Acid Splash 5e FAQ FAQ
Does Acid Splash scale with caster level in D&D 5e?
No. Acid Splash does not use a separate caster-level calculation in D&D 5e (2014). Its damage increases according to the character’s total level: 1d6 at levels 1–4, 2d6 at level 5, 3d6 at level 11, and 4d6 at level 17. This means multiclass levels still count toward the damage increase. A Sorcerer 1 / Fighter 4, for example, is a 5th-level character and therefore deals 2d6 Acid Splash damage on a failed save.
Players coming from 3e or 3.5e often use the phrase caster level, and multiclass characters can make 5e spell progression look similar at first glance. Cantrip damage progression follows a simpler rule. Acid Splash lists level thresholds directly, and the 2014 multiclass spellcasting rules clarify that a cantrip that improves at higher levels uses total character level rather than the level of the class that granted the cantrip.
Acid Splash uses total character level
Acid 
D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash begins at 1d6 
D&D Portal - Dice Roller Roll your dice Roll standard or custom dice with adjustable count, faces, advantage, and disadvantage. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/dice-roller/ Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/. Its damage increases to 2d6 when the character reaches level 5, 3d6 at level 11, and 4d6 at level 17.
Those thresholds refer to the character’s overall level. They do not require the character to reach level 5 as a Sorcerer 
D&D Portal - Sorcerer Character class A Charisma-based known-spell full caster whose Sorcery Points and Metamagic reshape spells in ways other casters cannot. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/sorcerer/ or level 5 as a Wizard 
D&D Portal - Wizard Character class An Intelligence-based prepared full caster with the largest spell-learning system, ritual flexibility, and subclass traditions focused on schools or specialist theories. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/wizard/ specifically.
As a result, levels in non-spellcasting classes can still move a character across an Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash damage threshold. The character’s total adventuring level is what matters for this cantrip progression.
Multiclass levels still count toward the damage increase
Consider a character with Sorcerer D&D Portal - Sorcerer Character class A Charisma-based known-spell full caster whose Sorcery Points and Metamagic reshape spells in ways other casters cannot. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/sorcerer/ 1 and Fighter 4. Only one of those levels is a Sorcerer D&D Portal - Sorcerer Character class A Charisma-based known-spell full caster whose Sorcery Points and Metamagic reshape spells in ways other casters cannot. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/sorcerer/ level, but the character has five total character levels.
That character’s Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash therefore deals 2d6 Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ on a failed save. The four Fighter levels are relevant to the cantrip’s level threshold even though Fighter did not grant the spell.
The same principle applies to other multiclass combinations. Once the character reaches total levels 11 and 17, Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash advances to 3d6 and 4d6 respectively.
Caster level is not the mechanic being used here
Older editions used caster level as a dedicated value for many spell variables. Range, duration, damage, and interactions such as spell resistance could depend on it.
The 2014 Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash spell does not ask for a caster-level value. Its range remains 60 feet, its duration remains instantaneous, and its damage increases only at the listed character-level thresholds.
Using the phrase caster level for Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash in 5e can therefore create unnecessary confusion, especially for multiclass characters. Character level is the clearer and rules-accurate term for its damage progression.
Multiclass spell-slot progression is a separate rule
Multiclass spellcasters also calculate spell slots using a separate multiclass progression. That calculation can combine some or all levels from different spellcasting classes.
That slot calculation does not control Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash damage. Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash is a cantrip and does not consume a spell slot, so having higher-level spell slots does not increase its damage.
A character can therefore have unusual spell-slot progression while Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash still follows the simple total-character-level thresholds of 5, 11, and 17.
The damage increase does not change the rest of the spell
Reaching a damage threshold changes the number of d6s rolled when a target fails its save. It does not increase Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks,
spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ Splash’s 60-foot range or allow additional creatures to be selected.
The spell still targets at most two visible creatures, and the two creatures must still be within 5 feet of one another. Each target still makes its own Dexterity saving throw 
D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve
uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/.
The caster’s saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve
uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/ is also a separate calculation based on the spellcasting ability and proficiency bonus associated with the source of the spell. The cantrip’s damage progression should not be confused with that save DC.