Choosing a cantrip, or learning and preparing spells is always an important part of playing a powerful spellcaster in Dungeons and Dragons. A good spell list can help a player come up with smart and creative solutions for different problems. This is a hard task for new and even experienced players, considering how many spells there are to choose from.
While many spells are obvious picks because of how powerful or versatile they are, some spells are never considered by players. They are rarely used in the game, and their benefits, however situational, get overlooked. Knowing these spells, and when they can be used, can offer more options for advanced players.
10 True Strike (Cantrip)
This spell is famous for being the worst spell in the Player’s Handbook. Using an action to get an advantage on the first attack next turn, is almost always worse than just taking one normal attack in the current turn and another normal attack on the next turn. But even this cantrip can have some situational uses.
One use for True Strike, can be in intense social interactions that are leading to a fight. Before the negotiations completely fail a character can point to the enemy and cast this spell and then rush in to give their first attack in the initiative an advantage.
Another use for this cantrip is for the only class that actually prefers one attack with an advantage over two normal attacks, and that is the rogue. An Arcane Trickster rogue can use this cantrip in situations where they can’t find a place to hide, and no other ally can get in melee with their enemy. In this case, True Strike will enable the sneak attack on the rogue’s next turn.
9 Illusory Script (1st Level)
Picking this 1st level Illusion spell, especially in the lower levels, might seem very useless. The spell can hide a secret message, and only people who the caster designates can read through the illusion. The ten gold worth of materials that each casting of the spell consumes also makes it an expensive pick for low-level casters.
However, at mid to high levels, and when the social and political aspects of a campaign grow more important, secret communication can become very useful. A Bard can trick a guard captain by asking them to deliver a love letter to the bard’s partner who’s in jail, but beneath the illusion, there are instructions for breaking them free. A wizard can cover their spellbook with this illusion so in case they lose it or it is stolen, no one else can access their powerful spells. When a caster is powerful enough so they don’t worry about spending their first-level spell slots, Illusory Script can come in handy.
8 Skywrite (2nd Level)
Mass communication is a powerful tool that we are used to in the modern days, but players often don’t realize how important it is, and how useful the Skywrite spell can be, until the need arises.
The group might need to inform the people of a city about a corrupt and evil leader, they might need to warn them about a dangerous monster threatening the city, or maybe they need a distraction and can cause fear and chaos in the city with an ominous message. Skywrite is a really powerful spell, and it never hurts to have this tool available for the group.
7 Plant Growth (3rd Level)
Plant Growth is a very powerful spell in and out of combat, but many players overlook the power of this 3rd level spell. Its out-of-combat use is somewhat obvious. The spell will enrich a land in a half-mile radius to produce more food for one year. So if the party comes upon a town struggling with drought, a single 8-hour casting of this spell will help the people for one year.
The part that players often don’t consider, is that Plant Growth is one of the most powerful control spells in combat. With one action, the spell will turn all plants in a 100 feet radius into extremely difficult terrain, reducing the movement speed of all creatures to one-fourth. The caster can even designate which areas stay clear, so the party can move around as normal.
6 Compulsion (4th Level)
This 4th level spell is often overshadowed by powerful bard spells such as Polymorph or Greater Invisibility. But Compulsion is a unique and powerful control spell. It can target any number of creatures in a 30 feet radius, and with a bonus action, the bard can designate a direction on each turn. Each creature that fails its saving throw, has to use its movement speed to move to that direction before or after taking its action.
Not only can this spell keep enemies from reaching the weaker casters and healers of the party, but Compulsion is also the only forced movement effect that will trigger opportunity attacks, so the melee characters can get a free attack every time the spell takes effect.
5 Creation (5th Level)
Climbing gear, ropes, artisan tools, sledgehammers, shovels, or any other object, might be needed in different situations, but characters usually don’t have every imaginable tool at their disposal, and when the need arises, they might not have a way of finding one.
Creation lets the caster create any non-magical object that will fit in a 5-foot cube. The object lasts for a duration determined by the rarity of its materials as shown in the spell’s description. The spell even lets the player create powerful adamantine or mithril weapons and armor, however, they will only last for one minute. If the fighter lost their sword in the lava, or their armor was destroyed by rust monsters, one use of this spell can equip them with powerful items for the duration of combat.
4 Find The Path (6th Level)
Find the Path seems very limited as a 6th level spell and most casters hesitate to prepare and use this spell. But in the right situation, it can be very useful. The spell shows the most direct path to a specific and fixed destination that the caster is familiar with. Most players assume that being familiar with a location means they know how to get there, but having heard of a certain town or castle is enough to use this spell.
Another use of the spell that can make it worthwhile, is using it to find a way out of a maze or overcoming a magical effect that makes the party get lost in a dungeon.
3 Sequester (7th Level)
This is a very expensive spell, with seemingly a very niche use. But in the right circumstances, it can be exactly what a group needs. With Sequester, the caster can make one object or a willing creature invisible and safe from every form of divination magic. If the target is a creature, time doesn’t pass for it and it won’t grow old while in this state. The spell lasts until dispelled or until a condition that the caster describes as a trigger happens.
If the party is concerned about the safety of an NPC that is threatened by a powerful evil, they can assure their safety with this spell. They can also hide away a McGuffin that the villain is looking for to keep it away from them.
2 Telepathy (8th Level)
Another communication spell that gets overlooked is Telepathy. Most players prefer simple spells such as Sending, and this 8th level spell seems too expensive for its purpose, but when communication is essential, there is nothing more powerful than Telepathy.
Without requiring any material components or concentration, you can connect with a willing creature, and for 24 hours, you both can communicate with each other with words, images, sounds, and every sensory message possible.
1 Weird (9th Level)
When a character gets to a high enough level to pick a 9th level spell, there is nothing that can compete with Wish or Power Word: Kill. But one of the spells that often get overshadowed, is Weird.
With a considerable range, huge radius, and no limit on the number of targets it can affect, this is the most powerful fear effect in the game. Not only will the creatures suffer from the frightened condition, but they will also suffer a large amount of psychic damage at the end of each turn.
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