Gust: Break the Wind

Usable By: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: Cantrip

School: Transmutation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 30 feet

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: V, S

You seize the air and compel it to create one of the following effects at a point you can see within range:

One Medium or smaller creature that you choose must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 5 feet away from you.

You create a small blast of air capable of moving one object that is neither held nor carried and that weighs no more than 5 pounds. The object is pushed up to 10 feet away from you. It isn’t pushed with enough force to cause damage.

You create a harmless sensory affect using air, such as causing leaves to rustle, wind to slam shutters shut, or your clothing to ripple in a breeze.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

Sometimes the best way to kill somebody is a gentle push. From cliffs and rooftops to ship decks, all you need is to shove somebody a few feet and let gravity do the rest. Need it done without culpability? Gust has got your back.

Cosmetic spells are the spells I categorize as predominantly being useful for establishing your characters fantasy. The PHB gave us Thaumaturgy, Prestidigitation, and Druidcraft as three tools to create magical sensory effects that line up with this idea. The Elemental Evil Player’s Companion brought four new element based options to the table with Control Flames, Gust, Mold Earth, and Shape Water. If you’re in the market to play a character that wants the ability to do one of those things, these cantrips are for you.

Gust functionally offers a five foot push from 30 feet away; that’s the bulk of the spells power. The sensory effects definitely can be done better with the other cosmetic spells, namely Druidcraft, and moving five pound objects is something you’d probably rather do with Mage Hand. A five foot push from thirty feet will have narrow windows of utility that can result in extremely beneficial outcomes. They won’t happen frequently, but every now and then the big bad will be monologuing on a balcony and with just a cantrip they can get flipped off and tumble a few stories to their death.

This doesn’t justify taking the spell for me most of the time, though. If I’m not playing the wind based character all about flight and controlling air currents, the two non-sensory modes on this just don’t do enough frequently enough for me to take this early. As you get the extra cantrips later in play it becomes slightly more appealing as that's when I tend to want the more niche cantrips, but I can’t see most people putting this on their character sheets and getting a lot out of it.

If you’re going for a storm sorcerer or flight based druid, this spell can be a cosmetic part of that look for you. A ranged five foot push will rarely be impactful; when it is, it can be an easy way to kill people. Those circumstances might come up a few times a campaign, and with it being a save or nothing, a lot of the time nothing happens anyway. This is definitely one of the weaker cosmetic cantrips, but will find a home on your character sheets if they want this specific fantasy.

5e Spells

Gust: Break the Wind