Spells FAQ

How do spell slots work?

Spell slots are the resource normally spent to cast spells of 1st level or higher. A spell uses a slot of its own level or higher; the slot is expended, but the spell itself is not normally forgotten or removed from a prepared list. Most spellcasting classes recover ordinary spell slots after a long rest, while features such as Warlock Pact Magic or Arcane Recovery use different recovery rules. Cantrips do not normally use spell slots.

A spell slot is a unit of magical capacity. It is not a spell. This distinction solves a large amount of confusion around Fifth Edition spellcasting.

A spell and a spell slot are separate things

Suppose a Wizard has **magic missile** prepared.

The Wizard might have:

four 1st-level spell slots three 2nd-level spell slots

Magic missile remains prepared after it is cast.

What is consumed is the spell slot.

That means the same prepared spell can usually be cast repeatedly as long as the character still has appropriate slots.

You do not normally prepare “one copy” of a spell into each slot.

The slot must be high enough

To cast a leveled spell, spend a slot of that spell's level or higher.

For example:

cure wounds, 1st level → can use a 1st-level slot → can use a 2nd-level slot → can use a 3rd-level slot → and so on

But a 5th-level spell cannot be cast with a 4th-level slot.

The spell does not fit into a lower-level slot.

Higher-level slots can change the spell

When a spell is cast using a higher-level slot, the spell assumes that higher level for that casting.

Some spell descriptions include an **At Higher Levels** section.

That may provide:

  • more damage dice;
  • additional healing;
  • more targets;
  • a larger effect;
  • a longer duration;
  • another improvement.

If the spell does not provide an additional benefit, using a higher slot can still make that casting count as the higher spell level, but it does not receive an invented numerical bonus.

Ordinary spell slots normally return on a long rest

For standard Spellcasting progression, expended spell slots normally return when the character finishes a long rest.

Some classes have additional recovery mechanics.

Examples in 2014-oriented class material include:

  • Wizard **Arcane Recovery**, which restores a limited amount after a short rest once per day;
  • Sorcerer **Flexible Casting**, which can create slots from Sorcery Points;
  • Land Druid **Natural Recovery** in the relevant subclass;
  • other specific features that explicitly restore or create slots.

These features modify the resource system only as their own rules describe.

Warlock Pact Magic is different

The 2014 Warlock does not use ordinary Spellcasting for its main 1st- through 5th-level spell slots.

It uses **Pact Magic**.

Pact Magic has:

  • very few slots at one time;
  • slots that are all the same level at a given Warlock level;
  • short- or long-rest recovery;
  • automatic progression up to 5th-level slots.

Warlock Mystic Arcanum then handles 6th- through 9th-level Warlock spells separately.

Do not merge Pact Magic into the ordinary full-caster slot table.

Multiclass spell slots can be shared

A multiclass character with more than one Spellcasting class may determine spell slots from the multiclass spellcasting rules.

Those slots can generally be used to cast a spell from any of the character's classes, provided that spell is actually known or prepared for that class.

The spellcasting ability still comes from the feature that gave the character the spell.

A Cleric spell remains Wisdom-based simply because a multiclass Wizard slot was used to cast it.

Spell-slot level is not character level

A 5th-level character does not automatically have 5th-level spell slots.

Full casters gain new slot levels gradually.

Under standard full-caster progression:

character/class level 1 → 1st-level spells level 3 → 2nd-level spells level 5 → 3rd-level spells level 7 → 4th-level spells level 9 → 5th-level spells level 11 → 6th-level spells level 13 → 7th-level spells level 15 → 8th-level spells level 17 → 9th-level spells

Half-casters and third-casters progress more slowly.

This is one of the most common points of confusion for new players.

Cantrips do not use slots

Cantrips are level 0.

They are normally cast at will without spending a spell slot.

Many offensive cantrips scale with character level rather than with spell slots.

This gives spellcasters a repeatable magical action after leveled resources have been spent.

Ritual casting can avoid spending a slot

A spell with the ritual tag can be cast without spending a slot when:

  • the caster has a ritual-casting feature;
  • the spell qualifies under that feature;
  • the caster spends the extra 10 minutes.

A ritual cannot normally be upcast because no higher-level slot is being spent.

Magic items and special features can bypass slots

A wand, staff, feat, species feature, subclass feature, monster trait, or other rule may say that a spell can be cast:

  • once per day;
  • using charges;
  • without a spell slot;
  • at a specified level.

In that situation, follow that item's or feature's rules.

Do not spend a slot unless the feature says one is required.

Practical resource management

Spell slots are most useful when treated as a limited adventuring-day resource.

A caster should ask:

  • Is this threat worth a slot?
  • Which slot level is sufficient?
  • Does upcasting materially improve the spell?
  • Can a cantrip solve the problem?
  • Can this ritual wait 10 extra minutes?
  • Do I need to preserve concentration on a spell already active?

The strongest spellcaster is not necessarily the one who spends the most slots.

It is the one who spends the correct slot when it changes the situation.