The 2024 rules give you a bit more freedom when it comes to levelled spells, and here’s how.
If you’ve ever played a spellcaster in D&D 5e, you may be aware that there are certain restrictions on the spells you can cast on your turn. The 2014 rules state “You can’t cast another spell during the same turn (as you cast a spell using your bonus action), except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.”
While the 2024 keep a similar ethos in terms of restricting the use of levelled spells on a turn, the wording is a little different (and easier to remember). It states that “On a turn, you can expend only one spell slot to cast a spell. This rule means you can’t, for example, cast a spell with a spell slot using the Magic action and another one using a Bonus Action on the same turn.”
While seemingly very similar, the 2024 rules do actually change the focus from levelled spells to spells that expend a spell slot. This is an important difference and one that can be exploited in a way that I believe was intentional by the rule makers. And I’ll explain exactly how in the article below.
How do the new spell rules change what I can do on my turn?
The crucial thing to remember with the 2024 rules is that spellcasting on your turn is not limited by the use of levelled spells but by spell slots. So if you can cast a spell without expending a spell slot, then you can cast as many levelled spells as your actions can accommodate.
In the 2014 rules, this meant only casting a cantrip alongside a levelled spells on your turn, but the 2024 rules allow for the following possibilities:
- Cantrips: As these don’t expend spell slots.
- Free spell uses: Some class features, feats and species traits will give you free castings of levelled spells without expending a spell slot.
- Spell scrolls: A spell inscribed on a scroll can be cast without expending a spell slot.
- Magic items: Magic items containing spells may expend charges, but they don’t expend spell slots.
Of course while these options are available, they are also somewhat restricted by design.
Free spell uses from classes, feats and species rarely exceed level 2. Many of these are for out of combat use too. On the other hand, scrolls and magic items are typically quite expensive and/or hard to come by.
What are some worthwhile uses of this exploit?
To begin with, we’re going to look purely at in combat spells as our of combat, you can usually take your time with spellcasting. In combat, you’ll need to merge actions, bonus actions and the like.
We’re also going to have to be careful of concentration. Trying to cast spells with both your bonus action and your action that use concentration will just lead to one spell ending the other.
With that out of the way, here’s some great ways to squeeze multiple levelled spells into your turn.
Rangers and hunter’s mark
From level 1, rangers can use favoured enemy to cast hunter’s mark without expending a spell slot. This leaves your action free to cast a levelled spell.
The main challenge here is hunter’s mark actually combines really well with weapon attacks. But if you want to cast cordon of arrows or dispel magic for instance then set yourself up for future turns of damage with hunter’s mark, you can do that.
Misty step
Misty step is possibly one of the most common freely cast spell. You can grab it through a few ways:
- Fey-touched feat
- Fey wanderer ranger
- Archfey patron warlock
- High Elf species
- There are also misty step-like abilities that some species and subclasses get like cloud’s jaunt for the Goliath or the warrior of shadow monk’s shadow step. The soul knife rogue and path of the world tree barbarian also have similar features while 2014 species like the Shadar-Kai, Eladrin and Astral Elf also have traits like misty step too.
Misty step is really handy for getting into and out of danger really quickly. Imagine now being able to rush into the midst of foes for maximum damage with a spell with your action, and then simply teleporting away to safety!
This tactic can work nicely for spells like thunderwave or conjure barrage.
The warlock’s eldritch invocations
Warlocks have several eldritch invocations that allow them to cast certain spells for free as often as you like. These are:
- Armor of shadows – Mage armor
- Ascendant step – Levitate
- Fiendish vigor – False life
- Mask of many faces – Disguise self
- Master of myriad forms – Alter self
- Misty visions – Silent image
- One with shadows – Invisibility
- Otherworldly leap – Jump
- Visions of distant realms – Arcane eye
- Whispers of the grave – Speak with dead
As you can tell, most of these are not combat spells, but a few are. Levitate and invisibility could be used in combat. Unfortunately, warlocks don’t have many bonus action spells that don’t require concentration (otherwise hex would have been a great option). There’s always misty step, or spells like divine favor, healing word or sanctuary that you can grab from other spell lists.
Innate spellcasting
Some species have innate spellcasting. This grants them some prepared spells which can have free uses. These include the following 2024 species:
- Drow – Dancing lights, faerie fire and darkness
- High Elf – Cantrip of your choice, detect magic and misty step
- Wood Elf – Druid craft, longstrider and pass without trace
- Forest Gnome – Minor illusion and speak with animals
- Rock Gnome – Mending and prestidigitation
- Abyssal Tiefling – Poison spray, ray of sickness and hold person
- Chthonic Tiefling – Chill touch, false life and ray of enfeeblement
- Infernal Tiefling – Fire bolt, hellish rebuke and darkness
As with the warlock, the challenge here is going to be finding combinations of spells where one is an action and the other is a bonus action as well as ensuring both are not concentration spells.
Thief rogue and fast hands
The thief is capable of using a magic action with both their action (as normal) and a bonus action because of their fast hands feature. At level 13, they can also use spell scrolls. Because using a scroll or a magic item with a spell (like a wand of fireballs) does not use a spell slot, a thief is able to cast 2 levelled spells each turn through the use of magic items and spell scrolls.
This makes them one of the most devastating spellcasters in the game (albeit a very expensive one). You should be aware though that spells over level 1 cast from a scroll will sometimes not work for a thief.
Scrolls and magic items
Its worth pointing out that while a thief is probably your best option for double levelled spellcasting, other classes can cast a levelled spell and then use a magic item or spell scroll with a levelled spell too. They’re just a bit more limited on action type.
The problem for sorcerer’s and quickened spell
Its worth being aware that while quickened spell lets you cast a spell that normally requires an action with a bonus action, there are actually some restrictions here. You might think you could cast a spell like fireball that’s quickened as a bonus action and then use a magic item or spell scroll to cast another fireball with your action. However, quickened spell prevents this as it won’t allow you to cast a levelled spell with your action, whether it uses a spell slot or not.
Got any other tactics you like to use around this new ruling for using spell slots? Let me know in the comments below.
Spotlight on D&D 2024
All the latest updates on what’s changing with the 2024 rules revision.
