Kobold Press’ “Mastering Cantrips” (Supplement Review)

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As a gameplay mechanic, cantrips are almost as old as D&D itself. Yet, for the most part they’re often overlooked by players and GMs alike, treated as barely useful spells at best and pointless party tricks at worst.

Kobold Press’ new D&D 5e and Tales of the Valiant compatible supplement Mastering Cantrips, however, aims to elevate these minor incantations into something truly magical and limited only by player’s imaginations. You can pick up the PDF now on Kobold Press and DriveThruRPG.

So does this new book give a much needed Mage Hand to cantrips? Below, we prestidigitate up all the details.

What’s included in “Mastering Cantrips”?

Mastering Cantrips is a 21-page digital supplement written by Kobold Press senior editor Jeff Quick that’s designed for use with both D&D 5e and Tales of the Valiant. Despite its modest page count, however, it packs in a surprising amount of usable content and is really broken out into four key areas.

How to Use Cantrips More Effectively

The heart of the book is its extensive breakdown of classic cantrips and how to use them creatively beyond their most obvious applications. The four cantrips of Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, Minor illusion and Mending each get their own dedicated section that provides a list of 24 creative uses per spell. For example, using Dancing Lights as a signaling system, casting Mage Hand to tie the shoelaces of an unsuspecting guard, creating a mirror with Minor Illusion to look around corners or using Mending to hide contraband.

The book also reimagines so-called “harmless” cantrips like Prestidigitation, Thaumaturgy and Druidcraft, showing how these spells can shape social encounters, exploration scenes and mood-setting without ever dealing damage. More combat-focused cantrips, including Acid Splash, Fire Bolt and Ray of Frost, are also reimagined with ideas for how to use them outside of combat for problem-solving, overcoming traps and even roleplaying.

Finally, the book includes advice on pairing cantrips with higher-level spells, showing how non-concentration cantrips like Mage Hand or Minor Illlusion can be used to enhance spells like Darkness, Silent Image and Detect Thoughts.

New Subclass: The Cantrip Crackerjack

The supplement also includes the Cantrip Crackerjack, a new wizard subclass built entirely around maximizing the impact of cantrips. The subclass allows characters to extend cantrip ranges, double durations, add damage modifiers and eventually cast multiple cantrips in a single turn.

What’s especially nice here is restraint: the subclass is powerful, but really rewards players who want to specialize deeply rather than broaden endlessly. In this sense it reinforces the book’s central philosophy: doing one small thing very well can be just as impactful as throwing bigger spells.

New and Collected Cantrips

In addition to its advice and subclass content, Mastering Cantrips also includes 17 cantrips (12 of which are taken from earlier Kobold Press releases and 5 brand-new spells appearing for the first time).

Highlights include clever utility and social spells like Beggar’s Cloak (which lets a caster magically blend into the background as an ignored nobody), Swift Stash (an extradimensional sleight-of-hand trick) and Mage Helmet (a defensive cantrip that can negate a critical hit before it lands). Others, such as Obfuscate Object, Wafting Smells and Here Kitty, explore non-damaging control, misdirection and environmental interaction in unique and clever ways.

What ties all of these cantrips together, however, is their focus on minor but meaningful effects. They sit in a design space that official D&D material rarely emphasizes, making them especially valuable for roleplay-heavy campaigns, intrigue-focused adventures and groups that enjoy solving problems creatively instead of reaching for the biggest, baddest spell in their slot.

GM Advice and Creating New Cantrips

The final sections are aimed squarely at Game Masters. Here, Mastering Cantrips offers practical advice on managing cantrip use without letting things spiral out of control. The goal is simple: encourage clever play first, worry about balance later and adjust only if something becomes disruptive.

There’s also guidance on designing new cantrips, including how to scale effects down from higher-level spells, where to place mechanical limits and how to leave room for imaginative abuse without overshadowing leveled magic. It’s concise, smartly written and easy to apply.

Is “Mastering Cantrips” worth picking up?

Pros

• Excellent, concrete examples that inspire immediate use at the table
• Strong focus on creativity without undermining game balance
• The Cantrip Crackerjack is a flavorful, well-designed subclass
• Packs a surprising amount of usable material into a very small page count

Cons

• Short length may leave some readers wanting even more examples
• Mostly benefits spellcasters, with limited direct value for martial classes
• Some ideas rely on GM flexibility, which may not suit overly strict tables
• Experienced players may already be using some of these tricks

Final Thoughts and Review Score

Like the minor spells it explores, Mastering Cantrips is a deceptively small release that packs a surprising amount of punch. The book doesn’t just add content, it changes how you think about a core part of D&D magic that’s often taken for granted. What’s more, it asks players and GMs to focus less on raw power and more on using creativity to solve problems.

That’s advice that’s useful not just when it comes to cantrips, but TTRPGs (and maybe even in life) in general, making this a supplement that’s truly magical.

Final Score: 19 out of 20

You can pick up the Mastering Cantrips PDF now on Kobold Press and DriveThruRPG.