D&D 5E Can Someone Explain Bonus Actions?

Thanks everyone.

HW + Mace: Check.
HW + Sacred Flame: Check
HW + Cure Wounds: X
HW + HW: X

Got it. I'm off to the races.

Umbran said:

There is - Nagol noted it above

<snip>

Reading it strictly... no. If it takes a bonus action to cast, you must use a bonus action to cast it. With the explicit ban on two spells a round, I don't know when it would matter, though.

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If you got a magic item like Boots of Striding and Springing that gave you a bonus action jump option, I think based on the working you could jump and then use your action to cast the bonus-action spell if you wanted.

Jester Canuck said:

In 3e and 4e swift/minor actions could *only* be used if you had a power or ability that could use them. So everyone had them but not everyone could use them.

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Yes, and with Full-round, standard, move, free swift, immediate, and miscellaneous actions, all of which everyone technically got, but could only use some of, the action economy of 3e was pretty complicated and confusing! It wasn't a laudable aspect of the system.

Thus, the change - you can move and get an action. Those are the only things you know you get. You *may* get a reaction. You *may* get a bonus action. But the latter two are not guaranteed.

Your quibbling over what it "really" is is quibbling to return to more confusing language. It isn't simplifying the matter.

Umbran said:

Yes, and with Full-round, standard, move, free swift, immediate, and miscellaneous actions, all of which everyone technically got, but could only use some of, the action economy of 3e was pretty complicated and confusing! It wasn't a laudable aspect of the system.

Thus, the change - you can move and get an action. Those are the only things you know you get. You *may* get a reaction. You *may* get a bonus action. But the latter two are not guaranteed.

Your quibbling over what it "really" is is quibbling to return to more confusing language. It isn't simplifying the matter.

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I'm quite happy with Bonus Actions. I'm just saying that the difference between them and minor actions is really all mental, and that they're not that confusing. That they're presented in a way that should be less confusing and hopefully result in faster play as people won't stop to try and use their Bonus Action.

Umbran said:

Bonus Action
A spell cast with a bonus action is especially swift. You
must use a bonus action on your turn to cast the spell,
provided that you haven’t already taken a bonus action
this turn. You can’t cast another spell during the same
turn, except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.

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Bah. So much for my evil wizard's Misty Step/Fireball routine.

Nagol said:

If you got a magic item like Boots of Striding and Springing that gave you a bonus action jump option, I think based on the working you could jump and then use your action to cast the bonus-action spell if you wanted.

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I don't have the magic item description. Is giving you that bonus jump the only thing they do?

There is no language I can find in Basic saying that if you have multiple bonus actions to choose from, you may use your regular action to enact one of them.

I might well rule that it was okay, at my table. But it isn't explicit in the rules that you can do it.

Well, when a Move action and a Standard action love each other VERY much...

Jester Canuck said:

I'm quite happy with Bonus Actions. I'm just saying that the difference between them and minor actions is really all mental, and that they're not that confusing. That they're presented in a way that should be less confusing and hopefully result in faster play as people won't stop to try and use their Bonus Action.

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It might help a 4e player to think of them as minor actions at first, but the difference is more than mental: You cannot downgrade your normal action into a bonus action, and there is a reason for this -- it keeps the game running. It keeps people from trying to do all kinds of crazy action-economy tricks.

It's all part of streamlining. Sometimes you make a rule that seems a little restrictive, but eventually people realize that it only rules out exploits and corner cases, and that the game overall is better with the streamlined version of the rule. I think that's definitely the case here. You get one action. You can use one bonus action if you have it. Done. Next player.

(This is why as a DM, I would be very loath to allow double bonus actions for any reason.)

In the Basic Rules, at least, I don't see any bonus actions that actually cause the game to suffer because they can't be executed as a downgraded normal action. Off-hand weapon? Already possible as an action. Rogue extra action? Already possible as an action. You might want to cast two healing words, but the more important restriction in that case comes from the spellcasting rules (no more than one non-cantrip spell per turn), not the bonus action rules.

So anyway, because they are not the same as minor actions, I think it's very wise that they are not presented as such. Obviously there's some confusion -- otherwise people wouldn't be here asking these questions -- but I think that might be better addressed by having some sort of "FAQ for 4e players" or something.

Umbran said:

I don't have the magic item description. Is giving you that bonus jump the only thing they do?

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Going off of memory, but I believe they also increase your speed to 30, if it isn't at least that already.

They might do one other thing that escapes me...

Boots of Striding and Springing. I won't post the whole text here but:

• Speed is 30' (but not reduced to 30', if it's already > 30')
• Speed not reduced if encumbered or wearing heavy armor
• When you jump, you jump 3x your normal distance

Thaumaturge.