to hand at the bush in fright… which was the kid! 🤣😈🤣
I scampered away, giggling maniacally as the wife started screaming at him.
You can use mage hand to defect an incoming melee attack. Place the hand in the way you can push it out of the way
Since the Mage Hand can't attack, it should not be able to deflect either. That seems like it would be a house rule for that use of Mage Hand.
Top 10 effects/features that can improve your saving throws.
Paladin aura
Bless spell
Favored by the Gods (lvl 1 Divine Soul)
Bardic Inspiration
Resilient feat
Lucky feat
Heroes Feast spell
Indomitable (Fighter Feature)
Gnome Cunning & Yuan-Ti (Racial Features)
Ring/Cloak of Protection & Good Luck Stone
Portent (Diviner Wizard)
Many more for specific saves but those all can boost 3 or more saving throws in a single feature.
For me, Goodberry is a druid no Brainerd. Featherfall and silvery barbs are good. Absorb element or false life. Ferrie Fire is also good. If you pick up Eldrtch Blast get the eldritch Initiate and pick Agonizing nlast uf high charisma. Repel8ng Blastn grasp of Lethargy or the one that pull is great if you have Spike growth or somebody in your party can Cas it.
Magic Initiate: Druid for a Life Cleric is a REAL good option. Then you have 10 berries that not only feed a person each, but they have 4 hp of healing each.
For Eldritch Adept to take Agonizing Blast to go with Eldritch Blast, the character has to have the Warlock class. The Eldritch Adept feat for other classes only works with Eldritch Invocations that have no prerequisite. So Armor of Shadows, Devil Sight, Eldritch Mind, etc would work with another class as they have no prerequisite. Agonizing Blast, Eldritch Spear, Lance of Lethargy, etc all have the prerequisite of having the Eldritch Blast cantrip, so only Warlocks can take those invocations with the Eldritch Adept feat.
Great video, but I'd like to point out that Guidance also exists on the Artificer spell list. I routinely take a one level dip in Artificer on my wizard characters for both the armour proficiencies and access to Guidance.
In my opinion "Unseen Servant" is better than mage hand.
No one decides to take Magic initate above ritual caster because of the Find Familiar spell as it is a ritual 1st level spell and both feats can give access to it. Whenn the choice is between familar and two cantrips or familiar and more ritual spells, the familiar is not the deciding factor...
Need Armour of Agathys on there. Great for Abjurers.
You get an Eldritch Blast. You get an Eldritch Blast. YOU get an Eldritch Blast! Eldritch Blasts for everyone!!
*all the npc's scream*
I was hoping to see more first level spells on this list rather than cantrips. What spells should I consider besides find familiar for example. I felt the title was misleading.
No shield? Just for any (half) caster that does not have access makes it a great one. And agree with other commentators should have split cantrips and spells.
If you didn't already get access to shield, Magic Initiate won't let you cast it from your spell slots. This makes it a pretty so-so 1/day effect.
@@TheEmperorGulcasa Ah okay thanks for clarifying. Forgot about that. Then yeah Shield is not so good.
Top 10 artificer spells
My DM simply ruled Goodberry this way: The spell clearly states that a single berry provides enough nutrition for 24 hours. Therefore if the players ate 2 oder 3 of them per day they'd get negative consequences out of it, ranging from simple things like "toilet problems"(constant farting or constipation) up to gaining weight or their armor no longer fitting them.
That being said the spell was constantly cast by our Druid as a way to cheese out big healing numbers, especially because he did stuff like using all his slots to create goodberrys, then took an 8-hour-rest, then started the day with 30 berrys and all of his spellslots.
Honestly, nobody like Powerplayers and I'm glad our DM shut that shit down.
It would get really tiring to do all the time but one thing DMs can do is have long rests be interrupted sometimes unpredictably so now the Druid has to fight with no spell slots. But it does suck to try to use the same counter tactic over and over and over...that's usually the problem with suggesting a "just do this" in response to powergaming stuff.
Really the answer is to just ask people not to do it if the other players aren't enjoying it.
Huh. I've tried correcting the "Flyby" tactic before, because I think RAW IMPLIES that you DO have to stay within range... and I also personally say, "if it's not in the official source, it may as well not exist." but honestly, it depends on if I agree with it or not lol. Like, a lot of "fan-on" head-canon stuff for anime or whatever, especially if a creator is like, "Yeah, that's a valid interpretation." I'll probably treat it like fact. But I disagree with Crawford honestly probably MOST of the time.
Still, interesting to know that's how Sage Advice rules Flyby. Just break my game a different way if you're ever unlucky enough to be in a game where I'm the DM lol. (I may not actually be a terrible DM. Idk. Nobody does. I've never DM'd nor played)
But at least if someone else was like, "Yeah, I'd rule by the SA Flyby ruling." I'd be like, "I can see why. Also, I'm taking Find Familiar." lol
You forgot to mention Lifeberries.
Mage armor is also good for moon druids
what about Silvery Barbs?
its in comparison not as good as the spells on the list, but its a powermove for a Martial class to have Healing Word and just scream as a Bonusaction " FUCK, YOU CAN'T DIE ON ME JET! GET YOUR ASS UP!" and the downed teammate gets on his feets again xD
Draconic Sorcs don't need Mage Armor anyway, since Draconic Resilience is just permanent Mage Armor plus half of the Tough Feat.
He actually said that in the video. Thanks for playing though.
Thorn whip on a cleric.
Rogues don't have to be hidden to use sneak attack. They just need to gain advantage, or have another creature that is an enemy of their target within 5 feet of it. If they actually were hidden they wouldn't need the assist of the help action in the first place.
Was expecting to see a separation of Cantrips and Spells, not a combination. Yes, cantrips are spells, but there is a clear difference established for reasons like this.
Also, Prestidigitaion should have been at the top of the list.
You can use Goodberry to stop the Tarrasque's rampage for a day.
Gift of alacrity, silvery barbs and shield
Silvery Barbs and Shield aren't quite as good with only a single casting allowed per day.
@@mhelvens Shield once per day is more than enough in most campaings where people only fight once a day.
@@CharroArgentino Most campagins don't do just one fight per day and the game is not balanced around 1/long rest days.
Honestly I never would have thought MAGE ARMOR was better on mages, this video really helped me out there
Fog cloud, feather fall, and spider climb are three of my favorite spells to take with magic initiate.
How do you get Spider Climb, a 2nd level spell?
@@Alche_mist That was a mistake on my part. I was looking at a Damphir character I had rolled just before I typed my comment.
You can only take ONE first-level spell and two cantrips with magic initiate.
@@joenarbaiz1640 correct, other than spider climb…. Which was the lineage spell for Damphr. I stand behind the two go to initiate 1st level spells that were my favorites to take….. either feather fall or cloud fog. The thread question was which spells do you like to take.
You have to take the attack action in order to take flurry of blows as your bonus
I realize you say this later in your video but you mentioned it with eldritch blast
There is an optional rule in Tasha's that lets you use it so long as you used your action on an ability that costs ki points.
Not sure how you can use ki in your action and cast eldritch blast
Releasing this right after the UA drop that reworks Initiate is unfortunate.
whers healing word
I just wish they would let you choose what spell modifier is applied so I can take Shillelagh on a bladesinger :(
@Wertex , the new UA version under playtest for One D&D allows the character to choose the casting stat between int, char, or wis. Woohoo!
@@billturner5908 Is that also the version that doesn't let spell attacks crit? 😅
@@MrSkillcap , yes, it is, but at my table the Shillelagh is still a wooden weapon so even though it is imbued with magic from a spell, the weapon could still crit.
Taking that further, I would allow magically conjured weapons that make a melee attack could still crit.
Personally, I do not think this playtest rule of not allowing spells that require an attack roll against a foe's AC will make it to the final rule set. It just seems to reduce the fun. We, the player base need to test it and give our constructive feedback to WotC.
@@MrSkillcap As @billturner5908 said, Shillelagh imbues a club or quarterstaff with magic. You can use your spellcasing modifier for the melee attack roll or the normal Strength modifier for the melee attack roll. Since you make melee attacks and not melee spell attacks, Shillelagh works with the extra attack feature. Shillelagh is a bonus action cantrip, so you can attack with it the same round you cast it. It also lasts 1 minute without concentration, so you get 9 rounds where you can use your bonus action. Monks could use either their Strength, Wisdom, or Dexterity modifiers to attack with a Shillelagh club/quarterstaff, as clubs and quarterstaffs are Monk weapons.
@@steveaustin2686 i know all of these things and don't see how it relates back to my original comment but i hope you have a great weekend
Did he just say Hex was a bad option for Magic Initiate because two primary spellcasting classes would have other concentration spells to use?
What?
How about silvery barbs? No one expects your fighter to cast silvery barbs on the npc who just passed their hold person save or the monster that just passed its banishment save.
Everyone needs silvery barbs! It is the greatest level 1 spell ever!
I think I'd go "up to 10" so roll a d10. Lessens the potency of Goodberry.
If Spellwrought Tattoos are available for purchase then familiars don't require a feat investment, only a gold investment.
You can only cast the spell at first level as a feat.
Chris Perkins said no to feeding good berry to the unconscious. DMs you decide.
Have the one feeding them make a Slight of hand check: If they fail, then the berry has gone into the windpipe rather than the esophagus and teh unconsious persdon autofails one death save as they are now choking.
Shield deserved a mention here
Not really. MI only allows for a single casting per long rest. Shield is a one round AC boost that you would only be able to use once per long rest.
Shield's power comes from how the concentration mechanic renders low-level slots not that useful in-combat for most spellcasting classes, so they don't care about slinging one around every time they can turn a hit into a miss with it. Only getting it once per day isn't nearly as impactful.
@@bskec2177 For Sorcerers, taking Magic Initiate: Sorcerer gives them another 1st level spell and two more cantrips. So a 1st level Sorcerer can have three 1st level spells and 6 cantrips. Since Shield is a Sorcerer spell, they can use it with spell slots besides the free one use per day. A Wizard can do the same, but has to prepare the Magic Initiate: Wizard spell to use it with spell slots. They can write the Wizard spell that they learn from Magic Initiate: Wizard into their spellbook as well. Say they take Alarm for example. Then once Alarm is in their spellbook, they can cast it ritually as well.
Goodberry consumes its material components. Then ask that your players dont try to circumvent this by stockpiling and hoarding mistletoe. Boom. Balanced. I dont play RAW for alot of reasons, specifically because I dont want to ban things. I would rather adjust them and I have the balancing experience to do it.
That would be a house rule, as nothing in the spell description says that the sprig of mistletoe is consumed by the Goodberry spell.
@@steveaustin2686 No shit? It should be that way by default but wotc are fuckin inept? Lmao hello?
@@vortraz2054 Yeah, having the Goodberry spell consume the sprig of mistletoe is a good way to stop abuse of the spell. Or rule that people can only eat two Goodberrys a day as they provide a full days nutrition. Then a Life Cleric can only heal 8 hp per day per person with Goodberry which isn't really game breaking.
Where is Shield or Silvery Barbs ?
The main problem with such reaction spells and most any spell that is one instant use is that Magic Initate does NOT let you cast the spell you learn with it using other spell slots you have unless you already would gain access to that spell from your class spellcasting feature. For this reason, the only worthwhile pickups are spells you only need to cast once a day or less, hence mage armor and find familiar. Bless also works as a 1/day one fight buff I guess.
They're not quite as good with only a single casting allowed per day.
i think eldlich blast is better been taken by Eldrich adept because allow you to take it and invocation
Eldritch Adept only allows you to take one invocation, and doesnt give you any cantrips. You also cant use Eldritch Adept to take Agonizing Blast to boost your damage from EB, because it has a prerequisite, and non-Warlocks can only take invocations that dont have a prerequisite. An actual Warlock taking MI just to get EB is the worst use of the feat I can think of.
The Spell Sniper feat allows you to take any cantrip that uses an attack role, and getting EB that way is very good for non-Warlocks, probably better than MI, if you have the prerequisite (you must already have at least one cantrip that uses an attack role).
You only get one invocation from EA. You don't get a cantrip.
Prestidigitation - create a nonmagical trinket - create a platinum coin and toss it into a crowd. Everyone piles on to try to grab it. The coin disappears, which only adds to the fracas, as everyone assumes someone in the pile has it.
Walk right past the guards with the best distraction ever. 😎👍
The goodberry bit if built around is bonkers. here's how:
1 lvl life cleric - lets the berries heal 4+ hp per berry (based off spell level) & heavy armor proficiency
4+ lvls Warlock of your choosing (genie is the most broken) for regaining spell slots on short rest
Eladrin/shadar-kai for both free PB misty steps and more importantly Trance for that 4 hour long
Magic initiate druid for goodberry.
Before beginning your long rest, use any remaining spell slots on good berry. Then after 4 hours, your long rest is complete. Use your warlock spell slots to do 2 more casts of goodberry. Then, as the rest of your party is still mid long rest, you can do 3-4 more short rests to regen warlock spell slots and cast 6-8 more sets of good berries (depending if DM lets you get that last long rest in). If going genie, at genielock lvl 10 you can pop into your vessel for a number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus and get a short rest every TEN MINUTES and you'll possibly drown in berries while in the vessel...
basically, right at level 5 your lock goodberries would be healing for 5 per berry (1 base + 2 life cleric + 2 lvl 2 lock spell slots) and you can create a total of at least 80 berries. that's 400 free healing to be spread around after every fight at basically zero cost. Sure, you need to dump str and dex but as you can misty step in a tight situation, having reduced movement while in heavy armor won't be a huge issue to get around