D&D 5E Adding Cantrips for Wizards

[Warmaster Horus]

Cantrips
At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice
from the wizard spell list. You learn additional wizard
cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the
Cantrips Known column of the Wizard table.


Can you ONLY know cantrips per the Cantrips Known column of the Wizards table or can you learn more if you find them in a spell book or scroll? Since the DMG has cantrip-level scrolls and indicates that you can transcribe scrolls into your spellbook, it seems possible.

 

[Jaelommiss]

"When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a level for which you have spell slots and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it." -- PHB, 114

"A cantrip's spell level is 0." --PHB, 201


There is, however, nothing stopping you from taking the Magic Initiate feat in your own class to learn two more cantrips.

 

[Scorpio616]

Unlike other editions, Cantrips are each more of a class ability rather than just another spell.

 

[Quartz]

There is, however, nothing stopping you from taking the Magic Initiate feat in your own class to learn two more cantrips.

Very cunning!

 

[Warmaster Horus]

Good answer. Thanks!

 

[seebs]

I might be inclined to allow wizards to learn additional cantrips and swap them out during spell prep.

Or, for fun value, allow you to learn additional cantrips, but the ones that you don't have in your cantrip list normally are ritual-only.

 

[Athinar]

I would like to see the "Mending" Cantrip in scrolls; maybe have a first level spell that mimics a cantrip; A wand of Mending

 

[Henrix]

I'm all for allowing wizards to learn more cantrips, at the same cost as 1st level spells, but only prepare as many as the chart says.
It isn't exactly powerful, but good for utility and variety.


You could also allow wizards to learn them as spells, and use spell slots to cast them. Effectively treating them as ordinary 1st level spells.

 

[steeldragons]

Something I've done in the past (and there's no game/rules justification for it, but if you're willing to houserule/homebrew) is have a 1st level spell slot count as 2 cantrips worth of "spell power." If you want more cantrips, you sacrifice a 1st level spell slot to know/have prepared 2 cantrip/0 level spells. Or any spell slot...if you want to swap out a 2nd level slot, you can prepare 4 additional cantrips, etc...

I would similarly houserule there's nothing stopping you from recording whatever you want into your spellbook, other than time, money, and opportunity (having the cantrip/spell to copy in the first place). Swap out which you "prepare" day-to-day, following the spell table for how many, but allowing them at will.

Alternately, if you want to adhere to the spirit of the rules more closely, keep/follow the table for your number of "spells known." Those are your "at-will." Then let the caster use/cast, like, +Int. mod. more cantrips per day as normally prepared [cast once per preparation] (that they have in the spellbooks!), not unlimited/at will.

This, obviously, is giving the spellcaster more [though I would submit, negligible] power, whereas swapping out leveled slots at a 2(cantrips) for 1(first level) does not actually "imbalance" the spell power of the caster.

Of course, I'm one who's never had a problem with or understood the hullabaloo/hate around "prepared/memorized a.k.a. "Vancian" spell use.