Sorry if the question has been asked before or if it seems obvious but I'm a new GM at DnD. I'd like to know if it's possible to do a bonus action before the action or not.
Depends on the exact wording of the bonus action you want to take, but generally yes, you can perform actions in any order and also move in between and split up your movement.
The key rules to keep in mind are that IF you have a bonus action available you can take it at any time.
Examples:
1) Casting a bonus action spell like Healing Word. If you have a spell slot, then you can cast this at any time in your turn. A fighter/cleric might be able to attack, move, cast healing word, move some more and then make another attack if they also have the Extra Attack feature.
2) If you are a rogue with Cunning Action then at any time during your turn you could hide, dash or disengage as a bonus action. A fighter rogue could attack, use bonus action to disengage, move, the make another attack if they have the Extra Attack feature. A rogue could also move, realize they need more movement to get where they want to go (or perhaps discovered some difficult terrain they had not noticed), use their bonus action to Dash, and continue their movement.
3) However there are bonus actions that have pre-requisites. These actions require that something be done in order to obtain a the bonus action ability.
The Shield Master feat for example says "If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to try to shove a creature within 5 feet of you with your shield." ... RAW, if the character has not yet taken the Attack action, then they don't have the bonus action to shove a creature since it requires the character to use their action to Attack first. A DM could house rule it otherwise but imagine a case where the character shoves the opponent into a pit or trap they did not know was there ... the character then decides since there is no opponent within reach that they won't take the attack action but will Dash or Dodge instead - but then they would not have been eligible for the bonus action since they did not take the Attack action. To keep this simple then the trigger needs to be taken before the bonus action is available.
Similarly, the bonus action attack provided by Great Weapon Master requires that the character either kill an opponent or have a critical hit BEFORE that bonus action becomes available to the character.
After the character has the bonus action ability available they can take it at any time in their turn.
Rules:
"You choose when to take a bonus action during your turn, unless the bonus action’s timing is specified, and anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also prevents you from taking a bonus action."
"You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose which bonus action to use when you have more than one available."
" You can take a bonus action only when a special ability, spell, or other feature of the game states that you can do something as a bonus action. You otherwise don’t have a bonus action to take."
Two Weapon Fighting: When you take the Attack action and you attack with a light melee weapon that you are holding with one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you are holding in your other hand.
Therefore, if you are holding a short sword in your 'first' hand and a dagger in your 'other' hand, you must attack with one hand (either weapon) as the action before attacking with the other hand as the bonus action. The use of your attack action unlocks the option to perform an attack with the other weapon as a bonus action.
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Hello everybody,
Sorry if the question has been asked before or if it seems obvious but I'm a new GM at DnD. I'd like to know if it's possible to do a bonus action before the action or not.
Thank you very much!
Depends on the exact wording of the bonus action you want to take, but generally yes, you can perform actions in any order and also move in between and split up your movement.
Thank you very much!
The key rules to keep in mind are that IF you have a bonus action available you can take it at any time.
Examples:
1) Casting a bonus action spell like Healing Word. If you have a spell slot, then you can cast this at any time in your turn. A fighter/cleric might be able to attack, move, cast healing word, move some more and then make another attack if they also have the Extra Attack feature.
2) If you are a rogue with Cunning Action then at any time during your turn you could hide, dash or disengage as a bonus action. A fighter rogue could attack, use bonus action to disengage, move, the make another attack if they have the Extra Attack feature. A rogue could also move, realize they need more movement to get where they want to go (or perhaps discovered some difficult terrain they had not noticed), use their bonus action to Dash, and continue their movement.
3) However there are bonus actions that have pre-requisites. These actions require that something be done in order to obtain a the bonus action ability.
The Shield Master feat for example says "If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to try to shove a creature within 5 feet of you with your shield." ... RAW, if the character has not yet taken the Attack action, then they don't have the bonus action to shove a creature since it requires the character to use their action to Attack first. A DM could house rule it otherwise but imagine a case where the character shoves the opponent into a pit or trap they did not know was there ... the character then decides since there is no opponent within reach that they won't take the attack action but will Dash or Dodge instead - but then they would not have been eligible for the bonus action since they did not take the Attack action. To keep this simple then the trigger needs to be taken before the bonus action is available.
Similarly, the bonus action attack provided by Great Weapon Master requires that the character either kill an opponent or have a critical hit BEFORE that bonus action becomes available to the character.
After the character has the bonus action ability available they can take it at any time in their turn.
Rules:
"You choose when to take a bonus action during your turn, unless the bonus action’s timing is specified, and anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also prevents you from taking a bonus action."
"You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose which bonus action to use when you have more than one available."
" You can take a bonus action only when a special ability, spell, or other feature of the game states that you can do something as a bonus action. You otherwise don’t have a bonus action to take."
Ohhh, ok, thank you so much, really appreciate!
As another example,
Two Weapon Fighting: When you take the Attack action and you attack with a light melee weapon that you are holding with one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you are holding in your other hand.
Therefore, if you are holding a short sword in your 'first' hand and a dagger in your 'other' hand, you must attack with one hand (either weapon) as the action before attacking with the other hand as the bonus action. The use of your attack action unlocks the option to perform an attack with the other weapon as a bonus action.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt