Take a look at the new War Priest stat block. Notice “Holy Fire” & “Healing Light.”

These can’t be spells. If they were, they’d break the spellcasting rule:

“You can’t cast another spell during the same turn, except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.” #dnd #dnd5e pic.twitter.com/a5AntzRg7a

— Anthony Joyce (@Thrawn589) September 30, 2021

Curious development indeed…and a way to bypass counterspell!

— Anthony Joyce (@Thrawn589) September 30, 2021

Does it (spellcasting rules) only apply to Player Characters?

If so, that would mean current creatures, such as a War Priest, could cast healing word (bonus action) & any other spell as an action. pic.twitter.com/4qAjlJj0Yq

— Anthony Joyce (@Thrawn589) September 30, 2021

I’d need to go dig in on my MM, but I’m thinking of things like Legendary Actions, etc., which already set monsters into a different set of casting rules/economy than players. While monsters have additional options allowing them to cast extra spells, they’re still restricted by the bonus action spellcasting rule (unless they have a specific exception in their stat block).

Monsters follow the rules, but can be designed to break them.

— Merric Blackman (@MerricB) September 30, 2021