Spellcasting Ability

Spellcasting Ability

Your spellcasting ability refers to the ability score you use to cast spells for a particular class. This ability score influences how powerful your spells are and how difficult they are for enemies to resist. Each spellcasting class specifies which ability is its spellcasting ability:

  • Wisdom: For Clerics, Druids, and Rangers
  • Charisma: For Bards, Paladins, Sorcerers, and Warlocks
  • Intelligence: For Wizards

Here's what your spellcasting ability affects:

  1. Spell Save DC: This is the difficulty class that enemies must meet or exceed when making saving throws against your spells. It is calculated as 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier.
  2. Spell Attack Modifier: This is the modifier you add to attack rolls when casting spells that require an attack roll. It's calculated as your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier.
  3. Number of Spells: For some classes like Clerics and Paladins, your spellcasting ability modifier determines additional spells you can prepare each day.
  4. Spell Effectiveness: Some spells use your spellcasting ability modifier to determine their effects. For example, a healing spell might restore additional hit points equal to your spellcasting ability modifier.
  5. Multiclassing Considerations: If you multiclass into more than one spellcasting class, you may have multiple spellcasting abilities (e.g., a Druid/Wizard would use both Wisdom for Druid spells and Intelligence for Wizard spells).

Your spellcasting ability is central to how effective you are as a spellcaster, affecting how hard your spells are to resist and how potent their effects can be.

Credits: SRD 5.1