During our last session my players surprised me with just how powerful a few well placed cantrips can be.

They had just outran a group of thugs from the local gang that the players had recently antagonized in the gang's preferred bar (of course), and were now standing outside the brothel where the rest of their group was located.

Once they regrouped the party was faced with about nine slightly winded thugs, with about eight more on the way and several more alerted to their presence. All said they were looking at about 20-30 gang members closing in, and if they chose to fight they would have met with even more. Thankfully they chose the smart option and decided to avoid a fight, but they did so in a very impressive manner. The bard decides to cast Silent Image and manifests the image of an adult red dragon slinking in from around the roof of the brothel. As soon as he casts this the druid player chimes in and states that she wants to cast Druid Craft to make the dragon's roar sound real, which I gladly allowed. The image-dragon reared up and roared audibly at the gathering thugs, which they all clearly heard. Then the cleric pipes up and says he wants to cast Thaumaturgy to make the ground shake beneath their feet to amplify the effect, and I gleefully accepted.

So now the thugs were seeing, hearing, and feeling a full-grown dragon roaring a challenge at them all. I didn't even make a roll for it, they all turned tail and ran from the illusion immediately. The streets cleared for five blocks in every direction, and the players were kings of the universe for a very brief moment.

So proud of them. And yes, I know Silent Image is a first level spell but the concept is what really matters. 'Course now I have to make sure this doesn't become their 'thing' to get out of any problems in the future, this seems like a pretty airtight combo they've got.

Formating!