Can You Cast a Cantrip and a Spell 5e

NOTE: In the lite of information missed in the first version of this article, it has been revised.

Spellcasting in D&D 5E is normally a pretty straightforward matter, specially at lower levels. But at that place are some tricky border cases that tin and do crusade more than play imbalance and more than arguments than they need to. So how many spells can a thespian character cast in a single round in D&D 5E?

As many as eight, depending on your character build and the circumstances, though 4 or 5 are much more mutual limits, and even those don't come upwards frequently.

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This is the role of a weekly series of manufactures by a team of designers answering D&D questions for beginners. Feel costless to discuss the article and add together your insights or comments!

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Before we get into the hows of it, though, a few key ground rules:

• Cantrips with a casting time of one activity can always exist cast if yous have an action bachelor.
• Spells (cantrips or using a spell slot) with a casting time of one bonus action impose restrictions on what you tin can do for the rest of the plough you lot utilise them in, but not the circular. Specifically, if you lot cast a spell with a casting time of one bonus action on your plow, you cannot bandage whatsoever other spells on that plow (before or subsequently the bonus action spell) except cantrips with a casting time of one bonus action. This restriction is where most people get tripped up.
• It'south possible to get multiple reactions off in a unmarried circular, provided that you have turns between them.
• For the purposes of this exercise, a twinned spell is even so a single spell.

With those rules in mind, hither are the scenarios:

Four spells in a round:

This is the nigh a typical single-classed spellcaster tin pull off, and is therefore the most mutual ceiling for a character's spells per round.

• Spell ane: Afterwards the outset of the round, but before the character's plow, some other participant in the gainsay does something that allows the character to cast a spell with a casting time of one reaction as a response. The virtually common scenarios are shield or hellish rebuke in response to an attack or counterspell in response to another caster's spell.
• Spells ii & 3: The histrion's plough arrives and their reaction recharges. They cast a cantrip with a casting time of ane action, and so some other spell (which can exist either a cantrip or a leveled spell) with a casting time of one bonus action.
• Spell 4: Later on the thespian's turn, but before the finish of the circular, they bandage another spell with a casting time of 1 reaction in response to something else.

This requires two things the character tin react to and too requires the character to have reaction spells, but that's a fairly mutual scenario for mid-level casters and upwards.

Five spells in a round:

If the character has two levels or more than in fighter and then they accept access to Activity Surge, they can employ it to add a second one-activity cantrip to the breakup higher up.

Information technology's worth noting that if the PC forgoes the bonus action spell, they tin can apply their Activity Surge to bandage 2 spells using spell slots. This is frequently the improve tactical choice, as it allows two powerful spell effects in i turn (but obviously lowers the full number bandage). Two levels of fighter as well aren't particularly crippling to a character's spellcasting progression.

8 spells in a circular:

This goes deep into the realm of theoretical possibilities, because it requires non only a very specific build which is barely a spellcaster at all, it also requires an equally-specific gear up of circumstances to pull off. The example beneath uses a tiefling rogue (Thief) 17/fighter ii/sorcerer one (bloodline unimportant) with the Magic Initiate (gaining admission to shillelagh), and Fey Touched (giving access to misty step) feats. Again, this build is non much of a spellcaster at all, with merely ii beginning-level spell slots at level twenty. There also need to be "reactable" events interleaved through the initiative society, only if that all comes together, and it's the first round of gainsay where the bonus plough from Thief'due south Reflexes is bachelor, hither's one example of how it could piece of work:

• First enemy's turn: bandage shield (wizard spell) in reaction to an attack. (i of two spell slots used, 1 spell cast)
• Character's principal turn: casts fire commodities, casts shillelagh, uses Action Surge, casts booming blade. (1 of ii spell slots used, 4 spells cast)
• Second enemy'southward plough: casts racial hellish rebuke in reaction to being hit. (1 of 2 spell slots used, 5 spells cast)
• Character'southward secondary turn: casts fire bolt, casts misty stride using complimentary "slot" from Fey Touched. (seven spells bandage, 1 of 2 spell slots remaining)
• Tertiary enemy's turn: casts plume fall (sorcerer spell) in reaction to being shoved off the ledge they've been fighting on. (viii spells cast, both spell slots used)

Conclusion​

While y'all can use highly-specialized builds and rare sets of circumstances to push the numbers of spells per circular to crazy heights, the ii nigh probable practical caps are five (for characters with Action Surge) and 4 (for those without). And bluntly, what cocky-respecting rogue is going to use a social club or quarterstaff with shillelagh instead of a finesse weapon?

The single biggest stumbling block (large plenty that it got your apprehensive writer in the first version of this article!) to call up is the ane virtually spells with a casting fourth dimension of one bonus action. Once y'all've used one of those on your turn, you're cutting off from leveled spells until your plow ends, and if you lot cast a leveled spell, you've by definition foregone the casting of bonus action spells that turn. This means, amid other things, that bonus action spells cannot be defended from a hostile counterspell with a counterspell of your ain, per RAW. And so bandage those healing word spells with caution around enemy casters, folks!

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Source: https://www.enworld.org/threads/how-many-spells-can-you-cast-in-a-round-in-d-d-5e.682343/

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