5e spell casters phb

[Blackwolf]

Need a clarification in the 5E PHB under the classes cleric, druid, and wizard pages 58,66, 114. You prepare your list of class spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of class spells from your list equal to your casting primary stat(either Wisdom or Intelligence)modifier + your caster level(minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have a spell slots.

I read this as giving bonus spell slots to a caster based on the primary Stat Mod that adjust in spell level as the character levels, for the cleric druid and wizard class's. Question is am I miss reading that and if not has FG just miss it in the game?

[kylania]

So there's three numbers. 1. # of Spell Slots. 2. # of Known Spells. 3. # of Prepared Spells.

1. Spell Slots are generally set by the table at the beginning of your class section and is how many times you can cast spells and at which levels. You mark these off as you cast a spell throughout your adventure.

2. Known Spells are also set by the table at the beginning of your class section and is how many spells you actually know or have access to prepare. These generally increase in count or even change when you level. It's basically your Spellbook.

3. Prepared Spells are the subset of your Known Spells which you have chosen to be able to spend Spell Slots on to actually cast during a day. These are spells you prepared to have available to you.

So there's usually no bonus to number of available Spell Slots, and the descriptions you mentioned are only for Prepared Spells.

For example:

A level 7 Cleric with a 20 Wisdom (+5 mod) has:
4 First level Spell Slots, 3 2nd Level Spell Slots, 3 3rd level Spell Slots and 1 Fourth level Spell Slot. (11 total spells cast per day)
She has access to all Cleric spells since it's Divine Magic. (The whole Cleric list counts as Known Spells).
She can have 12 Prepared Spells (not counting domain spells which are bonues).

A level 1 Wizard with a 10 Intelligence (+0 mod) has:
2 1st level Spell Slots (2 total spells cast per day)
He has access to 6 Known Spells in his spellbook.
He can Prepare 1 of those Known Spells per day (1 level + 0 mod, so minimum of 1 spell Prepared per day, which since he has 2 Spell Slots he can cast twice).

[Zacchaeus]

No. Spell slots are not the same as spells prepared. You get spell slots according to the level of your spellcaster as shown on the table for your class. So a 1st level Cleric has 2 spell slots. This figure is immutable. Spells prepared depend, as you have seen, on the level of the caster and their primary stat bonus. So a 1st level Cleric with WIS of 16 can prepare 4 spells (3 for WIS bonus + 1 for level). Since your Cleric only has 1st level spell slots available he can only pick 1st level spells. So in play your Cleric has 4 spells to choose from but only 2 spells slots. This means he can cast 1 spell twice or 2 spells once out of the 4 he has prepared. He can't cast one he hasn't prepared.

Once the same Cleric gets to level 3 he will have 4 1st level spell slots and 2 2nd level spells slots. He will be able to prepare 6 spells (3 for WIS bonus + 3 for level). He may choose any 6 1st or 2nd level spells to prepare and he could then cast any 1st level spell 4 times or 2 different ones twice or any combination that he wants to really.

Does this clarify matters?

Ninja'd by Kylania