This chapter gives rules for casting spells. It also includes descriptions of common spells in the worlds of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Those spells are used by many class features, magic items, and monsters.
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; whether you always have certain spells prepared; and whether you can change the list of spells you have prepared.
If you have a list of level 1+ spells you prepare, your spellcasting feature specifies when you can change the list and the number of spells you can change, as summarized in the Spell Preparation by Class table.
| Class | Change When You... | Number of Spells |
|---|---|---|
| Bard | Gain a level | One |
| Cleric | Finish a Long Rest | Any |
| Druid | Finish a Long Rest | Any |
| Paladin | Finish a Long Rest | One |
| Ranger | Finish a Long Rest | One |
| Sorcerer | Gain a level | One |
| Warlock | Gain a level | One |
| Wizard | Finish a Long Rest | Any |
Most spellcasting monsters don't change their lists of prepared spells, but the DM is free to alter them.
Certain features might give you a spell that you always have prepared. If you also have a list of prepared spells that you can change, a spell that you always have prepared doesn’t count against the number of spells on that list.
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.
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.
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.
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.