Does order matter when casting a cantrip with a casting time of a bonus action and another spell?

Question

When casting a spell as a bonus action, you can't cast another spell on the same turn except a 1-action cantrip - can the order be "reversed"? Can you cast a cantrip first as a bonus action, then any other spell? If not, would it be broken to allow it?

I'm thinking a Sorcerer casting a Quickened true strike, then casting a leveled spell requiring a touch attack. Seems like a great use of the cantrip + Metamagic feature, but it seems like it is not allowed.

You extend your hand and point a finger at a target in range. Your magic grants you a brief insight into the target’s defenses. On your next turn, you gain advantage on your first attack roll against the target, provided that this spell hasn’t ended. It could be a good combo, but true strike is useless most of the time. — AntiDrondert, Nov 27 '18 at 12:21

score 31 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 10 '22 at 19:38

31

No, the order doesn't matter

You cannot cast another leveled spell if you've cast a bonus action spell, and you can't cast a bonus action spell if you've already cast a leveled spell with your action.

"You can't cast another spell during the same turn, except for a cantrip with a casting time of one action" (PHB 202)

That precludes both before or after the action spell.

edited Nov 10 '22 at 19:38

Thomas Markov

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answered Sep 07 '14 at 18:35

wax eagle

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Also, just realised this Sorc 'trick' wouldn't work, because True Strike states that you gain the effect during your next turn. Bummer--clearly they did not want this to happen. – Khashir Sep 07 '14 at 19:22
I had a small follow-up--if you cast a L>1 spell with your action, can you then cast a cantrip with Quickened Spell as a bonus action? – Khashir Oct 03 '14 at 14:13
@Khashir No. You'd have to be able to cast a spell as a bonus action, and you can't do that if you've already cast one as an action. – wax eagle Oct 03 '14 at 17:21
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Thank you. So, Quickened Hold Monster, then Shocking Grasp is OK, but not the other way around? To be honest, I don't remember why this came up... Long week, I guess. – Khashir Oct 03 '14 at 23:13
@Khashir exactly. I have no reason why though. – wax eagle Oct 04 '14 at 01:52
Now I remember--I wanted to Heighten Hold Monster, then Quicken Shocking Grasp (so that I could attack with advantage and auto-crit on the same turn). Apparently a no-go </3 – Khashir Oct 04 '14 at 23:18
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Could you address these bits about order in the answer? The comments seem to contradict the answer, so I think crafting it into a coherent whole would improve clarity. – SevenSidedDie Apr 08 '15 at 22:32

score 9 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:23

The restriction applies regardless of the order

The rule on bonus-action spells states:

You must use a bonus action on your turn to cast the spell, provided that you haven't already taken a bonus action this turn. You can’t cast another spell during the same turn, except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.

No matter when the bonus action spell is cast, you cannot have cast another spell except for a cantrip with a casting time of one action for the entire turn. This turn-based stipulation does indeed mean the restriction applies retroactively. It doesn't matter what order - as long as the two spells are cast (or attempted to be cast) on the same turn, the restriction applies.

Jeremy Crawford has also clarified and agrees with this:

Q: How do bonus action spell rules go when a noncantrip is cast as a single action then a bonus action spell?

JC: If you cast a spell of 1st-level or higher with 1 action, you can't then cast a bonus action spell.

Note that things can get confusing when applying this rule and this question has a nice table showing all the legal and illegal combinations.

Does order matter when casting a cantrip with a casting time of a bonus action and another spell?

2 Answers2

The restriction applies regardless of the order

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