The Rogue's Cunning Action ability states: Starting at 2nd level, your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Is this a second bonus action or is it just more uses for the bonus action?
Thanks! Do you know of a particular reason for why it is more uses? I feel like it should be a second bonus action because the Arcane Trickster's Mage Hand Legerdemain states: "...the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action..."
Thanks! Do you know of a particular reason for why it is more uses? I feel like it should be a second bonus action because the Arcane Trickster's Mage Hand Legerdemain states: "...the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action..."
The reason is because you're limited to one Bonus Action per round basically and must so choose between the ones available for you to take, if any. it list Cunning Action as an exemple of one you can take.
Bonus Action: Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action. The Cunning Action feature, for example, allows a rogue to take a bonus action. 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.
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 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.
Thanks! Do you know of a particular reason for why it is more uses? I feel like it should be a second bonus action because the Arcane Trickster's Mage Hand Legerdemain states: "...the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action..."
Cunning Action works the same as all other features that gives you a bonus action, they give additional options to use your bonus action for, not additional bonus actions. If Cunning Action (and other such features) gave additional bonus actions the game would soon be completely broken.
Thanks! Do you know of a particular reason for why it is more uses? I feel like it should be a second bonus action because the Arcane Trickster's Mage Hand Legerdemain states: "...the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action..."
This is because characters do not automatically have a bonus action. The only thing a character can always do is an Action. Other rules and abilities will allow characters to take ONE bonus action and possibly ONE reaction in addition to their action. A reaction has a specific trigger that would allow it to be taken while a bonus action ability is provided by a feature/trait/other rule. If nothing provides a character with something to do as a bonus action then they don't have a bonus action at all.
Plaguescarred cited the specific rules:
"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."
The rogue ability "Cunning Action" allows the rogue to do specific things using a bonus action on their turn. However, they do not give the rogue more than one bonus action - they just let the rogue use that one action for different things.
P.S. Some of the confusion could be coming from the Baldurs Gate 3 computer game where the Thief Rogue archetype is given a second bonus action to replace their Fast Hands trait. This is one of the examples where BG3 breaks the rules of 5e (and actually creates a very unbalanced character class by giving them the option to use two bonus actions on a turn.
I feel it is worth pointing out that in Baldur's Gate 3 the Thief subclass of Rogue grants a second bonus action at 3rd level.
This is unique to Baldur's Gate 3 and is not true in 5th edition D&D. While Baldur's Gate 3 is based on 5e they are very much separate games. Bringing expectations from one into the other will lead to confusion and disappointment.
In a different video game it's common for rules to be working differently than the affiliated game.
Even if there was a feature in 5E letting you use a second bonus action on its turn, it would be a specific rule trumping the general rules and would have no incident on Cunning Action.
I remember Action Surge feature having wording that let to confusion on the possible extra bonus action usage and was modified in recent printing as discussed in Sage Advice Compendium on the subject ''On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible bonus action.''
Does the fighter’s Action Surge feature let you take an extra bonus action, in addition to an extra action?
Action Surge gives you an extra action, not an extra bonus action. (Recent printings of the Player’s Handbook no longer include the wording that provoked this question.)
The Rogue's Cunning Action ability states: Starting at 2nd level, your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Is this a second bonus action or is it just more uses for the bonus action?
More use
Thanks! Do you know of a particular reason for why it is more uses? I feel like it should be a second bonus action because the Arcane Trickster's Mage Hand Legerdemain states: "...the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action..."
The reason is because you're limited to one Bonus Action per round basically and must so choose between the ones available for you to take, if any. it list Cunning Action as an exemple of one you can take.
Cunning Action works the same as all other features that gives you a bonus action, they give additional options to use your bonus action for, not additional bonus actions. If Cunning Action (and other such features) gave additional bonus actions the game would soon be completely broken.
This is because characters do not automatically have a bonus action. The only thing a character can always do is an Action. Other rules and abilities will allow characters to take ONE bonus action and possibly ONE reaction in addition to their action. A reaction has a specific trigger that would allow it to be taken while a bonus action ability is provided by a feature/trait/other rule. If nothing provides a character with something to do as a bonus action then they don't have a bonus action at all.
Plaguescarred cited the specific rules:
"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."
The rogue ability "Cunning Action" allows the rogue to do specific things using a bonus action on their turn. However, they do not give the rogue more than one bonus action - they just let the rogue use that one action for different things.
P.S. Some of the confusion could be coming from the Baldurs Gate 3 computer game where the Thief Rogue archetype is given a second bonus action to replace their Fast Hands trait. This is one of the examples where BG3 breaks the rules of 5e (and actually creates a very unbalanced character class by giving them the option to use two bonus actions on a turn.
I feel it is worth pointing out that in Baldur's Gate 3 the Thief subclass of Rogue grants a second bonus action at 3rd level.
This is unique to Baldur's Gate 3 and is not true in 5th edition D&D. While Baldur's Gate 3 is based on 5e they are very much separate games. Bringing expectations from one into the other will lead to confusion and disappointment.
In a different video game it's common for rules to be working differently than the affiliated game.
Even if there was a feature in 5E letting you use a second bonus action on its turn, it would be a specific rule trumping the general rules and would have no incident on Cunning Action.
I remember Action Surge feature having wording that let to confusion on the possible extra bonus action usage and was modified in recent printing as discussed in Sage Advice Compendium on the subject ''On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible bonus action.''
Thank you everyone for your help. (No I didn't confuse it with the BG3 stuff. I've never played it nor seen anyone play it)