[RPG] Does the UA warlock invocation Kiss of Mephistopheles require you to know the Fireball spell

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Unearthed Arcana: Revised Class Options includes an Eldritch Invocation option called Kiss of Mephistopheles:

Prerequisite: 5th level, the Fiend Patron, eldritch blast cantrip

You can channel the fires of Mephistopheles through your eldritch
blast
. When you hit a creature with that cantrip, you can cast
fireball as a bonus action using a warlock spell slot. However, the
spell must be centered on a creature you hit with eldritch blast.

The new UA allows the warlock to cast fireball as a bonus action — essentially building in the Sorlock in an invocation without requiring a multiclass into Sorcerer.

But the question is, do you actually need to know the fireball spell (as in, choose to have fireball take up one of your Spells Known) to be able to cast it this way?

Best Answer

No, you do not need to know fireball - the language of "you can cast" enables you to cast it through this feature regardless of whether or not you know the spell. This invocation uses the same language as the ones that allow you to cast spells the warlock usually cannot learn, such as Dreadful Word or Ascendant Step.

To supplement this answer, note that it specifically has a spell known prerequisite of only eldritch blast, not eldritch blast and fireball. It would likely state the latter if it required that you knew fireball in order to make use of it.