D&D Best Arcane Trickster Cantrips To Have

Updated:

15 Jun 2022

The path of an arcane trickster is a natural choice for rogues who have supplemented their talents for theft with the study of the arcane.

Few can match the guile and craftiness of arcane tricksters. These prodigious rogues blend the subtlest aspects of the arcane with the natural cunning of the bandit and the scoundrel, using spells to enhance their natural skills.

Arcane tricksters can pick locks, disarm traps, and lift purses from a safe distance using their magical legerdemain, and as often as not seek humiliation as a goal to triumph over their foes than more violent solutions.

With their mastery of magic, arcane tricksters can make for even more subtle or dangerous opponents than standard rogues. By blending spells with their deadly attacks, they can accomplish so much more.

Since their spell progression is slower than that of the so-called full casters (Bards, Clerics, Wizards, etc), arcane tricksters may lean more heavily on their cantrips to complement their toolbox.

From a boost in damage to a significant boost to the subtler implications of their job, it can be difficult to choose a handful of cantrips to get by, but worry not, for we have compiled a list of the best cantrips for arcane tricksters to help you choose!

5. Prestidigitation

Prestidigitation lets you create several, harmless sensorial effects to flex your creativity and lead to interesting role-playing scenarios.

This cantrip shines in the hands of a creative player, granting your sorcerer an arsenal of minor tricks to get by.

While harmless, it’s far from useless. Make someone think something is vibrating in their pocket, make a grand entrance, the choice is yours!

Why Prestidigitation Is Great:

Dirty shoes, wet clothes, smelly odors. It's usually the weirdest things that have the biggest impact, and Prestidigitation does just that, deals with the littlest of things, fixing minor inconveniences!
Rogues rely on subtlety and surprise, with the broad range of effects, you can get out of prestidigitation, it’s always a good choice.

Prestidigitation details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:prestidigitation

4. Ray of Frost

You fire off a frigid beam that harms your foes with cold, numbing them to the point of slowing them down.

Not only is Ray of Frost a nice ranged alternative that dishes out cold damage, but you also reduce your target’s speed by 10 feet. This can be particularly useful when stopping running away foes or closing the gap.

What Ray of Frost is Useful for:

Many low to middle CR foes are resistant to physical damage, a fighter’s main way of dishing out the hurt. Ray of Frost lets you bypass the most common resistance types reliably.
Sometimes foes run away, whether to fight another day or call in reinforcements. Reducing their speed is a good way to make sure they get nowhere before you end their existence.

Ray of Frost details: https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Ray%20of%20Frost#content

3. Booming Blade

Another spell to empower your melee attack with, Booming Blade envelops your weapon with sonic energy. If you hit, this energy leaps towards your foe, dealing thunder damage if they move.

As you grow in power, your initial damage, and that triggered when they move increases, making this the perfect spell to punish highly mobile foes.

Since it bolsters your melee weapon attacks, you can use this to further ramp up your sneak attack damage, and, since rogues can disengage as a bonus action, you can get away from your foes, forcing them to trigger the secondary effect if they pursue!

What Booming Blade is Useful for:

Thunder damage is seldom resisted in the 5th edition, making it perfect to bypass most resistances in-game.
Since most of the spell’s damage triggers when your target moves, you can lock down highly mobile foes by making them decide between taking damage before you or taking damage by moving away.

Booming Blade details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:booming-blade

2. Minor Illusion

You create a sound or an image within a 5-foot cube, forcing a creature to make an Intelligence check to disbelieve your illusion, otherwise taking it for real.

This spell can be top-notch if used creatively, making up cover where there is none, fake walls to divert pursuers, or even the promise of a more dangerous foe approaching!

What Minor Illusion Is Useful for:

A fake bridge, a fake door, the possibilities are limitless. Used properly, this can be the most versatile cantrip available for the threats it can make your foes believe exist.
What’s something a rogue can never have too much of? Cover. With this, you can create fake walls, furniture, and more to help you sneak in, or out, successfully.

Minor Illusion details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:minor-illusion

1. Mage Hand

You conjure a spectral, floating hand that can manipulate objects, retrieve items and so much more.

While the hand can’t attack or activate magical items, it's impervious to damage, so it could pull acid-covered levers, retrieve ancient treasures within pools of lava and scratch your back when it itches somewhere inconvenient!

The reason mage hand is so good for arcane tricksters is that the whole archetype is geared around it. After all, you become capable of using it with finesse and make it invisible!

What Mage Hand Is Useful for:

Utility is the third name of this spell. There are many issues regarding distance or booby-trapped objects that simply summoning an impervious hand from 30 feet away can solve.
Once you become 3rd level, you can use thieves’ tools at range with it, staying at a safe distance while the invisible hand does the job.

Mage Hand details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:mage-hand