Hi everyone!
Me and my fellow players have a question about the heightened rule and cantrips/focus spells.
The problem is simple: Can I cast a cantrip/focus spell at a lower level?
Rules I've found:
Both prepared and spontaneous spellcasters can cast a spell at a higher spell level than that listed for the spell. This is called heightening the spell. [...] When you heighten your spell, the spell’s level increases to match the higher level of the spell slot you’ve prepared it in or used to cast it.
Ok first bit seems pretty clear to me: you CAN heighten the spell. Your choice.
Now, talking about cantrips (and consequently focus spells):A cantrip is always automatically heightened to half your level, rounded up. For a typical spellcaster, this means its level is equal to the highest level of spell slot you have.
To make it simple: at first level my produce flame is a level 1 produce flame. When I hit level 3 I automatically learn an heightened version of produce flame of level 2.
At level 5 it happens the same and now i automatically can cast a version of produce flame of level 3 and so on...but what happens to the previous version?Do I forgot that version forever?
If I want to cast a produce flame that does lower damage (a level 2 version for example) I can't? Where is written that I MUST cast the cantrips ALWAYS at the max level?
Another and more important question: how does this affect Wild Shape?
Does a level 9 druid can transform ONLY in a Huge animal? To me this is not only wrong but just "stupid".
Sorry in advance for the length of the question and thank you for your answers!
Marco
The rules dont say either way as far as I know.
I'd personally say they are always heightened to the highest level for purpose of dispel and similar effects. But I would totally let you choose a lesser effect.
Here's what I've found:
Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up, just like cantrips are.
then
If you’re a prepared caster, you have a number of cantrip spell slots that you use to prepare your cantrips. You can’t prepare a cantrip in any other slot. A cantrip is always automatically heightened to half your level, rounded up.
I think this is just a little bit of sloppy wording. If I were to write this I would say "A cantrip spell slot level is always half your level rounded up"
from heightening spells:
When you get spell slots of 2nd level and higher, you can fill those slots with stronger versions of lower-level spells.
So here's my hot take.
Focus spells occupy focus spell slots JUST LIKE CANTRIPS. They are spell slots that are never expended (but cost focus points to use) and are heightened to half your level rounded up. You might read this as "Oh so I need to prepare a specific level of cantrip when I prepare my spells each day" however
A cantrip is a special type of spell that’s weaker than other spells but can be used with greater freedom and flexibility.
So while the rules are written in a way that does not explicitly allow this, I would rule that cantrips can be cast at any level below their automatically heightened level, just like any spell slot can take a spell at a lower level.
I think the intent of the rules is to allow that but it sort of writes itself into a hole. It seems the intent of the authors was to allow cantrips to be flexible and at-will, with the only restriction being that you have to choose them ahead of time.
So why word it the way it was worded? Here's my second hot take:
Spontaneous casters have to learn each spell they know at the level they want to cast it. For regular spells this means if they know 4th level fireball they can't automatically cast 2nd level fireball and so on.
You must have a spell in your spell repertoire at the level you want to cast in order to heighten it to that level.
But (I guess) the authors did not want this restriction for cantrips, and might have had spontaneous spellcasters in mind with this wording. Otherwise, you might have wondered if spontaneous spellcasters had to learn the heightened versions of their cantrips separately. I think that would be a real P.I.T.A. for spontaneous spellcasters, so they get to rely on the automatic heightening rather than needing to relearn their cantrips.
I would also rule that spontaneous casters could choose which level to cast their cantrips as well.