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Cantrips becoming unlimited in DnD was a solution to a much larger problem. Unlimited Cantrips create their own problems, of course, but I think it’s still an improvement.
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Now, this is an actually interesting
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opinion. This user is saying that they
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don't like that cantrips are unlimited
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use in fifth edition because prior to
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fourth edition, cantrips worked with
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spell slots like you had a limited
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number of cantrips per day that you
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could prepare and cast and they were not
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unlimited use. They introduced the idea
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of at will cantrips in fourth edition
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when we had at will powers and
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counterpowers and daily powers. So like
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fighters would have a couple of
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maneuvers that they could use at will
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and then wizards and sorcerers and
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clerics and them had cantrips that they
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could use at will
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and that came over into fifth edition.
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Having played 35, PF1, fourth edition,
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PF2 and 5e, like I I've played a lot of
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editions of the games over the years. Um
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personally I do really like the Atwill
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cantrips. I think they answer her a big
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problem with limited spellcasters. One
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of the biggest problems that
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spellcasters have had all the way since
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third edition at least is the fiveminute
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adventuring day where you'd walk into an
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encounter, these spellcasters would burn
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through their highest level spell slots
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and then everyone would need to go home
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and take a long rest because the
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spellcasters were functionally useless
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without their big spells. Cantrips give
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them a way to be more sustainable
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throughout the adventuring day without
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having to build themselves to also use
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weapons, which very explicitly most
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spellcasters are garbage at. At low
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levels, a wizard in 5e can be decent
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with a crossbow. And um in the 2014
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rules, using a crossbow could actually
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be more damaging than a cantrip until
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they improved at level five. But beyond
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that, like carrying a crossbow, carrying
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a weapon really isn't going to do
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anything except get you killed. So
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giving spellcasters unlimited use
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cantrips gave them something that feels
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core to their class that still feels on
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theme, but that isn't greatly outshining
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what people can do with weapons. Now,
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there is absolutely room to argue that
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cantrips do too much damage and they
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should scale that back a little bit to
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keep them from being as good as weapons.
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And honestly, I do think that would be a
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good idea, but that isn't the game we
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have.
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