Are cantrips prepared spells?

Question

The glossary entry of the PHB describes cantrips as

A cantrip is a level 0 spell, which is cast without a spell slot. See also chapter 7.

and chapter 7 (p. 235 PHB) says

Before you can cast a spell, you must have the spell prepared in your mind or have access to the spell from a magic item, such as a Spell Scroll.

So that would suggest cantrips are also prepared spells now. But all the full spellcasting classes with cantrips have 2 columns in their class table¹, one for "Cantrips", and one for "Prepared Spells", which would suggest that cantrips are something that is different from prepared spells.

So, do cantrips count as prepared spells, or not?

—--

¹ Bard, p. 60, Cleric p. 70, Druid p. 80, Sorcerer p. 140, Warlock p. 154, Wizard p. 166, all PHB.

Answer 1

No, cantrips are known; spells of level 1+ spells are prepared

Spellcasting looks a little different in the 2024 Player's Handbook. All spellcasting classes prepare their spells now.

You can consider cantrips are known and always ready for the spellcaster, while level 1+ spells can be prepared based on your class, as summarized in the table in Chapter 7.

Preparing Spells

If you have a list of level 1+ spells you prepare, your spellcasting feature specifies when you can change the list and the number of spells you can change, as summarized in the Spell Preparation by Class table.

Cantrips always have similar text for all the classes:

Cantrips. You know [X] cantrips of your choice from ...

The term 'known', in relation to cantrips, can be found in various sections of the Player's Handbook. For example:

• Agonizing Blast: Choose one of your known Warlock cantrips that deals damage [...]
• Eldritch Spear: Choose one of your known Warlock cantrips that deals damage [...]
• Improved Illusions: [...] You also know the Minor Illusion cantrip. If you already know it, you learn a different Wizard cantrip of your choice. The cantrip doesn't count against your number of cantrips known.

Answer 2

This is a glitch of a terminology update

In 2014, you had "known" and "prepared" spells. Some classes "knew" spells, and some classes "prepared" spells; they could swap out what spells they had "prepared" each day.

Wizards could swap out spells from their spellbook, and other classes (paladins, druids, clerics) could swap out spells from their entire list.

Cantrips, meanwhile, where always "known" - you couldn't swap them out.

In 2024 they revised wording, and used "prepared" even for spellcasters who could only change spells when they leveled up, like sorcerers and bards.

The wording for "known" on cantrips however remained, as a sort of vestigial leftover of the 2014 rules.

Can you cast a Cantrip?

As you have noted, you must have a spell "prepared" to cast it. Either known implies it is prepared, or it does not. Except that D&D 5e uses exception based design.

In 2014, the rules for Cantrips contradict the general rules:

A cantrip is a spell that can be cast at will, without using a spell slot and without being prepared in advance

it permits casting the spell without preparation. But 2024 dropped this.

I'd recommend just incorporating it. Without it, the only way to allow someone to cast a Cantrip would be to consider them prepared. But if you consider them prepared, a number of problems develop.

Looking at the cleric rules, they know a set of cantrips. They can change which cantrips they know when they level up.

They also prepare spells of level 1+. They can change these every day.

Then we have the cleric rules on changing out prepared spells:

Changing Your Prepared Spells. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can change your list of prepared spells, replacing any of the spells there with other Cleric spells for which you have spell slots.

Apply this to cantrips (or similar rules in other spots) and things start acting weird.

TL;DR

"Known" Cantrips should not be considered prepared.

However, you should treat "known" Cantrips as if you have them always prepared for the purposes of "can you scribe a scroll" "can you cast the spell" or other similar situations. Do not treat them as prepared for the purpose of "swapping which spell you have prepared when you wake up in the morning".

The wording is a bit awkward because they made some minor editing errors in simplifying how spellcasting is described.

Answer 3

Sometimes, depending on the context

Many places in the new PHB make a clear distinction between cantrips and "known spells", such as the Feature's Tables of Classes with Cantrips, separating the two or the Spellcasting and Pact Magic feature, as well as page 235 specifically saying that you prepare "level 1+ spells".

However there are places in the new PHB where Cantrips are referred to as prepared spells. One is the text you quoted from chapter 7, another is when Cantrips are handed out in the table of always "prepared spells" by subclasses, such as the Circle of the Land Druid, with Fire Bolt on Arid land, or the Celestial Patron Warlock getting the Light cantrip.

While on the other hand, the Arcane Trickster Rogue and Eldritch Knight Fighter, who also learn Cantrips through their subclass, but don't get leveled spells, that are always prepared, are being told, that they "know" those cantrips.

The rules about scribing scrolls on page 233 also lump Cantrips together with leveled spells, when they say:

To scribe a scroll, you must [...] have the spell prepared [...]

Cantrips can also be turned into spell scrolls and there is no additional section about having to have cantrips "known", as opposed to prepared. And they are surely not trying to tell us that you can Scribe a Cantrip scroll without having that spell on your spell list. So in this case, Cantrips are also being referred to as "prepared":

A fourth example is the Pact of the Tome Warlock Invocation, that states:

Choose three cantrips, and choose two level 1 spells [...] you have the chosen spells prepared [...]

It would seem that whenever leveled spells and cantrips are differentiated from one another, they are referred to as "prepared" and "known", respectively. However if a text is referring to both kinds of spells at once, the text only talks about "prepared spells", which is less complicated while reading, but then more complicated if you think about it a bit more, because of the inconsistency that this ends up creating.