Can I cast two spells a round while Hasted?

Question

Can Haste allow me to cast two spells (not quickened) in one round? This is given that haste gives an extra attack on a full round action, if I take a full round action can I cast two spells?

Answer 1

Only If Using Haste from Dungeons and Dragons, 3rd Edition

The Player's Handbook (2000) for Dungeons and Dragons, 3rd Edition has on page 212-3 the spell haste, which reads

Haste

Transmutation
Level: Brd 3, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Target: 1 creature
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

The transmuted creature moves and acts more quickly than normal. This extra speed has several effects.

On his turn, the subject may take an extra partial action, either before or after his regular action.

He gains a +4 haste bonus to AC. He loses this bonus whenever he would lose a dodge bonus.

He can jump one and a half times as far as normal. This increase counts as an enhancement bonus.

Haste dispels and counters slow.

Material Component: A shaving of licorice root.

The Player's Handbook (2000) explains that

A partial action is like a standard action, except you can't do as much. As a general rule, you can do as much with a partial action as you could with a standard action minus a move. (121)

This unhelpful description is followed a few pages later by Table 8-3: Partial Actions, which among other available options is cast a spell (but not spells with long casting times) (PH 127).

This didn't go unnoticed by Dungeons and Dragons, 3rd Edition players for long. By Defenders of the Faith (May 2001), the necessity of haste was so severe that the following armor special ability was published therein:

Speed: This armor or shield enchantment provides a +4 haste bonus to AC and gives the wearer an extra partial action every round, as the haste spell. This armor seems to be constantly vibrating, always appearing blurred. Caster Level: 5th; Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, haste; Market Price: +3 bonus.

This is an ability that all but the newest contemporary Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 player recognizes as ridiculously powerful, but at the time it wasn't overpowered, and instead an effort to equalize the haves (wizards et al.) and have-nots (everyone except wizards et al.).

This was changed by the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 revision, but--for a few years, anyway--the spell haste did, indeed, allow the casting of multiple spells per turn.

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Older Editions

• The Player's Handbook (1989, 1999) for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 2nd Edition in its description of the spell haste says, "Spellcasting and spell effects are not sped up" (192). Emphasis theirs.
• The Player's Handbook (1978) for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons in its description of the spell haste says, "Spell casting is not more rapid" (74).

Answer 2

No. Casting a spell is usually a standard action, though some are cast as Move, Swift, or Immediate instead. The effect of Haste reads "When making a full attack action, a hasted creature may make one extra attack with any weapon he is holding." It states specifically that it only has an effect when making a full attack action, and the effect it has is that it grants one extra attack (it goes on further to note that it doesn't stack with the Speed enchantment and such, but that's not relevant to your question.)

In short, because the Haste spell doesn't grant you extra standard, move, or swift actions and because it doesn't specifically say it allows you to cast extra spells, using Haste doesn't allow you to cast more spells in a given round than you otherwise would.

Answer 3

No: from the on-line SRD

nor does it actually grant an extra action, so you can’t use it to cast a second spell or otherwise take an extra action in the round.

This was the case from OD&D through to at least early 3.5e, with the exception of D&D 3e.

If I can venture an opinion, because of the way Vancian magic works this is a little like asking whether you can ask me to drive to your house twice as quickly because you have haste cast on you. Magic is like electricity and flows through the "circuit" created by your verbal, somatic, and material components at a set rate determined by those components, not the speed at which you perform them; and in fact hurrying them will prevent the spell working at all (if you're lucky and the DM doesn't roll for a chance that the spell will backfire :) ).