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☄️5e - Spellcasting☄️

Gaining Spells

Before you can cast a spell, you must have the spell prepared in your mind or have access to the spell from a magic item, such as a Spell Scroll. Your features specify which spells you have access to, if any and whether you always have certain spells prepared.

Preparing Spells

You prepare a number of spells from your Spell List as shown in your Class’s the Spellcaster Table. Whenever you gain a Level in your Class, you can replace one of your prepared spells with another spell of your choice from your Spell List for which you have Spell Slots.

Most spellcasting monsters don’t change their lists of prepared spells, but the GM is free to alter them.

Always-Prepared Spells

Certain features might give you a spell that you always have prepared. A spell that you always have prepared doesn’t count against the number of spells you can have prepared.

Casting in Armor

You must have training with any Armor you are wearing to cast spells while wearing it. You are otherwise too hampered by the armor for spellcasting.

Casting a Spell

Each spell description has a series of entries that provide the details needed to cast the spell. The following sections explain each of those entries, which follow a spell’s name.

☄️Spell Categorization

Every Spell is organized by 3 distinct categories: its ☄️Spell Sources, ☄️Schools of Magic, and ☄️Spell Tags. Together, these categories explain where a Spell’s power originates, how it’s understood in the world, and how it functions within the rules.

☄️Sources of Magic

Sources of Magic represent the origin of magic. All Spells draw power from at least one of the four fundamental Sources: Arcane, Divine, Occult, or Primal. These Sources determine how a Spellcaster accesses and channels magic.

Some Spells list 2 or more types as their Source (such as both Arcane and Primal for many fire Spells).

☄️Arcane Spell Source

Arcane magic is the invisible energy that permeates through all of existence, surrounding and connecting every part of the universe. It is a pure, formless energy that can be shaped through study, focus, and discipline. Many mortals learn to harness this power by mastering incantations, runes, and rituals that channel raw magic into structured, purposeful spells.

☄️Divine Spell Source

Divine magic draws power from divine beings (good, evil, and indifferent), such as deities (greater and lesser gods), their followers (angels, archons, etc.) or the manifestations of abstract universal concepts (order, love, peace, war, etc.). Divine magic is granted to mortals either through faith, duty, or desperation. Creatures that wield Divine magic are often servants of their deity, seeking to fulfill their agendas and grow their following.

☄️Occult Spell Source

Occult magic draws power from forces beyond the universe, or at least from a part that isn’t fully understood, and is the most mysterious of the Spell Sources. Occult magic can be learned in some way, but often the feelings and the state of mind of the spellcaster decide if they are able to understand this magic. Curses, Blood magic and “black magic” often derive from the occult. The practitioners of occult traditions seek to understand the unexplainable, categorize the bizarre, and otherwise access the ephemeral in a systematic way.

☄️Primal Spell Source

Primal magic draws power from the physical forces of the universe (land, air, water, fire, plants, animals, and even the planes themselves). This magic comes from a deep rooted connection to the living essence of the world and its elemental energies. Those who wield Primal magic channel the wild rhythms of existence itself; storms, beasts, natural disasters, and the oceans.

☄️Schools of Magic

Schools of Magic define the lore and philosophy behind different magical effects. A School of Magic serves as a way to classify magical effects by answering two key questions: what kind of action is the spell performing (such as creating, summoning, or altering) and the subject it’s being performed on (such as the elements, a creature’s body, mind, or spirit). This structure helps mages, priests, and sages study, understand, and organize the many forms of magic that shape the world.

List of the Schools of Magic

☄️Spell Tags

Spell Tags describe the characteristics of a spell. Some Tags represent clear in-world effects (such as manipulating fire), while others exist mainly to support game mechanics (such as a type of creature the Spell can target). Spell Tags define how a Spell interacts with the game system, such as the damage it deals, the Conditions it inflicts, or the creatures it affects. Certain Ancestry Traits, Class Features, and Talents reference specific Spell Tags, allowing characters to specialize in particular types of magic (such as Fire, Illusion, or Summoning). Spell Tags help players and GMs quickly understand a Spell’s function, theme, and how it interacts with other parts of the game.

In a spell’s description, Spell Tags are called “Effect”.

☄️Spell Level

Every spell has a level from 0 to 9, which is indicated in a spell’s description. A spell’s level is an indicator of how powerful it is. Cantrips—simple spells that can be cast almost by rote—are level 0. The rules for each spellcasting class say when its members gain access to spells of certain levels.

☄️Spell Slots

Spellcasting is taxing, so a spellcaster can cast only a limited number of level 1+ spells before resting. Spell Slots are the main way a spellcaster’s magical potential is represented. Each spellcasting class gives its members a limited number of Spell Slots of certain spell levels. For example, a level 3 Wizard has four level 1 spell slots and two level 2 slots.

When you cast a spell, you expend a slot of that spell’s level or higher, effectively “filling” a slot with the spell. Imagine a spell slot is a groove of a certain size—small for a level 1 slot and larger for a higher-level spell. A level 1 spell fits into a slot of any size, but a level 2 spell fits only into a slot that’s at least level 2. So when a level 3 Wizard casts Magic Missile, a level 1 spell, that Wizard spends one of four level 1 slots and has three remaining.

Finishing a 😴Long Rest restores any expended spell slots.

☄️Casting without Slots

There are several ways to cast a spell without expending a spell slot:

Cantrips: A cantrip is cast without a spell slot.

Rituals: Certain spells have the ☄️Ritual tag in the ☄️Casting Time entry. Such a spell can be cast following the normal rules for spellcasting, or it can be cast as a ☄️Ritual. The ☄️Ritual version of a spell takes 10 minutes longer to cast than normal, but it doesn’t expend a spell slot. To cast a spell as a Ritual, a spellcaster must have it prepared.

Special Abilities: Some characters and monsters have special abilities that allow them to cast specific spells without a spell slot. This casting is usually limited in another way, such as being able to cast the spell a limited number of times per day.

Magic Items: 📜Spell Scrolls and some other magic items contain spells that can be cast without a spell slot. The description of such an item specifies how many times a spell can be cast from it.

☄️Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot

When a spellcaster casts a spell using a slot that is of a higher level than the spell, the spell takes on the higher level for that casting. For instance, if a Wizard casts ☄️Magic Missile using a level 2 slot, that ☄️Magic Missile is level 2. Effectively, the spell expands to fill the slot it is put into.

Some spells, such as ☄️Magic Missile and ☄️Cure Wounds, have more powerful effects when cast at a higher level, as detailed in a spell’s description.

☄️Casting Time

Most spells require the ⚔️Magic Action to cast, but some spells require a Bonus Action, a Reaction, or 1 minute or more. A spell’s Casting Time entry specifies which of those is required.

☄️One Spell with a Spell Slot per Turn

On a turn, you can expend only one ☄️Spell Slot to cast a spell. This rule means you can’t, for example, cast a spell with a ☄️Spell Slot using the ⚔️Magic Action and another one using a Bonus Action on the same turn.

☄️Reaction and Bonus Action Triggers

A spell that has a Casting Time of a Reaction is cast in response to a trigger that is defined in the spell’s Casting Time entry. Some spells that have a casting time of a Bonus Action are also cast in response to a trigger defined in the spell.

☄️Longer Casting Times

Certain spells—including a spell cast as a ☄️Ritual —require more time to cast: minutes or even hours. While you cast a spell with a casting time of 1 minute or more, you must take the ⚔️Magic Action on each of your turns, and you must maintain 🎲Concentration while you do so. If your 🎲Concentration is broken, the spell fails, but you don’t expend a spell slot. To cast the spell again, you must start over.

☄️Range

A spell’s range indicates how far from the spellcaster the spell’s effect can originate, and the spell’s description specifies which part of the effect is limited by the range.

A range usually takes one of the following forms:

Distance: The range is expressed in feet.

Touch: The spell’s effect originates on something the spellcaster must touch, as defined in the spell.

Self: The spell is cast on the spellcaster or emanates from them, as specified in the spell.

If a spell has movable effects, they aren’t restricted by its range unless the spell’s description says otherwise.

☄️Components

A spell’s components are physical requirements the spellcaster must meet to cast the spell. Each spell’s description indicates whether it requires ☄️Verbal (V), ☄️Somatic (S), or ☄️Material (M) components. If the spellcaster can’t provide one or more of a spell’s components, the spellcaster can’t cast the spell.

☄️Verbal (V)

A Verbal component is the chanting of esoteric words that sound like nonsense to the uninitiated. The words must be uttered in a normal speaking voice and articulated clearly. The words define a caster’s intent in the process of casting, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion. Thus, a creature who is gagged or in an area of magical silence can’t cast a spell with a Verbal component.

Creating Verbal Components

If you’d like to say a spell’s Verbal component, you may make up the words. However you make them, the goal is to create something that’s easy to say at the table. Consider this method: take the name of the spell, keep only one instance of each of its letters, and rearrange the remaining letters into words. For example, remove the second l from Fireball and rearrange the remaining letters to create Ber Fila or Fel Bira.

☄️Somatic (S)

A Somatic component is a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. A spellcaster must use at least one of their hands to perform these movements.

☄️Material (M)

A Material component is a particular material used in a spell’s casting, as specified in parentheses in the Components entry. These materials aren’t consumed by the spell unless the spell’s description states otherwise. The spellcaster must have a hand free to access them, but it can be the same hand used to perform ☄️Somatic components, if any.

If a spell doesn’t consume its materials and doesn’t specify a cost for them, a spellcaster can use a 🎩Component Pouch instead of providing the materials specified in the spell, or the spellcaster can substitute a 🎩Spellcasting Focus if the caster has a feature that allows that substitution. To use a 🎩Component Pouch, you must have a hand free to reach into it, and to use a 🎩Spellcasting Focus, you must hold it unless its description says otherwise.

☄️Spell Duration

A spell’s duration is the length of time the spell persists after it is cast. A duration typically takes one of the following forms:

Concentration: A duration that requires ☄️Concentration follows the ☄️Concentration rules.

Instantaneous: An instantaneous duration means the spell’s magic appears only for a moment and then disappears.

Time Span: A duration that provides a time span specifies how long the spell lasts in rounds, minutes, hours, or the like. For example, a Duration entry might say “1 minute,” meaning the spell ends after 1 minute has passed. While a time-span spell that you cast is ongoing, you can dismiss it (no action required) if you don’t have the Incapacitated condition.

🎲Concentration

Some spells require you to maintain Concentration in order to keep their magic active. If you lose concentration, such a spell ends. Such spells are indicated by a (C) behind the duration.

If a spell must be maintained with concentration, that fact appears in its Duration entry, and the spell specifies how long you can concentrate on it.

Normal activity, such as moving and attacking, doesn’t interfere with concentration. The following factors can break concentration:

• The spellcaster chooses to end concentration at any time.
• The spellcaster is incapacitated or killed.
• The spellcaster successfully casts another spell that requires concentration.
• The Game Master may rule that a sudden interruption, such as a push, may force the spellcaster to make a DC 10 CON Save. On a failure, the spell ends.
• If the spellcaster takes damage while concentrating on a spell, they must make a Constitution saving throw; on a failure, the spell ends. The DC is 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher.

You can end Concentration at any time (no action required).

☄️Class Spell Lists

If a spell is on a Class’s Spell List, the class’s name appears behind or instead of a ☄️Spell Source Some features add a spell to a character’s spell list even if the character isn’t a member of a class listed in the spell.

Effects

The effects of a spell are detailed after its duration entry. Those details present exactly what the spell does, which ignores mundane physical laws; any outcomes beyond those effects are under the GM’s purview. Whatever the effects, they typically deal with targets, saving throws, attack rolls, or all three, each of which is detailed below.

☄️Spell Target

A typical spell requires the caster to pick one or more targets to be affected by the spell’s magic. A spell’s description says whether the spell targets creatures, objects, or something else.

A Clear Path to the Target: To target something with a spell, a caster must have a clear path to it, so it can’t be behind 🏔️Total Cover.

Targeting Yourself: If a spell targets a creature of your choice, you can choose yourself unless the creature must be Hostile or specifically a creature other than you.

Areas of Effect: Some spells, such as ☄️Thunderwave, cover an area called an 💥Area of Effect. The area determines what the spell targets. The description of a spell specifies whether it has an area of effect, which is typically one of these shapes: 💥Cone, 💥Cube, 💥Cylinder, 💥Emanation, 💥Line, 💥Sphere.

Awareness of Being Targeted: Unless a spell has a perceptible effect, a creature doesn’t know it was targeted by the spell. An effect like lightning is obvious, but a more subtle effect, such as an attempt to read thoughts, goes unnoticed unless a spell’s description says otherwise.

Invalid Targets: If you cast a spell on someone or something that can’t be affected by it, nothing happens to that target, but if you used a spell slot to cast the spell, the slot is still expended.

If the spell normally has no effect on a target that succeeds on a 🎲Save, the invalid target appears to have succeeded on its saving throw, even though it didn’t attempt one (giving no hint that the creature is an invalid target). Otherwise, you perceive that the spell did nothing to the target.

☄️Spell Save

Many spells specify that a target makes a saving throw to avoid some or all of a spell’s effects. The spell specifies the ability that the target uses for the save and what happens on a success or failure. Here’s how to calculate the DC for your spells:

Spell Save DC = 8 + spellcasting ability modifier + Proficiency Bonus

If you are a Martial Class and a Feature asks you to use your Spell Save DC, your Spellcasting ability for that DC is your highest out of INT, WIS, or CHA.

☄️Spell Attack Roll

Some spells require the caster to make an 🎲Attack Roll to determine whether the spell hits a target. Here’s how to calculate the attack modifier for your spells:

Spell attack modifier = spellcasting ability modifier + Proficiency Bonus

☄️Combining Spell Effects

The effects of different spells add together while their durations overlap. In contrast, the effects of the same spell cast multiple times don’t combine. Instead, the most potent effect—such as the highest bonus—from those castings applies while their durations overlap. The most recent effect applies if the castings are equally potent and their durations overlap. For example, if two Clerics cast ☄️Bless on the same target, that target gains the spell’s benefit only once; the target doesn’t receive two bonus dice. But if the durations of the spells overlap, the effect continues until the duration of the second Bless ends.

☄️Identifying an Ongoing Spell

You can try to identify a non-instantaneous spell by its observable effects if its duration is ongoing. To identify it, you must take the ⚔️Study action and succeed on an 💃Arcana 🎲Ability Check. The 🎲DC for that 🎲Ability Check is equal to 12 + the spell's level.

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Player’s Handbook 2024
Cover Art: Created by Kiseki from Noun Project
AOE Art: Richard Whitters