Prestidigitation. No combat use, but an incredible range of logistical uses. No need to carry any firelighting tools, can instantly warm and flavour food, instantly clean clothes and equipment.
@@ZeoffArcaneOfficial Mending would be very useful for maintenance and repair, but I think using prestidigitation to insta-clean guns would be better. I'm no gun guy, but my understanding is that keeping your gun clean is key to preventing malfunction and breakage. No need to Mend if it doesn't break
apart from ALL the non combat goodness, in fight, this is practically a flashbang and a decoy grenade. you can set up face positions, make noise of gunfire/steps, light something in the room you're about to breach... posibilities are very broad.
1. Spare the Dying. Stabilizing downed soldiers to get them to a medic so they can fight another day is huge 2. Guidance. As stated, do everything 10% better with 6 seconds of casting 3. Prestidigitation for firearm cleaning purposes so your gun never jams 4. Resistance is great for short periods of avoiding fire in gunfights and breaching 5. Mending for equipment maintenance 6. Blade Ward for half damage from all nonmagical weapons for only 6 seconds 7. Mage hand for bomb disabling, grenade throwing, and other uses.
To add to your point about guidance, since the caster and person attempting the task aren’t the same person, it barely costs any time assuming the caster wouldn’t be able to help anyway.
Prestidigitation or mold Earth. Logistically prestidigitation helps more. If you're talking in an actual battle mold Earth would allow for improvised fighting positions quickly.
Damn, beat me to it! 😂 3 most common responses "Morale enhancement/espirit de corps... skating out on tasking... the possibilities are limitless!" "... no man should have that power!" "You son of a bitch! I'm in!" 😂😂
@@elishafollet5347 there were no civilians in the area. All areas that had Firebolt use had no civilians. Lots of scorch marks, no civilians, just lots enemies. No civilians in my line of sight
Guidance. Disarming traps, perception checks, stealth, acrobatics, insight, survival, medicine, exct exct, and as long as you can touch yourself or an ally, you can do it for EVERY CHECK. Making soldiers 10% better at all those things nearly all the time is definitely worth it.
@@MORDKAu huh? So spell effects on a creature will not stack if it's the same spell. But each of them could still always be under the effects of guidance
@@bladeRollerhe means as in Characters A and B cast Guidance and then they maintain physical contact. Would Character A receive the bonus once (his own) so touching B makes no difference or would they get both bonuses? That's the key. Because if it stacks then you could have a type of super-officer being constantly followed around by 10 or so people capable of casting Guidance, so they can just make themselves better at commanding. If it doesn't stack, any amount of casters over 1 would just be extra time and so a single grunt carrying 100 pounds of Wands of Guidance would just end up cheaper.
@@Yumao420 You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one ability check of its choice. It can roll the die before or after making the ability check. The spell then ends. You can cast this every six seconds. You can't be under the effect of multiple guidance spells. But you could cast it on yourself, use it, then have someone else cast it on you again before your 6second reset I guess.
Grunts would mage hand a grenade to the enemies: together, slowly before finally getting it across to the enemies . It kills one guy but the due to collective effort the grunts all start howling like monkeys in unison at the sheer magnificence of somehow being able to kill a person when you divide one brain cell between 4 guys
Minor illusion, mold earth, prestidigitation, spare the dying, thaumaturgy, thunderclap, and vicious mockery would all have utility on the battlefield I think.
I assumed it would be blade ward or mending. I don't know what taking half the damage of getting shot or blown up would mean but I imagine a lot more soldiers would survive. Mending would let you fix stuff without tools or components, so a major buff for logistics.
Prestidigitation for it's general utility, mold earth for creating cover/trenches, shape water may have similar uses to mold earth, thaumaturgy may have use in psich warfare as does minor illusion, not to mention how handy the 5ft cube of camo/cover can be if you can fit yourself and a chair in there
Now imagine how pissed that CO would be when they piss off the grunts and they make his tongue taste like an old boot, or his mustache smell like a marines sweaty junk...😂
Arcane cantrip of choice is probably Prestigiitation for silent coms, markers, cleaning, warming, cooling and drying soldiers and equipment. Divine cantrip of choice is almost certainly guidance, just being a little better at everything outside of attacks adds up to such a massive advantage over time.
Very underrated spell: Encode thoughts Snipers or scouts could use encode thoughts to very easily give all the neccesary information from their missions, and could be used to remove memories in the case of capture and interrogation so long as you can discard the memory ribbon. Action reports would be a breeze.
Could you do more on weapons/firearms against Monsters? Especially Cthulhu-Mythos types would be cool. I always wondered how a Shoggoth-Lord would deal against a Tommy-Gun IRL!🤔✌🏻
I bet Cthulhu would easily die to a couple nukes if he wasn't hiding under the water all the time since a boat was able to fuck up his head pretty badly in his story
I forgot goodberry is a 1st level spell, not a cantrip. Someone said prestidigitation and they're right. Militaries can already do shooty shooty and destruction, but the spending they could reduce and the quality of life improvements they could enact, with mass prestidigitations, is insane
- Clean guns - Clean equipment - Highly sanitary food conditions - Easily warmable food - Lighting fires - Drying stuff to light fires - Snuffing small fires - Marking something for an hour that disappears by itself - You could play games with the trinket or small illusion (Does cleaning something make it not wet anymore?) - Everything is clean and dry. EVERYTHING IS CLEAN AND DRY - PREVENTION OF MOLD, INFECTIONS, WARE AND TEAR FROM BEING WET, GENERAL COMFORT - Automatic, though soulless, flavoring to your food - The amount of time that an entire facility spends cleaning *ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING AND EVERYWHERE* is reduced to a few minutes work for personal items (Is cleaning something removing the water from it?) The amount of money you save on water for washing and electricity for drying is monumental.
So many people missing minor illusion it's criminal. Without specialist gear, its got no fast counter, anda fireteam that can create it's own ambush point can end it fast. Mold eath is instant cover or blockades. And spare the dying stabilizes people in seconds, meaning pretty much anyone not killed outright survives the encounter.
If we say that soldiers are warlocks (their patron is their government) then the versatility of eldritch blast with different eldritch invocation would be great for if weapons run out of ammo
Any illusion honestly. Illusions have become legendary in wars throughout history because they were overly effective. Doing that on a whim would turn every battlefield into a chaotic mess of misdirection and uncertainty.
Any of the utility spells that don’t do damage, a lot of the pure utility cantrips are EXTREMELY vague on their limitations and thus could absolutely be used to a degree beyond anything else
Id think the command spell could have some really crazy uses. I know you cant command anything that would directly harm the one being commanded, but im sure you could fi d some really useful work arounds for that.
One of my favourite uses of Mage Hand is to hold up sharp objects above enemies and then drop them. When fighting against an enemy that can't be targeted for an attack, it's a good strategy. Of course this depends on how lenient (and/or gullible) your DM is.
I feel like it's important to note for true strike is that the casting range only means that the caster needs to be within 10 yards of the target (the sniper) not that the sniper needs to be within 10 yards of their target. There's no limit on that.
i think the answer is surprisingly enough i think its blade ward as the ability to lessen the damage you take before popping up to take shots in combat or before breaching. it gives that momentary umpf that's supper helpful.
coming behind mold earth and prestidigitation, mending might not be bad, not just for quick fixing things that break (because everything breaks eventually) but also because it specifies it works on metal objects to "mend" holes no larger than 1 foot across. i think closing holes in your cover before using it, or being able to instantly fix the armor of a vehicle you might use would be pretty handy as well.
I could see it differing between both branches and countries. Presti feels like the most likely, I also wouldnt underestimate thaumaturgy as an icredibly underestimated possible option! The fact you can set up to 3 individual effects at one time i feel could work really well for a more infiltration based unit.
Honestly i think mending is probably one of the most useful real lofe applications. I belive it is 1 minute casting. But irl things break so often, if you could just take a minute an fix things almost as good as new that would be clutch.
I would probably suggest either Prestidigitation or Mend. The former is easily one of the best ways to maintain gear and make sure it doesn't fail in a crucial moment due to elements. It can also work as a survival tool, as you're able to use it to light a fire, keep yourself cool in hot environments or warm yourself up in cold ones. And the drawing and other sensory effects could be potentially used for efficient communication. The latter can repair many damages that would otherwise require complete replacement (cracked or snapped metal, torn rope, cracked glass, etc.) which would significantly reduce the need for spares and ease the tasks of logistically supplying the military.
Guidance is a pretty useful option. Mending could be useful if any equipment breaks. Spare the Dying would substantially increase the survival rate of combat casualties. But, as others have said, Prestidigitation for the sheer number of useful things it would allow a soldier to do.
Mending would be my go-to. That or spare the dying. As a lot of other people have mentioned, prestidigitation would be SUPER useful. Generally, I feel like the more broad a cantrip is, the more useful it would be irl.
Friends would be an amazing assassination tool. 1 minute of being able to bullshit an interaction with anyone who isn't immediately hostile to you, with the condition that they will be hostile after the minute is up. Clear guards, gather information, hell you can even use it on your target to force them hostile and set them up as an instigator.
Prestidigitation for its swiss army knife of uses or mage hand as an assist for combat engineers, first aid, breaching buildings, moving debris in order to find IEDs... Plenty more uses
Prestigiditation You can clear your weapon of jams, instantly clean it, warm up food, use it for entertainment in times of low or non combat Use it to clean your clothes, use it to float a grenade over distance like a magic trick Use it for deception of the enemy It has so many uses
Haven’t seen anyone mention it but mending. Snapped wires, cord, rope, clothes, knife… I can’t speak to how much stuff in the field breaks but it must be cheaper/easier than trashing it or getting it back for repairs.
Probably any kind of healing spell, being able to just erase damage altogether on the spot is pretty busted when you compare it to field medicine, plus youd be likely to get back into the fight much faster
My top 3: presdidigitation, mage hand, mending in that order. Hinorary nention to minor illusion as well the top three have more general use applications.
I mean... since most guns hate dirt and those which don't have lower accuracy... Prestidigitation is a clear winner Can crawl through the mud and, with a 6-second spellcast, have your rifle functioning again
Guidence, prestidigitation, and mage hand are clear winners. Though literally always having a weapon on you, especially one you don't need your hands free to use that can give someone the absolute worst migrane anyone has ever had if their brain doesn't get instantly scrambled.
I can't remember if Magic Missle is a cantrip or a leveled spell but it'd be a guarenteed spell to teach for self defense or light combat use all for one reason, it can't miss. That alone is an absurd advantage in a spell.
Guidance would potentially be amazing if skill checks actually exist. Resistance could be situationally helpful. Prestidigitation can clean anything, and deodor it, which would be incredibly convenient. Mending would be really nice on anything that cracks, tears, or snaps. Spare the dying, which stabilizes someone who is bleeding out would be a literal life saver in the cases when it applies. Minor Illusion would be great for distractions, or maybe acting as a sort of hologram. Thaumaturgy could have some niche applications especially the ability to open unlocked doors without touching them. It can also triple the volume of your voice, which could be handy for shouting over the din of battle but I don’t know how much people do that in the modern day. It can instantly douse small fires, which could be interpreted to have used in fire suppression or cooling. None of the damage cantrips beat a firearm except for them not needing ammunition. The short range makes it not really viable though. I can’t imagine wanting something like Acid Splash or Ray of Frost over a pistol. Druidcraft tells you tomorrow’s weather with perfect accuracy which could be extremely valuable in specific circumstances. I think Mold Earth would be applicable to excavation but little else. Then again, I hear about sandbags and trenches and such being used a lot by armed forces so maybe expedited digging would be something they value. That’s all the ones I can think of that you haven’t covered already. The Sword Coast attack cantrips (green flame Blade and Booming Blade) essentially act as a straight upgrade to striking in melee normally, but that’s also not a common situation. Overall, my top three would be: Prestidigitation: Great for hygiene Mending: Great for repairs Spare the Dying: Literal life saving depending on how “0 HP” and “stable” translate to real life.
Spare the dying for medics, then a 50/50 mix of Prestidigitation (for cleanliness, removing the needs to bathe or wash clothinf and equipment, and to quickly start fires) and mending.
Mage hand would probably be very effective for EOD it only goes 30 feet but that's 30 feet further than they would usually have to be to disarm a bomb.
Spare The Dying Necromancy cantrip, can be used by clerics and artificers. Touch a living creature at 0HP and it becomes stable, no longer needing to make death save throws. After 1d4 hours it regains 1HP. Super useful for everyone on the squad to have. Is your homie shot and bleeding out? Spare the Dying him and he'll be fine (relatively) in a few hours. Just gotta stop his bleeding and make sure he doesn't take any more damage.
Easy win for mending, they could use it to repair outfits, protective armor, really any small damage that could cause issues for example a cracked gun barrel or shattered plate armor The only issue i could see it the material cost of 2 lodestones
the answer is what we've been using for millennia, a bunch of angry barbarians will get sht done regardless of what tools are available, give them firebolt and they'll just catapult throw a grunt to the effective range and use it like grenades but yeah, any self or ally buff would be great as well as utilities
Just like in normal dnd, I think all the cantrips can be very useful, that goes without saying, but for the damage dealing cantrips they would need the war mage features to prove useful, at least from the rules I seen regarding war magic in 3.5, with increased range and damage of spells.
they already signed a contract, so they likely have some Warlock levels. just use eldritch blast, which can go up to ~100 meters. hitting people with what is effectively the wind isn't a warcrime.
Depends on how rare this spell would be. Does everyone get it? Spare the Dying, everyone can stop an injured guy from bleeding out long enough to get him to a medic. 1 in 10, one per squad? Mold Earth, one person can make foxholes their squad in just a minute. A few out of a hundred? Prestidigitation, the platoon armorer's maintenance just got cut down by about 80%. Guidance would be helpful, but with so many cameras and drones in modern militaries, the benefit would be offset by lost potential from other cantrips. Mending would be good... for the one guy who manages to snap his rifle in half, and not really anyone else. Create Bonfire *maybe* to cut off a doorway as a reusable trap and survival kit supplement, but too niche to warrant over other options
20 grunts with mage hand lifting the LMG gunner 30 feet up for a surprise attack. Although just lifting a pistol per grunt would be more efficient I guess.
Out of all the damaging cantrips suprisingly enough I think Sacred Flame is the best. It targets a creature within sixty feet you can see, and specifically states it is not affected by cover. Thats insane for urban use, as long as you can see the target (using reflections or even cameras) you can engage without any risk to yourself. Not to mention it deals enough average damage to knock down a commoner in one blow. For non damaging combat cantrips it has to be minor illusion. Instant one way cover, auditory or visual distractions, and even gimicky invisibility if your DM is nice. For non combat cantrips it really depends. Mould Earth would be insane for trench warfare, but I don't see the modern military doing that any time soon. Mage hand would be good for communication (sign language or even just physically handing notes), and would make the supply chain significantly more efficient. But all around prestidigitation is probably the best.
Prestidigitation. No combat use, but an incredible range of logistical uses. No need to carry any firelighting tools, can instantly warm and flavour food, instantly clean clothes and equipment.
The moral boost alone from the cleaning and food improvement could really make a difference, taken as a whole.
Shoot, I was thinking Mending, but that's absolutely perfect
one dude with prestidigitation, another with mending, another with mage hand and another with eldritch blast in case of emergency
@@ZeoffArcaneOfficial Mending would be very useful for maintenance and repair, but I think using prestidigitation to insta-clean guns would be better. I'm no gun guy, but my understanding is that keeping your gun clean is key to preventing malfunction and breakage. No need to Mend if it doesn't break
apart from ALL the non combat goodness, in fight, this is practically a flashbang and a decoy grenade. you can set up face positions, make noise of gunfire/steps, light something in the room you're about to breach... posibilities are very broad.
1. Spare the Dying. Stabilizing downed soldiers to get them to a medic so they can fight another day is huge
2. Guidance. As stated, do everything 10% better with 6 seconds of casting
3. Prestidigitation for firearm cleaning purposes so your gun never jams
4. Resistance is great for short periods of avoiding fire in gunfights and breaching
5. Mending for equipment maintenance
6. Blade Ward for half damage from all nonmagical weapons for only 6 seconds
7. Mage hand for bomb disabling, grenade throwing, and other uses.
To add to your point about guidance, since the caster and person attempting the task aren’t the same person, it barely costs any time assuming the caster wouldn’t be able to help anyway.
Not so sure about resistance, it depends on the exact mechanics of gunfire. But everything else yeah
Mage hands could not throw a grenade, it is obviusly an attack :P
@@cujak9581 what about carrying it to a specific spot and pulling the pin via a string?
Spare the dying also means that hostage and "we need them alive" situations get WAY easier.
Prestidigitation: to clear your rifle…
Ooh
Holy shit. That would be so damn nice, you have no idea how much carbon builds up in an M4. It is fucking horrible cleaning that shit.
Also you would be a cleaning machine
Prestidigitation or mold Earth. Logistically prestidigitation helps more. If you're talking in an actual battle mold Earth would allow for improvised fighting positions quickly.
"Figure out some great tactical uses for it." Tactical uses here is pulling pranks on the other grunts and we all know it.
Firebolt: Probably a war crime
It doesn't count if they can't find the bodies
Damn, beat me to it! 😂
3 most common responses
"Morale enhancement/espirit de corps... skating out on tasking... the possibilities are limitless!"
"... no man should have that power!"
"You son of a bitch! I'm in!"
😂😂
@@joseguadalupemartineztorre9702probably wouldn't count just as long as your not using it on civilians/within civilian areas lol
@@elishafollet5347 there were no civilians in the area. All areas that had Firebolt use had no civilians. Lots of scorch marks, no civilians, just lots enemies. No civilians in my line of sight
@@joseguadalupemartineztorre9702 then it's legal I guess
Guidance. Disarming traps, perception checks, stealth, acrobatics, insight, survival, medicine, exct exct, and as long as you can touch yourself or an ally, you can do it for EVERY CHECK. Making soldiers 10% better at all those things nearly all the time is definitely worth it.
Does it stack for every person that has guidance
@@MORDKAu huh? So spell effects on a creature will not stack if it's the same spell. But each of them could still always be under the effects of guidance
@@bladeRollerhe means as in Characters A and B cast Guidance and then they maintain physical contact. Would Character A receive the bonus once (his own) so touching B makes no difference or would they get both bonuses? That's the key. Because if it stacks then you could have a type of super-officer being constantly followed around by 10 or so people capable of casting Guidance, so they can just make themselves better at commanding. If it doesn't stack, any amount of casters over 1 would just be extra time and so a single grunt carrying 100 pounds of Wands of Guidance would just end up cheaper.
@@Yumao420 You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one ability check of its choice. It can roll the die before or after making the ability check. The spell then ends.
You can cast this every six seconds. You can't be under the effect of multiple guidance spells.
But you could cast it on yourself, use it, then have someone else cast it on you again before your 6second reset I guess.
@@Yumao420 and since it's a cantrip, you can cast it as many times as you want
Grunts would mage hand a grenade to the enemies: together, slowly before finally getting it across to the enemies . It kills one guy but the due to collective effort the grunts all start howling like monkeys in unison at the sheer magnificence of somehow being able to kill a person when you divide one brain cell between 4 guys
You could also just repel an enemy's grenade without risking your own hand, I think
Drop a hundred Flumphs on a BattleField... Shit will work itself out.
Yo bro aren't you a nerf guy?
@@narenthebeesechurgerman422
Jake?.?
@PirateJohnson Sorry I don't think I am who you think? But I am pretty active in the fuzzy walrus discord
Im surprised Spare the dying wasn't listed
Minor illusion, mold earth, prestidigitation, spare the dying, thaumaturgy, thunderclap, and vicious mockery would all have utility on the battlefield I think.
I don't want to think of what grunts with Vicious Mockery would be like.
@@Wolfy1012 think drill sergeants.
@@Wolfy1012Somebody could hack into enemy radio network and drop a Yo Mama so hard anyone who hears him takes actual damage
I assumed it would be blade ward or mending. I don't know what taking half the damage of getting shot or blown up would mean but I imagine a lot more soldiers would survive. Mending would let you fix stuff without tools or components, so a major buff for logistics.
Prestidigitation for it's general utility, mold earth for creating cover/trenches, shape water may have similar uses to mold earth, thaumaturgy may have use in psich warfare as does minor illusion, not to mention how handy the 5ft cube of camo/cover can be if you can fit yourself and a chair in there
Gotta be presto, imagine how happy officers would be if soldiers were always clean.
Now imagine how pissed that CO would be when they piss off the grunts and they make his tongue taste like an old boot, or his mustache smell like a marines sweaty junk...😂
Guidance missles... wait a second.
Arcane cantrip of choice is probably Prestigiitation for silent coms, markers, cleaning, warming, cooling and drying soldiers and equipment.
Divine cantrip of choice is almost certainly guidance, just being a little better at everything outside of attacks adds up to such a massive advantage over time.
Very underrated spell: Encode thoughts
Snipers or scouts could use encode thoughts to very easily give all the neccesary information from their missions, and could be used to remove memories in the case of capture and interrogation so long as you can discard the memory ribbon. Action reports would be a breeze.
Could you do more on weapons/firearms against Monsters? Especially Cthulhu-Mythos types would be cool. I always wondered how a Shoggoth-Lord would deal against a Tommy-Gun IRL!🤔✌🏻
Do they even have anything written about their physiology?
I bet Cthulhu would easily die to a couple nukes if he wasn't hiding under the water all the time since a boat was able to fuck up his head pretty badly in his story
I forgot goodberry is a 1st level spell, not a cantrip.
Someone said prestidigitation and they're right.
Militaries can already do shooty shooty and destruction, but the spending they could reduce and the quality of life improvements they could enact, with mass prestidigitations, is insane
- Clean guns
- Clean equipment
- Highly sanitary food conditions
- Easily warmable food
- Lighting fires
- Drying stuff to light fires
- Snuffing small fires
- Marking something for an hour that disappears by itself
- You could play games with the trinket or small illusion
(Does cleaning something make it not wet anymore?)
- Everything is clean and dry.
EVERYTHING IS CLEAN AND DRY
- PREVENTION OF MOLD, INFECTIONS, WARE AND TEAR FROM BEING WET, GENERAL COMFORT
- Automatic, though soulless, flavoring to your food
- The amount of time that an entire facility spends cleaning *ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING AND EVERYWHERE* is reduced to a few minutes work for personal items
(Is cleaning something removing the water from it?)
The amount of money you save on water for washing and electricity for drying is monumental.
Spare the dying. Making sure your comrades make it off the battle field alive means more soldiers can make it back.
So many people missing minor illusion it's criminal. Without specialist gear, its got no fast counter, anda fireteam that can create it's own ambush point can end it fast. Mold eath is instant cover or blockades. And spare the dying stabilizes people in seconds, meaning pretty much anyone not killed outright survives the encounter.
Prestidigitation has so many practical uses but in a combat situation I think minor illusion would actually be super helpful.
If we say that soldiers are warlocks (their patron is their government) then the versatility of eldritch blast with different eldritch invocation would be great for if weapons run out of ammo
the spotter of a Sniper using Cantrip Guidance
Ah yes, Mage Hand possessed by a grunt.
I hear Fat Electrition getting ready for some Grunts and Crafts projects already!
Any illusion honestly.
Illusions have become legendary in wars throughout history because they were overly effective. Doing that on a whim would turn every battlefield into a chaotic mess of misdirection and uncertainty.
Any of the utility spells that don’t do damage, a lot of the pure utility cantrips are EXTREMELY vague on their limitations and thus could absolutely be used to a degree beyond anything else
Id think the command spell could have some really crazy uses. I know you cant command anything that would directly harm the one being commanded, but im sure you could fi d some really useful work arounds for that.
"disassemble" good luck fighting with your weapon reduced to parts
Command is not a cantrip.
I could see minor illusion being handy for snipers and stealth missions, just gotta contort your body to fit the 5ft cube
In my campaign there was a wizard who operated a tank by himself by getting a bunch of magehands to do things like reload it
One of my favourite uses of Mage Hand is to hold up sharp objects above enemies and then drop them. When fighting against an enemy that can't be targeted for an attack, it's a good strategy. Of course this depends on how lenient (and/or gullible) your DM is.
I feel like it's important to note for true strike is that the casting range only means that the caster needs to be within 10 yards of the target (the sniper) not that the sniper needs to be within 10 yards of their target. There's no limit on that.
i think the answer is surprisingly enough i think its blade ward as the ability to lessen the damage you take before popping up to take shots in combat or before breaching. it gives that momentary umpf that's supper helpful.
coming behind mold earth and prestidigitation, mending might not be bad, not just for quick fixing things that break (because everything breaks eventually) but also because it specifies it works on metal objects to "mend" holes no larger than 1 foot across. i think closing holes in your cover before using it, or being able to instantly fix the armor of a vehicle you might use would be pretty handy as well.
I could see it differing between both branches and countries. Presti feels like the most likely, I also wouldnt underestimate thaumaturgy as an icredibly underestimated possible option! The fact you can set up to 3 individual effects at one time i feel could work really well for a more infiltration based unit.
Mold earth would be incredibly useful for fox holes and quickly creating full cover in a fire fight
Honestly i think mending is probably one of the most useful real lofe applications. I belive it is 1 minute casting. But irl things break so often, if you could just take a minute an fix things almost as good as new that would be clutch.
Mage Hand.... hang on to your hats, LTs 😂
Spare the dying would allow soldiers to easily stabilize heavily injured soldiers for later treatment
I would probably suggest either Prestidigitation or Mend.
The former is easily one of the best ways to maintain gear and make sure it doesn't fail in a crucial moment due to elements.
It can also work as a survival tool, as you're able to use it to light a fire, keep yourself cool in hot environments or warm yourself up in cold ones. And the drawing and other sensory effects could be potentially used for efficient communication.
The latter can repair many damages that would otherwise require complete replacement (cracked or snapped metal, torn rope, cracked glass, etc.) which would significantly reduce the need for spares and ease the tasks of logistically supplying the military.
Guidance is a pretty useful option. Mending could be useful if any equipment breaks. Spare the Dying would substantially increase the survival rate of combat casualties. But, as others have said, Prestidigitation for the sheer number of useful things it would allow a soldier to do.
If you could grant Mage Hand an EOD tech, they'd love you forever.
vicious mockery: *shoots and misses "FUCK" *the guy that was getting shot at dies "wh- ??? nice? i guess?..."
The answer is obviously vicious mockery. We’re already using it without the effects so it would be a pure buff.
Mending would be my go-to. That or spare the dying. As a lot of other people have mentioned, prestidigitation would be SUPER useful. Generally, I feel like the more broad a cantrip is, the more useful it would be irl.
Mage hand is a good pick, though. Just swipe the pin from an enemy's grenade and get your umbrella ready.
Man, minor ilusion or shape water WTF
Wouldn't shape water be sort of a worse mold earth in this context? I mean, what are the uses you have in mind?
Firebolt could help in EOD maybe
Spare the dying in order to… spare the dying
Mage hand grenade drops. Basically close range grenade drone.
Friends would be an amazing assassination tool. 1 minute of being able to bullshit an interaction with anyone who isn't immediately hostile to you, with the condition that they will be hostile after the minute is up. Clear guards, gather information, hell you can even use it on your target to force them hostile and set them up as an instigator.
Prestidigitation for its swiss army knife of uses or mage hand as an assist for combat engineers, first aid, breaching buildings, moving debris in order to find IEDs...
Plenty more uses
Mending could probably be pretty useful since you could repair most small equipment as long as you had most of the broken pieces
Prestigiditation
You can clear your weapon of jams, instantly clean it, warm up food, use it for entertainment in times of low or non combat
Use it to clean your clothes, use it to float a grenade over distance like a magic trick
Use it for deception of the enemy
It has so many uses
Prestidigitation. Prestidigitation is always the best cantrip in all situations.
Haven’t seen anyone mention it but mending. Snapped wires, cord, rope, clothes, knife…
I can’t speak to how much stuff in the field breaks but it must be cheaper/easier than trashing it or getting it back for repairs.
I would like to see which spells would certain soldiers (snipers, medics, spec-ops) use.
Probably any kind of healing spell, being able to just erase damage altogether on the spot is pretty busted when you compare it to field medicine, plus youd be likely to get back into the fight much faster
My top 3: presdidigitation, mage hand, mending in that order.
Hinorary nention to minor illusion as well the top three have more general use applications.
vicious mockery
Mold Earth for easy quick entrenchment, Spare the Dying for medics.
I mean... since most guns hate dirt and those which don't have lower accuracy... Prestidigitation is a clear winner
Can crawl through the mud and, with a 6-second spellcast, have your rifle functioning again
Guidence, prestidigitation, and mage hand are clear winners. Though literally always having a weapon on you, especially one you don't need your hands free to use that can give someone the absolute worst migrane anyone has ever had if their brain doesn't get instantly scrambled.
I can't remember if Magic Missle is a cantrip or a leveled spell but it'd be a guarenteed spell to teach for self defense or light combat use all for one reason, it can't miss. That alone is an absurd advantage in a spell.
Spare the dying: there's no longer a need to be careful around hostages when you can ensure that they're only unconscious after the grenade...
The answer is prestidigitation, it always is and always will be
Mage hand to twist the enemy's nuts for a tactical advantage.
Honestly I’m thinking Mending as that would make maintenance of gear extremely easy and any damage done can be quickly fixed.
Guidance would potentially be amazing if skill checks actually exist.
Resistance could be situationally helpful.
Prestidigitation can clean anything, and deodor it, which would be incredibly convenient.
Mending would be really nice on anything that cracks, tears, or snaps.
Spare the dying, which stabilizes someone who is bleeding out would be a literal life saver in the cases when it applies.
Minor Illusion would be great for distractions, or maybe acting as a sort of hologram.
Thaumaturgy could have some niche applications especially the ability to open unlocked doors without touching them. It can also triple the volume of your voice, which could be handy for shouting over the din of battle but I don’t know how much people do that in the modern day. It can instantly douse small fires, which could be interpreted to have used in fire suppression or cooling.
None of the damage cantrips beat a firearm except for them not needing ammunition. The short range makes it not really viable though. I can’t imagine wanting something like Acid Splash or Ray of Frost over a pistol.
Druidcraft tells you tomorrow’s weather with perfect accuracy which could be extremely valuable in specific circumstances.
I think Mold Earth would be applicable to excavation but little else. Then again, I hear about sandbags and trenches and such being used a lot by armed forces so maybe expedited digging would be something they value.
That’s all the ones I can think of that you haven’t covered already.
The Sword Coast attack cantrips (green flame Blade and Booming Blade) essentially act as a straight upgrade to striking in melee normally, but that’s also not a common situation.
Overall, my top three would be:
Prestidigitation: Great for hygiene
Mending: Great for repairs
Spare the Dying: Literal life saving depending on how “0 HP” and “stable” translate to real life.
Mage Hand would give you an alibi while fragging your CO
Spare the dying for medics, then a 50/50 mix of Prestidigitation (for cleanliness, removing the needs to bathe or wash clothinf and equipment, and to quickly start fires) and mending.
If you had an eldritch invocation a 600 feet eldritch blast would also be usefull
Mage hand would probably be very effective for EOD it only goes 30 feet but that's 30 feet further than they would usually have to be to disarm a bomb.
Also since it only requires line of sight you give them a camera drone and a blast shield set 30ft back.
Spare The Dying
Necromancy cantrip, can be used by clerics and artificers.
Touch a living creature at 0HP and it becomes stable, no longer needing to make death save throws. After 1d4 hours it regains 1HP.
Super useful for everyone on the squad to have. Is your homie shot and bleeding out? Spare the Dying him and he'll be fine (relatively) in a few hours. Just gotta stop his bleeding and make sure he doesn't take any more damage.
Message has verbal components(the message that is to be delivered).
Shocking grasp to power a magnetic rifle
I’d probably go with one of the healing spells.
I know its mot a cantrip but speak with animals or speak with dead would be incredible for tactical planning.
Nothing I mean nothing would be better than Thaumaturgy and a rifle.
Definitely vicious mockery.
Easy win for mending, they could use it to repair outfits, protective armor, really any small damage that could cause issues for example a cracked gun barrel or shattered plate armor
The only issue i could see it the material cost of 2 lodestones
the answer is what we've been using for millennia, a bunch of angry barbarians will get sht done regardless of what tools are available, give them firebolt and they'll just catapult throw a grunt to the effective range and use it like grenades
but yeah, any self or ally buff would be great as well as utilities
Instead of firebolt, eldritch blast or magic missle
Mage hand would be great for Demining/EOD
Just like in normal dnd, I think all the cantrips can be very useful, that goes without saying, but for the damage dealing cantrips they would need the war mage features to prove useful, at least from the rules I seen regarding war magic in 3.5, with increased range and damage of spells.
Mage hand could let you disarm bombs from behind a wall.
Underestimated Mold Earth. Digging trenches takes a ton of time, but you can have a pretty great hiding hole for several people in about 30 seconds
they already signed a contract, so they likely have some Warlock levels. just use eldritch blast, which can go up to ~100 meters. hitting people with what is effectively the wind isn't a warcrime.
Magic Missile!
MAGEHAND GRENADE
Mage hands. Strap a go pro and an explosive now you can deliver it through the air vents completely silently.
Mold earth it great for making cover fast
Everyone is sleeping on Illusion magic.
Mage hand triggered claymores for additional standoff distance. Guidance as others have said. Ghost sound for infiltration. Is On/Off cannon?
Mage Hand for reloading while staying on target.
Depends on how rare this spell would be. Does everyone get it? Spare the Dying, everyone can stop an injured guy from bleeding out long enough to get him to a medic. 1 in 10, one per squad? Mold Earth, one person can make foxholes their squad in just a minute. A few out of a hundred? Prestidigitation, the platoon armorer's maintenance just got cut down by about 80%. Guidance would be helpful, but with so many cameras and drones in modern militaries, the benefit would be offset by lost potential from other cantrips. Mending would be good... for the one guy who manages to snap his rifle in half, and not really anyone else. Create Bonfire *maybe* to cut off a doorway as a reusable trap and survival kit supplement, but too niche to warrant over other options
Magic Missile
Minor Illusion, pop it in a window. You can see through it just fine, and no one can see in.
Mending. Being able to repair minor damage to equipment without tools is absolutely useful.
As a soldier Mold Earth is the cantrip I wish I had in the military. I wouldn't have to go to the VA if I had that spell lol 😂😢
20 grunts with mage hand lifting the LMG gunner 30 feet up for a surprise attack. Although just lifting a pistol per grunt would be more efficient I guess.
Out of all the damaging cantrips suprisingly enough I think Sacred Flame is the best. It targets a creature within sixty feet you can see, and specifically states it is not affected by cover. Thats insane for urban use, as long as you can see the target (using reflections or even cameras) you can engage without any risk to yourself. Not to mention it deals enough average damage to knock down a commoner in one blow.
For non damaging combat cantrips it has to be minor illusion. Instant one way cover, auditory or visual distractions, and even gimicky invisibility if your DM is nice.
For non combat cantrips it really depends. Mould Earth would be insane for trench warfare, but I don't see the modern military doing that any time soon. Mage hand would be good for communication (sign language or even just physically handing notes), and would make the supply chain significantly more efficient. But all around prestidigitation is probably the best.