So I'm playing a sorcerer and I realized I might have the spell slots understood wrong.
For simplicity's sake, say I only have one level 1 spell slot.
After a long rest, do I have to prepare one spell (say it's magic missile) that I can use during the day (meaning throughout the day, I can use only magic missile), or can I just use absolutely any spell as long as it fits the criteria (i.e. it's only one level 1 spell)?
Best Answer
Sorcerers don't prepare spells
The premise of the question isn't correct. A Sorcerer does not prepare spells after a long rest. Starting from the 1st level, a Sorcerer knows two spells. You choose them in the process of the character creation. See the Spellcasting paragraph of the Sorcerer class, PH page 101:
You can't change these spells after a long rest. A long rest resets your spell slots, not the list of known spells:
You spend a spell slot in the very moment when you cast something, not when you prepare or learn spells (this is true for all spellcaster classes). You can cast the same spell more than once, providing you have spell slots available. See Can a spell be prepared once and cast multiple times?
And vice versa - if you know several spells having only one suitable spell slot, you can cast any known spell but only once.