Can you smite and cast a spell in the same turn?

Can You Smite and Cast a Spell in the Same Turn?

The game of Dungeons & Dragons offers a vast array of combat options and abilities that allow players to customize their playstyle and wreak havoc on their foes. Among the many available options are Smite, a paladin’s martial ability that inflicts holy damage on an enemy, and the spellcasting mechanic, which enables characters to cast magic to achieve specific effects. Many players are curious whether they can use these abilities together in a single turn, and if so, what the benefits and limitations might be. In this article, we’ll delve into the answers to these questions and provide guidance on the rules governing Smite and spellcasting in Dungeons & Dragons.

Divine Smite and Casting a Spell: Can it be Done?

At the heart of the debate is the paladin’s Divine Smite, a class feature that enables them to deal extra holy damage with their weapon. The rules for Divine Smite (PHB, 89) clearly state that "when you hit with a melee attack, you can expend your spell slot to deal extra damage to the target." This, by itself, does not specify whether other spells can be cast while using Divine Smite, so we’ll need to turn to more general guidance from the official rules and established precedent to answer our question.

In the official Player’s Handbook, p. 195, under the Casting Spells rules, it’s stated: "If a spell can be cast without a concentration check, it can also be cast when you are concentrating on a spellcasting ability. The spellcaster can switch to a spell that can be cast without concentration check immediately after completing the first spell." Additionally, p. 245 of the same book notes that "a spellcaster can cast only one spell of 1st level or higher at a time. A spellcaster can, however, have multiple spell slots ready, and switch between spells between turns." These points together suggest that, at a minimum, a character could potentially switch between using Divine Smite and casting a separate spell, such as in between turns. However, to answer our original question: yes, you can use Divine Smite and cast a spell in the same turn, so long as they are bonus-action spells.

Bonus-Action Spells

The rulebooks provide limited guidance on which spells qualify as bonus-action spells, but they offer some guidance. Specifically, The Basic Rules, p. 102, states that "spells with the Bonus-Action tag are intended to be cast after or between regular actions. Casting a spell with Bonus-Action as your action won’t change anything." Many spells from various sources in the 5th Edition of D&D have this tag. An example would be Cure Wounds or Prestidigitation, which have explicit Bonus-Action tags and can be used in between regular actions or as an additional action, respectively. In summary, Bonus-Action spells like these, Divine Smite (or other actions requiring a Bonus-Action slot), can indeed be cast in the same turn without any complications.