NOTE: In the light of information missed in the first version of this article, it has been revised.
Spellcasting in D&D 5E is normally a pretty straightforward thing, especially at lower levels. But there are some tricky edge cases that can and do cause more play imbalance and more arguments than they need to. So how many spells can a player character cast in a single round in D&D 5E?
As many as eight, depending on your character build and the circumstances, though four or five are much more common limits, and even those don’t come up frequently.
This is the part of a weekly series of articles by a team of designers answering D&D questions for beginners. Feel free to discuss the article and add your insights or comments!
Before we get into the hows of it, though, a few key ground rules:
Four spells in a round:
This is the most a typical single-classed spellcaster can pull off, and is therefore the most common ceiling for a character’s spells per round.
This requires two things the character can react to and also requires the character to have reaction spells, but that’s a fairly common scenario for mid-level casters and up.
Five spells in a round:
If the character has two levels or more in fighter so they have access to Action Surge, they can use it to add a second one-action cantrip to the breakdown above.
It’s worth noting that if the PC forgoes the bonus action spell, they can use their Action Surge to cast two spells using spell slots. This is often the better tactical choice, as it allows two powerful spell effects in one turn (but obviously lowers the total number cast). Two levels of fighter also aren’t particularly crippling to a character’s spellcasting progression.
Eight spells in a round:
This goes deep into the realm of theoretical possibilities, because it requires not only a very specific build which is barely a spellcaster at all, it also requires an equally-specific set of circumstances to pull off. The example below uses a tiefling rogue (Thief) 17/fighter 2/sorcerer 1 (bloodline unimportant) with the Magic Initiate (gaining access to shillelagh), and Fey Touched (giving access to misty step) feats. Again, this build is not much of a spellcaster at all, with just two first-level spell slots at level 20. There also need to be “reactable” events interleaved through the initiative order, but if that all comes together, and it’s the first round of combat where the bonus turn from Thief’s Reflexes is available, here’s one example of how it could work:
The single biggest stumbling block (big enough that it got your humble author in the first version of this article!) to remember is the one about spells with a casting time of one bonus action. Once you’ve used one of those on your turn, you’re cut off from leveled spells until your turn ends, and if you cast a leveled spell, you’ve by definition foregone the casting of bonus action spells that turn. This means, among other things, that bonus action spells cannot be defended from a hostile counterspell with a counterspell of your own, per RAW. So cast those healing word spells with caution around enemy casters, folks!
Spellcasting in D&D 5E is normally a pretty straightforward thing, especially at lower levels. But there are some tricky edge cases that can and do cause more play imbalance and more arguments than they need to. So how many spells can a player character cast in a single round in D&D 5E?
This is the part of a weekly series of articles by a team of designers answering D&D questions for beginners. Feel free to discuss the article and add your insights or comments!
Before we get into the hows of it, though, a few key ground rules:
- Cantrips with a casting time of one action can always be cast if you have an action available.
- Spells (cantrips or using a spell slot) with a casting time of one bonus action impose restrictions on what you can do for the rest of the turn you use them in, but not the round. Specifically, if you cast a spell with a casting time of one bonus action on your turn, you cannot cast any other spells on that turn (before or after the bonus action spell) except cantrips with a casting time of one bonus action. This restriction is where most people get tripped up.
- It’s possible to get multiple reactions off in a single round, provided that you have turns between them.
- For the purposes of this exercise, a twinned spell is still a single spell.
Four spells in a round:
This is the most a typical single-classed spellcaster can pull off, and is therefore the most common ceiling for a character’s spells per round.
- Spell 1: After the start of the round, but before the character’s turn, another participant in the combat does something that allows the character to cast a spell with a casting time of one reaction as a response. The most common scenarios are shield or hellish rebuke in response to an attack or counterspell in response to another caster’s spell.
- Spells 2 & 3: The player’s turn arrives and their reaction recharges. They cast a cantrip with a casting time of one action, then another spell (which can be either a cantrip or a leveled spell) with a casting time of one bonus action.
- Spell 4: After the player’s turn, but before the end of the round, they cast another spell with a casting time of one reaction in response to something else.
This requires two things the character can react to and also requires the character to have reaction spells, but that’s a fairly common scenario for mid-level casters and up.
Five spells in a round:
If the character has two levels or more in fighter so they have access to Action Surge, they can use it to add a second one-action cantrip to the breakdown above.
It’s worth noting that if the PC forgoes the bonus action spell, they can use their Action Surge to cast two spells using spell slots. This is often the better tactical choice, as it allows two powerful spell effects in one turn (but obviously lowers the total number cast). Two levels of fighter also aren’t particularly crippling to a character’s spellcasting progression.
Eight spells in a round:
This goes deep into the realm of theoretical possibilities, because it requires not only a very specific build which is barely a spellcaster at all, it also requires an equally-specific set of circumstances to pull off. The example below uses a tiefling rogue (Thief) 17/fighter 2/sorcerer 1 (bloodline unimportant) with the Magic Initiate (gaining access to shillelagh), and Fey Touched (giving access to misty step) feats. Again, this build is not much of a spellcaster at all, with just two first-level spell slots at level 20. There also need to be “reactable” events interleaved through the initiative order, but if that all comes together, and it’s the first round of combat where the bonus turn from Thief’s Reflexes is available, here’s one example of how it could work:
- First enemy’s turn: cast shield (sorcerer spell) in reaction to an attack. (1 of 2 spell slots used, 1 spell cast)
- Character’s main turn: casts fire bolt, casts shillelagh, uses Action Surge, casts booming blade. (1 of 2 spell slots used, 4 spells cast)
- Second enemy’s turn: casts racial hellish rebuke in reaction to being hit. (1 of 2 spell slots used, 5 spells cast)
- Character’s secondary turn: casts fire bolt, casts misty step using free “slot” from Fey Touched. (7 spells cast, 1 of 2 spell slots remaining)
- Third enemy’s turn: casts feather fall (sorcerer spell) in reaction to being shoved off the ledge they’ve been fighting on. (8 spells cast, both spell slots used)
Conclusion
While you can use highly-specialized builds and rare sets of circumstances to push the numbers of spells per round to crazy heights, the two most likely practical caps are five (for characters with Action Surge) and four (for those without). And frankly, what self-respecting rogue is going to use a club or quarterstaff with shillelagh instead of a finesse weapon?The single biggest stumbling block (big enough that it got your humble author in the first version of this article!) to remember is the one about spells with a casting time of one bonus action. Once you’ve used one of those on your turn, you’re cut off from leveled spells until your turn ends, and if you cast a leveled spell, you’ve by definition foregone the casting of bonus action spells that turn. This means, among other things, that bonus action spells cannot be defended from a hostile counterspell with a counterspell of your own, per RAW. So cast those healing word spells with caution around enemy casters, folks!
