Mage HandConjuration Cantrip Create a spectral hand that can manipulate and interact with objects. Permanent
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Mage Hand is a Spell in Baldur's Gate 3. Mage Hand is a Cantrip from the Conjuration school. Spells can be used for dealing damage to Enemies, inflict Status Ailments, buff Characters or interact with the environment.
Mage Hand Information
- Description: Create a spectral hand that can manipulate and interact with objects.
- Level: Cantrip
- School: Conjuration School
- Casting Time: Action
- Range: 18m
- Requires Concentration: Yes
- Saving Throw: None
How to Acquire Mage Hand
- Mage Hand can be acquired by the following classes:
Mage Hand Tips & Notes
- For Arcane Tricksters and Githanki, Mage Hand is summoned with invisible condition.
- Invisibility is broken when attacking.
- BUG: If Mage Hand is summoned within range of allied See Invisibility effects, it will force the invisible Mage Hand to make a saving throw to avoid being revealed the moment it's summoned, but will not have to save further. Outside of this specific scenario, the Mage Hand's invisibility behaves like any other form of standard invisibility.
- For Arcane Tricksters, Mage Hand can attempt to pick locks or disarm traps
- However, it will do so using its own stats and proficiencies, not the Arcane Trickster's,, making this a pretty poor usage of supplies.
- Mage Hand can 'move' light and medium objects.
- Mage Hand is immune to Poison gas cloud. 'Handy' for fetching Baelen's backpack after Baelen is gone.
- Mage Hand can use the SHOVE and THROW actions.
- The ability to use the THROW action means that, despite at first seeming very lackluster, Mage Hand is actually capable of providing exceptional support with a bit of planning and mindfulness. Splitting item stacks and dropping items requires no action, so players can pick a spot close to the fight to perch their Mage Hand, and place a selection of individual potions, poisons, grenades, water jugs, fireworks, or the like, and then leave the Mage Hand's side to reduce the risk that it's caught in an enemy AoE. The Mage Hand can then use its turns to throw whatever item you need from its stockpile. After combat ends, just remember to pick up whatever items are left in the Mage Hand's stockpile.
- Note that particularly dangerous items like fireworks and bombs are likely to tempt the enemy AI to try and detonate them with ranged attacks. While these items are perfectly usable by Mage Hand, in practice it's more reliable to supply the mage hand with less volatile items like potions, water jugs, or poisons so the AI is less likely to interfere.
- Provided the Mage Hand is safe, well-supplied, and well-stocked, the action economy of Mage Hand is a very good tradeoff compared to other healing or support spells. Being able to get this from multiple races and feats makes it possible for almost any build to assist with party support. Mage Hand is also available on all arcane spellcasters' spell lists, which in most cases makes it the sole "healing" spell in their repertoire.
- The ability to use the THROW action means that, despite at first seeming very lackluster, Mage Hand is actually capable of providing exceptional support with a bit of planning and mindfulness. Splitting item stacks and dropping items requires no action, so players can pick a spot close to the fight to perch their Mage Hand, and place a selection of individual potions, poisons, grenades, water jugs, fireworks, or the like, and then leave the Mage Hand's side to reduce the risk that it's caught in an enemy AoE. The Mage Hand can then use its turns to throw whatever item you need from its stockpile. After combat ends, just remember to pick up whatever items are left in the Mage Hand's stockpile.
- Mage Hand can now be summoned even while a summoned familiar is active.
AnonymousHey guys I got a cool trick.
Step 1: drop a netherstone on the ground.
Step 2: summon a mage hand
Step 3: have mage hand pickup stone.
Step 4: Wait about a minute or longer in non-turnbased mode.
Awesome trick!
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Mage Hand is great but the nerf honestly makes it unusable. I get that it's a little bit strong, but it's not insane.
On my playthrough I one-shot the red dragon with Quickening, Create Water, Chain Lightning, Destructive Wrath. Over 400 damage plus it killed other enemies. Another player one turned Apostle of Myrkul using only hastened attacking and Divine Smite. Max level Magic Missile completely trivialises the Orin fight.
Who really cared that Mage Hand could be used to do some interesting stuff?
- Anonymous
Tried to use it to grab the Noblestalk mushroom, and the Mage Hand seems to have consumed it. Don't make the same mistake I did
At first glance I thought this cantrip was just a pale imitation of the D&D 5e version, but now I've realized this is actually far stronger due to it being able to throw small objects like elixirs, poisons, and grenades. Added info to the tips section for how to get the most out of Mage Hand, outside of exploiting bugs.
- Anonymous
drop a ring or amulet on the floor with a spell imbued in it. Lets say Flaming Blade, have the hand pick it up and use action to cast the spell it is holding. The hand will spawn and hold the flame blade, and be able to throw it at enemies. Same for Produce Flame. Its a Mario's fire flower power! Cast enlarge from it, and combo it with drinking a potion of giants strenght... I'm pretty sure you will be able to throw yourself around, if you are a small race. O.O
- Anonymous
it has some really cool uses, i managed to push a archer in the goblin camp that was hiding in the beams above the boss, he fell down and almost died by the fall damage. Other time i used to make a barride on the door way with a water barrel, destroyed and cast lightning when some goblins stepped on it, all this while my characters were safe from attacks.
- Anonymous
"We gave this cantrip way more homebrew combat utility than it was ever designed to have, and now players are cheesing the game with it. Should we just make it follow PnP rules?"
"nah make the cantrip only useable on short rest lmao"
- Anonymous
When your mage hand is selected, you can drink elixirs from your party's inventory.
you *could* have them drink a giant strength potion and then use them to toss people around and shove with near certainty.
- Anonymous
Even though it says permanent it still seems to disappear after a while. I didn't get any notification it was attacked or anything.
- Anonymous
Excuse my limited imagination, but I mostly wanna throw something to a more accessible location, and it lacks the strength to throw the things I want to me. Eighteen strength. Not enough to throw a human, enough to secure the chest. One goblin per short rest thrown of its perch is hardly unbalanced, if that's a concern.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
took this thing on the start and never used it. Just can't see any use of it except triggering buttons or levers far away, but usually you can reach them by heroes themselves. Throwing things? thats rare thing, that usefull throwable items are on surface and not in some stash. Shove? Well that's 1 try that you can fail then it reveals and dies fast. Only thing i can imagine - prepare throwable ammunition just before a fight but that's lame
- Anonymous
Why the hell is this once per short rest?
And why are people worried about this being abusable in a single-player game? That was the central conceit of Mage Hand, it was the most abusable cantrip in DND due to how much you could get away with while using it. I don't care if it's unbalanced, you can't attack with it anyway so why not let me spam it and disable every dungeon trap before I even see it?
- Anonymous
Since there is a stupid limitation on this for supposed balance reasons, they why don't they just make it a damn spell instead of deceitfully labeling it as a cantrip??? Literally every other cantrip in the game can be cast an infinite number of times, so either they leave it as is and make it take up a spell slot, or limit it's capabilities and let us cast it as much as we want.
- Anonymous
I heard you can only use it once per short rest, is that true?
- Anonymous
So... When the hand dies with an item carrying the Item just disappears?
A friend of mine tried to pick up the Adamantine item we forged and try to bring it to safety because it was right in the lava but then got killed by the guardian and the item just disappeared
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
what happens if the mage hand dies or dismisses while its holding something? does that something just fall on the ground or does it dissapear?
- Anonymous
Found out today that if you have a ring or amulet that allows you to cast a spell (or anything else light enough?), you can drop it on the ground, have your mage hand pick it up, and use the hand's action to cast the spell from where the hand is. Please unnerf this spell so I can break the game with it.
- Anonymous
why is the fact that it take a long rest not listed anywhere for the spell??
- Anonymous
You're not going to use this to activate switches (just shoot them), but this cantrip is very competent at throwing and shoving small enemies, throwing weapons, potions and bombs that you've dropped on the ground, and potentially as a quick damage sponge when you really want the enemy to attack something else (results vary)
- Anonymous
This spell was already nerfed due to engine limitations, to now have it recharge on a short rest for casters and long rest on racial feels real bad. I understand the spell was abusable, but this is a bad fix without a longer duration.
- Anonymous
Somehow in our Multiplayer Session it said that Gale needs to have a Short rest before recasting the Spell.
- Anonymous
The sources don't list races with this spell (like other spells' pages do)
I know high elf, high half-elf, and mephistopheles tiefling - can all take this spell. Does anyone know if any others can as well?
- Anonymous
used this to throw the imps off the nautilis killing them, so fun
- Anonymous
Would be cool if this worked as Telekinesis in DOS2, perhaps being auto-cast when not concentrating on other spells - and clicking on items to pick up.
- Anonymous
What damage does the throw action do?
Can I summon this, drop some weapons, and the nthrow them at enemies?
- Anonymous
Useful to open a trapped chest (you need to hit the chest though, you can't just open it like you would expect). I need to try shoving someone with it also.
- Anonymous
The Gith and Arcane Trickster variants are summoned outside of combat and are invisible. Making them usable immediately.
- Anonymous
You can use it to save the guy stuck surrounded by the explosive mushrooms in the underdark. Lae'zel has mage hand by default as a githyanki and you can fly the mage hand to the guy's bag, and throw it towards the guy to allow him to pick up Misty Step from his bag - it takes a few seconds for him to notice the bag has been thrown to him so you need to wait after throwing
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