Spellcasting in Dungeons and Dragons (DND) is oddly both simple and complex.
How many times can you cast a spell in DND?
A spellcaster can cast a spell as many times as their character action economy, class, feats, spell attributes, spell slots, long rest cycle, and Dungeon Master allows. Most magical players can cast up to three spells per turn—one as an action, one as a bonus action, and one as a reaction.
In this article, we’ll answer all of your questions about how many times you can cast a spell in DND.
How Many Times Can You Cast a Spell in DND? (Official Rules)
In DND, a spellcaster can almost always cast at least one spell per round. It is also possible for a player character to cast a second spell as a bonus action.
When figuring out the rules of DND, it’s helpful to look at official sources published by Wizards of the Coast.
In this case, the Player’s Handbook offers us this spellcasting rule:
Bonus Action
A spell cast with a bonus action is especially swift. You must use a bonus action on your turn to cast the spell, provided that you haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn. You can’t cast another spell during the same turn, except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.
Now we know that it is at least possible to cast two spells per turn.
Finally, a character with magical abilities might use a reaction. Let’s look at the information about reactions in the Basic Rules from DND Beyond:
Reactions
Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else’s. The opportunity attack, described later in this section, is the most common type of reaction.
Therefore, a player character can cast up to three spells per turn:
- A spell as a regular action
- A spell as a bonus action
- A spell as a reaction
While there are other ways to cast spells during a single round in DND, there is no way that I’ve found to cast more than three spells following the official rules.
Here is a good video about how you can cast multiple spells in a single round:
How Many Times Can You Cast a Spell in D&D? (7 Factors)
When someone asks, “How many times can you cast a spell in DND?”, there are seven factors that affect the answer.
The seven main factors include:
- Action economy
- Character class
- Feats
- Spell attributes
- Spell slots
- Long rest cycle
- Dungeon Master (DM) allowances
Let’s go through each factor to see how they impact how many times you can cast spells in DND.
Action Economy
The action economy is how many actions a player character has in a turn. In DND, a player gets three actions: one regular action, one bonus action, and one reaction.
For a magic-wielding character, the regular action is typically used to cast a spell.
The bonus action can be used to cast another spell or to take an extra action. The reaction can be used to cast a spell or to take an action in response to something else happening.
Character Class
Each character class has a different number of spells that they can cast per turn and per day.
A multi-classed fighter, for example, might only be able to cast one spell per turn, while a fully classed wizard might be able to cast three.
We’ll look at how many spells each character class can cast in just a moment.
Feats
Certain feats can give characters extra spells that they can cast per turn.
Spells that are cast using a bonus action, for example, are often granted by a feat.
For example, a sorcerer’s Quickened Spell feat allows them to change a spell with a casting time of one action to a casting time of one bonus action.
The official Player’s Handbook description of Quickened Spell:
When you Cast a Spell that has a Casting Time of 1 action, you can spend 2 sorcery points to change the Casting Time to 1 Bonus Action for this casting.
Additionally, a fighter’s Action Surge feat gives a multiclassed fighter/spellcaster the ability to cast two non-cantrip spells in a single turn.
Spell Attributes
Some spells have specific casting time requirements, such as 1 action, 1 bonus action, or 1 reaction.
If a spellcaster doesn’t have the required casting time, they can’t cast that spell.
Unless the character possesses another ability, like a Quickened Spell feat, that allows them to swap out the spell attributes.
Spell Slots
Nearly all spells require a spell slot of a certain level to cast.
A spell slot with a higher level is generally a more powerful spell in D&D.
Some spells also require multiple slots of the same level to cast. As long as the spellcaster has the required slots available, they can cast the same spell multiple times in a single combat encounter.
They can also cast the same spell throughout their D&D adventure.
Long Rest Cycle
A character’s long rest cycle is how often they can take a long rest to replenish their spell slots.
Most spellcasters can take a long rest once per day.
This means that a spellcaster with six spell slots can cast their spells up to six times per day and up to three times per turn.
If a spellcaster has more spell slots, then they can cast the same spell more often.
Some characters, like elven characters, have a shorter long rest cycle. Elves can replenish their spell slots with four hours of meditation rather than eight hours of sleep.
Therefore, elven characters with six spell slots can cast their spells up to twelve times per day (with one long rest).
Dungeon Master Allowances
The DM can also influence how many times a spellcaster can cast spells.
If the DM decides that a certain encounter or situation requires more magic, they might allow spellcasters to cast their spells more often than normal.
Conversely, if the DM thinks that there is too much magic in the game, they might limit how many times a spellcaster can cast spells.
To figure out what spells are available following the official rules, you probably want to know Which Official D&D Books Contain Spells.
Can You Cast the Same Spell Twice in DND?
You can cast the same spell twice in DND under circumstances.
For example, a Sorcerer can cast the same spell twice if they multiclass as a Fighter and use the Action Surge Feat.
That means this Sorcerer/Fighter can cast two fireball spells (or any other leveled spells) twice in the same combat round. A powerful combination indeed.
A spellcaster can also cast the same cantrip spell twice in DND.
There are no rules against casting the same cantrip multiple times in the same turn.
What about other character classes?
The bottom line is that any spellcasting class—Ranger, Druid, Wizard, Warlock, Sorceror, Cleric, Druid, Paladin—can possibly cast the same spell twice in D&D.
It all depends on the spell.
How Many Times Can You Cast Prepared Spells?
There is no hard limit to the number of times you can cast prepared spells in a day.
If you have prepared the spell, and you possess spell slots with the correct level, then you can cast it multiple times.
You can even cast the same prepared spell several times during a single day in D&D.
Once you take a long rest, you can prepare the same spell again.
During your turn, you can cast up to three prepared spells. This usually means that you can cast the same prepared spell up to two times on your turn.
Of course, it depends on the spell’s attributes and your feats.
How Many Times Can You Cast Spells with a Spell Slot?
You can only cast one spell per spell slot.
Most DND characters possess three or more spell slots per long rest/day.
A spellcaster can cast any known spell as many times as desired, as long as they have the required spell slot levels.
They can also potentially cast the same spell multiple times in a single turn.
For example, a wizard with six first-level spell slots could cast six magic missile spells in one day (and six more times after a long rest).
The DM might also allow a spellcaster to cast a spell more than once per day, depending on the situation.
How Many Times Can Each Class Cast a Spell in D&D?
As mentioned earlier, the number of times you can cast a spell is partly determined by your character class.
So, let’s look at how many times each class can cast a spell in D&D.
For our purposes, we’ll assume each class is at first level. We’ll also assume that no other special feats, magical items, or racial advantages apply.
How Many Times Can a Bard Cast a Spell in DND?
A first-level bard knows four spells.
Two of those spells are first-level spells (also known as leveled spells). Cantrips make up the other two spells.
Cantrips are spells that a bard knows and can cast at will an almost unlimited amount of times.
A first-level bard can cast two leveled spells in one day, as well as any cantrips they know.
After taking a long rest, a first-level bard can prepare the same two leveled spells and cast them again.
Related: How Many Cantrips Can You Have in D&D? (Solved)
How Many Times Can a Wizard Cast a Spell in DND?
At the first level, a wizard knows nine total spells, but can only cast five of them per rest.
Three of the nine spells are cantrips.
The other six are first-level spells written down in the Wizard’s spellbook. Of those six spells, a first-level Wizard can prepare and cast three per long rest.
That’s because, at this level, a Wizard possesses three leveled spell slots.
Potentially, a Wizard could cast the same first-level spell three times.
A Wizard can cast as many cantrips as actions, bonus actions. and/or reactions that they get in a single D&D session.
How Many Times Can a Sorceror Cast a Spell in DND?
A Sorceror knows six spells at the first level—four cantrips and two first-level spells.
Unlike a Wizard, a Sorceror does not need a spellbook.
Like a Wizard, however, your Sorceror character can only cast two leveled spells per long rest. However, they can cast cantrips many times per day.
For example, let’s say a Sorceror faces six combat encounters during a single day.
In this scenario, they can cast two leveled spells over the course of those six encounters. If they cast both spells in the first encounter, then they can no longer cast any leveled spells for the rest of the day.
However, your Sorceror can cast a cantrip during every turn in all six of those encounters.
How Many Times Can a Cleric Cast a Spell in DND?
A Cleric starts with five known spells plus their Wisdom modifier.
From day one, Clerics can cast three cantrip spells and two domain spells. Domain spells do not need to be prepared.
They also do not take up spell slots.
If a Cleric has a Wisdom of 12-13, they get a +1 ability modifier. This means that they can also cast two leveled Cleric spells.
In total, this first-level Cleric build is able to cast seven spells:
- Three cantrips
- Two domain spells
- Two leveled spells (level + Wisdom modifier)
How Many Spells Can a Paladin Cast a Spell?
At level one, a Paladin can use two class features but does not know any spells.
Paladins can sense evil and heal wounds for each long rest.
Starting at level two, Paladins can channel divine magic similarly to Clerics.
As a Paladin, you can select a number of paladin spells that equals half your Paladin level plus your Charisma modifier. You’ll need to round that number down to a bare minimum of one spell.
You can only cast leveled spells that match your spell slot levels.
For example, a level 6 Paladin can cast three spells (half their Paladin level). If this same Paladin has a Charisma of 14-15 (+2 modifier), they can cast two more spells.
That gives them a total of five spells they can cast per long rest.
How Many Spells Can a Warlock Cast?
A Warlock can cast four spells at first level.
They can cast two cantrips and two leveled spells per long rest. That usually means a Warlock can cast two leveled spells per day of adventuring.
If a Warlock encounters multiple enemies during that day, they still can only cast two spells the entire day (across all of those melee spell attack or range attack encounters).
However, they can cast their cantrip spells during each round of each encounter.
Final Thoughts: How Many Spells Can You Cast in D&D?
If you’re creative, you can figure out how to cast up to three spells per turn, sandbagging your most powerful spells while machine-gunning your cantrips.
Related posts:
- DND Mind Spike 5e (Stats, Mechanics, and Ultimate Guide)
- How Do Clerics Learn Spells in DND? (Ultimate Guide)
- How Many Spells Can You Have in D&D? (Answered & Solved)
