I was right about Shield Master

FrogReaver · Oct 18, 2018

Elfcrusher said:
It's strange, but I just did a search and couldn't find any threads started by FrogReaver titled, "I was wrong about...."

Maybe they got deleted somehow.

When absolutely proven wrong I’m one of the few on here that will admit it

Hriston · Oct 18, 2018

Here’s a restatement of the first bullet of Shield Master that I believe makes my preferred reading apparent:

If you choose the Attack action as your action for your turn, you can use a bonus action at any time during that turn to try to shove a creature within 5 feet of you with your shield.

Guest 6801328 · Oct 18, 2018

Hriston said:
Here’s a restatement of the first bullet of Shield Master that I believe makes my preferred reading apparent:

If you choose the Attack action as your action for your turn, you can use a bonus action at any time during that turn to try to shove a creature within 5 feet of you with your shield.

How about:

As a bonus action you on your turn you may...(etc). If you do so, you must also take or have taken the Attack action that turn.

Satyrn · Oct 18, 2018

Elfcrusher said:
How about:

As a bonus action you on your turn you may...(etc). If you do so, you must also take or have taken the Attack action that turn.

How about:

As part of the Attack Action, you can use a bonus action to . . .

Guest 6801328 · Oct 18, 2018

Satyrn said:
How about:

As part of the Attack Action, you can use a bonus action to . . .

Ding ding ding. We have a winner.

5ekyu · Oct 18, 2018

Hriston said:
Here’s a restatement of the first bullet of Shield Master that I believe makes my preferred reading apparent:

If you choose the Attack action as your action for your turn, you can use a bonus action at any time during that turn to try to shove a creature within 5 feet of you with your shield.

Honestly, if thats the casen why not just say "When equipped with a shield, you may use shove as a bonus action."

You have by allowing the bonus before the attack effectively removed the impact of the dependency. Is it really a breaker at this point if you allow bash down bonus and blast with cantrip? Is bash down then drink potion that bad?

The key to the thing in most of the cases i have seen is this - can i as one benefit from this feat shove as bonus to then get advantage on all my attacks"?

If the answer is yes, then just make it a straight bonus action option depending on shield worn and avoid the invention of a de facto "declare what i might do" phase.

Satyrn · Oct 18, 2018

Elfcrusher said:
Ding ding ding. We have a winner.

Satyrn · Oct 18, 2018

Touchdown lol

5ekyu · Oct 18, 2018

Basically, do you see this feature of this feat as

"You can use shield bash to setup your attacks"

Or

"You can use your attacks to setup shield bash"

???

epithet · Oct 18, 2018

5ekyu said:
Honestly, if thats the casen why not just say "When equipped with a shield, you may use shove as a bonus action."

You have by allowing the bonus before the attack effectively removed the impact of the dependency. Is it really a breaker at this point if you allow bash down bonus and blast with cantrip? Is bash down then drink potion that bad?

The key to the thing in most of the cases i have seen is this - can i as one benefit from this feat shove as bonus to then get advantage on all my attacks"?

If the answer is yes, then just make it a straight bonus action option depending on shield worn and avoid the invention of a de facto "declare what i might do" phase.

Your point is excellent. There is no utility that I can see to tying the shove to the Attack action in any way. Shield Master shove (knockdown) + booming blade should be possible, and Shield Master shove (knock back) + ranged spell attack without penalty should also be possible. The more I think about it, the more linking the shove to the Attack action seems to be just a needless complication.