The rules are actually explicit about this: unless the specific bonus action has some specified timing, you choose when to take a bonus action on your turn.
The Shield Master feat lets you shove someone as a bonus action if you take the Attack action. Can you take that bonus action before the Attack action?
No. The bonus action provided by the Shield Master feat has a precondition: that you take the Attack action on your turn. Intending to take that action isn’t sufficient; you must actually take it before you can take the bonus action. During your turn, you do get to decide when to take the bonus action after you’ve taken the Attack action.
This sort of if-then setup appears in many of the game’s rules. The “if” must be satisfied before the “then” comes into play.
Simple question: Are Bonus Actions meant to be taken after an Action, or is this not defined in the rules? I'm looking for RAW, thanks!
The rules are actually explicit about this: unless the specific bonus action has some specified timing, you choose when to take a bonus action on your turn.
It's exactly as @SagaTympana said.
Just to add an example to the thread, we have this entry from the Sage Advice Compendium:
---
The Shield Master feat lets you shove someone as a bonus action if you take the Attack action. Can you take that bonus action before the Attack action?
No. The bonus action provided by the Shield Master feat has a precondition: that you take the Attack action on your turn. Intending to take that action isn’t sufficient; you must actually take it before you can take the bonus action. During your turn, you do get to decide when to take the bonus action after you’ve taken the Attack action.
This sort of if-then setup appears in many of the game’s rules. The “if” must be satisfied before the “then” comes into play.