There is a rule listed for casting spells as a bonus action, stating that you cannot cast a leveled spell as a bonus action AND an action, as seen in chapter 10 of the player's handbook under casting time.
However, it doesn't make any statements on a situation where casting leveled spells as a Free Action is possible. Would there be any rules I haven't heard of - listed in source books or sage advice - that resolves this situation?
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As far as I'm aware, such a spell will never exist as part of the official rules. The closest thing are "reaction" spells which are considered "out of turn".
all spells have a casting time of Action, Bonus Action, or Reaction. There is no such thing as "casting a spell for free," and Free Actions do not exist in 5e, so no spells would have that wording.
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Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
There is a rule listed for casting spells as a bonus action, stating that you cannot cast a leveled spell as a bonus action AND an action, as seen in chapter 10 of the player's handbook under casting time.
However, it doesn't make any statements on a situation where casting leveled spells as a Free Action is possible. Would there be any rules I haven't heard of - listed in source books or sage advice - that resolves this situation?
The rule is if you cast a spell as a bonus action (regardless of whether it is a cantrip or levelled spell) then all other spells you cast that turn must be cantrips. It doesn't matter if those other spells use actions, free actions, reactions, or whatever.
If you don't cast a spell as a bonus action, then you may cast any spells of any levels using your other actions, reactions, free actions or whatever.
In official 5e rules there are no spells that can be cast as a free action. There is no such thing as a Free Action in 5e rules.
If you have homebrewed something to make use of free actions, which would be a homebrew rule as well, then you're need to discuss with the DM. Since it's 100% homebrew, the official rules can't help you.
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Free Actions do not appear in the 5th Edition D&D rules. There are a few things you are able to do for free, but no Free Actions.
Semantics.
Not exactly. "Free Actions" were part of the 3rd and 3.5 Edition of the D&D rules. There were spells whose casting time was listed as a Free Action. I thought that might have been the point of confusion. I honestly don't remember if 4th Edition had Free Actions as such. 5th does not. Technical Jargon perhaps, but not just Semantics.
Well if you go 2 lvl in a fighter and e.g. 5 lvl in wizard you can cast fireball take action surge and cast it again.
That’s not a “free action” that is a “second action”specifically granted by the Fighter level 2 “action surge” ability. It doesn’t change the nature of the spell cast and still uses a regular action, and is not relevant to the OPs question (which was “can you cast a spell as a free action?”)
Interacting with one object or feature of the environment during your turn is a free action, although not a "Free Action" in games term. Speaking is a free action.
This is not related to the question at hand, nor is it accurate.
One of the actions in combat is Use an Object which is normally an Action. However you get one object interaction for free as part of another action or movement, such as drawing a weapon as part of an attack, or opening a door as part of moving.
You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your weapon as part of the same action you use to attack.
It is important to not call this a 'free action' because you can still interact with an object if you are unable to take actions provided you are able to move.
Getting into whether or not free actions exist (they don't) is not relevant to the question the OP posted because it's been established at length that free actions aren't a thing and there are no spells that use said action. As such, it's going decidedly off topic to try and argue the existence of free actions.
Back to the question at hand: Spells have the following casting times:
1 Action
1 Bonus Action
1 Reaction
Longer Casting Times: requiring your action for your turn each round during the casting time (10 rounds per minute)
Right now, no official spell has a casting time other than the above, so there is no "free" casting of any spell allowed (understanding that "free actions" aren't a thing anyway)
Thank you for your information! I know that there are no "free action" spells, but I was posing the question as if there was a free action spell.
and by free action, I was talking about how in chapter 9 it mentions "Other Activity On Your Turn" - I probably could have worded that better.
Other Activity on Your Turn
Your turn can include a variety of flourishes that require neither your action nor your move.
You can communicate however you are able, through brief utterances and gestures, as you take your turn.
You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your weapon as part of the same action you use to attack.
If you want to interact with a second object, you need to use your action. Some magic items and other special objects always require an action to use, as stated in their descriptions.
The DM might require you to use an action for any of these activities when it needs special care or when it presents an unusual obstacle. For instance, the DM could reasonably expect you to use an action to open a stuck door or turn a crank to lower a drawbridge.
There is a rule listed for casting spells as a bonus action, stating that you cannot cast a leveled spell as a bonus action AND an action, as seen in chapter 10 of the player's handbook under casting time.
However, it doesn't make any statements on a situation where casting leveled spells as a Free Action is possible. Would there be any rules I haven't heard of - listed in source books or sage advice - that resolves this situation?
The rule is if you cast a spell as a bonus action (regardless of whether it is a cantrip or levelled spell) then all other spells you cast that turn must be cantrips. It doesn't matter if those other spells use actions, free actions, reactions, or whatever.
If you don't cast a spell as a bonus action, then you may cast any spells of any levels using your other actions, reactions, free actions or whatever.
In official 5e rules there are no spells that can be cast as a free action. There is no such thing as a Free Action in 5e rules.
If you have homebrewed something to make use of free actions, which would be a homebrew rule as well, then you're need to discuss with the DM. Since it's 100% homebrew, the official rules can't help you.
So the closest to RAW resolution might be "If a spell can be cast as an other activity, it can be a leveled spell, if there was no bonus action spell cast."
and again, as there are no free action - or other activity spells, this ruling wouldn't need to be written down in a source book.
Spells always have a casting time, and "other activities" don't have one, necessarily, as they take place "during" another action or movement:
'You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your weapon as part of the same action you use to attack.'
So even with homebrew spells, actually creating a spell with a "free" casting time is practically impossible
There is a rule listed for casting spells as a bonus action, stating that you cannot cast a leveled spell as a bonus action AND an action, as seen in chapter 10 of the player's handbook under casting time.
However, it doesn't make any statements on a situation where casting leveled spells as a Free Action is possible. Would there be any rules I haven't heard of - listed in source books or sage advice - that resolves this situation?
A deck of playing cards are a great way to randomise encounters
Can you give an example of a "Free Action" spell?
As far as I'm aware, such a spell will never exist as part of the official rules. The closest thing are "reaction" spells which are considered "out of turn".
Free Actions do not appear in the 5th Edition D&D rules. There are a few things you are able to do for free, but no Free Actions.
<Insert clever signature here>
all spells have a casting time of Action, Bonus Action, or Reaction. There is no such thing as "casting a spell for free," and Free Actions do not exist in 5e, so no spells would have that wording.
Formerly Devan Avalon.
Trying to get your physical content on Beyond is like going to Microsoft and saying "I have a physical Playstation disk, give me a digital Xbox version!"
There are no free action spells. They are one action, one bonus action, one reaction. Some spells such as mending or identify take minutes to cast.
The rule is if you cast a spell as a bonus action (regardless of whether it is a cantrip or levelled spell) then all other spells you cast that turn must be cantrips. It doesn't matter if those other spells use actions, free actions, reactions, or whatever.
If you don't cast a spell as a bonus action, then you may cast any spells of any levels using your other actions, reactions, free actions or whatever.
In official 5e rules there are no spells that can be cast as a free action. There is no such thing as a Free Action in 5e rules.
If you have homebrewed something to make use of free actions, which would be a homebrew rule as well, then you're need to discuss with the DM. Since it's 100% homebrew, the official rules can't help you.
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Semantics.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
True, but no spells can be done “for free” outside of homebrew
I would argue that semantics are key to rules discussions.
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Well if you go 2 lvl in a fighter and e.g. 5 lvl in wizard you can cast fireball take action surge and cast it again.
Not exactly. "Free Actions" were part of the 3rd and 3.5 Edition of the D&D rules. There were spells whose casting time was listed as a Free Action. I thought that might have been the point of confusion. I honestly don't remember if 4th Edition had Free Actions as such. 5th does not. Technical Jargon perhaps, but not just Semantics.
<Insert clever signature here>
That’s not a “free action” that is a “second action”specifically granted by the Fighter level 2 “action surge” ability. It doesn’t change the nature of the spell cast and still uses a regular action, and is not relevant to the OPs question (which was “can you cast a spell as a free action?”)
Some of my games still use Free Action when the mean Bonus action. So can the OP give us some examples please.
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This is not related to the question at hand, nor is it accurate.
One of the actions in combat is Use an Object which is normally an Action. However you get one object interaction for free as part of another action or movement, such as drawing a weapon as part of an attack, or opening a door as part of moving.
It is important to not call this a 'free action' because you can still interact with an object if you are unable to take actions provided you are able to move.
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Getting into whether or not free actions exist (they don't) is not relevant to the question the OP posted because it's been established at length that free actions aren't a thing and there are no spells that use said action. As such, it's going decidedly off topic to try and argue the existence of free actions.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Back to the question at hand: Spells have the following casting times:
Right now, no official spell has a casting time other than the above, so there is no "free" casting of any spell allowed (understanding that "free actions" aren't a thing anyway)
Thank you for your information! I know that there are no "free action" spells, but I was posing the question as if there was a free action spell.
and by free action, I was talking about how in chapter 9 it mentions "Other Activity On Your Turn" - I probably could have worded that better.
with that in mind, as Cyb3rM1nd said here;
So the closest to RAW resolution might be "If a spell can be cast as an other activity, it can be a leveled spell, if there was no bonus action spell cast."
and again, as there are no free action - or other activity spells, this ruling wouldn't need to be written down in a source book.
A deck of playing cards are a great way to randomise encounters
Spells always have a casting time, and "other activities" don't have one, necessarily, as they take place "during" another action or movement:
'You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your weapon as part of the same action you use to attack.'
So even with homebrew spells, actually creating a spell with a "free" casting time is practically impossible
Pragmatically, a "Free Action Spell" is just a magical feature like the Paladin's Divine Smite, Medusa's Petrifying Gaze, or some Warlock Invocations.