Mike Mearls doesn't like bonus actions. There are a number of things in the game that I could see being done better without bonus actions, but also things that I have a hard time seeing as "balanceable" without bonus actions. For example, how do you get Cunning Action benefits without effectively creating the concept of a bonus action, even if you don't call it that?
While Mike thinks the designers should avoid the whole "action economy" aspect of things when considering designs, it's still an interesting problem to consider. Given several years of experience with the game-as-written, is there a reasonable way to revise the design that will help fix some of the systems that have hacky limits on them (such as Rage) by redoing how things interact with the action economy?
Basic player options they can take on their turn:
- Action
- Bonus Action (want to eliminate)
- Move
- Object interaction
Actions players can take on any turn:
- Reaction
However, how do you handle something like activating Rage? You don't want it to use up the player's full Action, and it doesn't belong in Move or Reaction. Although.. it does sort of relate to the free Object Interaction. Object Interaction is another trivial type action that you want to say that players are allowed to do for free, but the mechanics have to be able to define when the player can do it. What if we merge that with the Bonus Action?
Basic player options they can take on their turn:
- Action
- Trivial Action
- Move
Actions players can take on any turn:
- Reaction
I can see activating Rage to be similar to opening a door, or pulling out your sword. It's sort of a Bonus Action, but not quite, as we want to eliminate some of the other interactions with the Bonus Action framework.
Now expand:
Actions you can take:
- Attack: You can attack with a weapon you are holding. If you are holding two weapons you can attack with each of them.
-- Standard attack: A normal weapon attack.
-- Extra attack: You may make one additional Standard attack on the first Attack action you take each turn.
-- Sneak attack: Instead of making a Standard attack, you may make a Sneak attack, and add Sneak Attack bonus dice to the damage done. You may only do this once per turn.
-- Rage: While raging, you may add Rage bonus damage to all Standard attacks you make each turn.
-- Grapple: Instead of making a Standard attack, you may attempt to grapple an opponent.
- Dash: You may perform a Move action.
- Disengage: You may avoid opportunity attacks until the start of your next turn.
- Dodge: All attacks against you are made with disadvantage until the start of your next turn.
- Help: Aid another creature.
- Hide: You may attempt to hide.
- Ready: Prepare to use your reaction to perform an action.
- Search: You may attempt to search for hidden creatures.
- Use Object: Use an object.
- Cast a Spell: You may cast a spell. If you use this action twice on the same turn, one of the spells must be a cantrip.
- Special Action: Any specific action that a class, spell, or ability allows you to perform that is not listed above.
Some things are easy, such as Sneak Attack vs Rage attacks. But now we run into roadblocks: Spells, and combining actions. How do you Attack and Disengage on the same turn? (Cunning Action) How do you Dash and Cast a Spell? (Quicken Spell) How do you cast a spell (or do anything else) while manipulating a maintained spell? (Spiritual Weapon)
Things that are explicit bonus actions (Rage, Second Wind, etc) can be dropped in the Trivial Action category. However trying to do two different actions (with the second one perhaps from a limited list) pretty much has to say, "You can perform a second action.", which is pretty much a bonus action without the name.
And then you get into exclusions. For example, a Barbarian using Frenzy gets an extra attack as a bonus action. Disregarding the conflict with two weapon fighting, this means you can't just wrap it in as yet another extra attack (in the above list) because it also prevents use of, say, Cunning Action to allow you to Dodge at the same time, or Second Wind to gain a few hit points back. By making it a bonus action, you're explicitly preventing certain other actions from being taken.
Perhaps that balance isn't needed very often, but it's an important tool to the mechanics designer to allow balancing certain effects. And this is where we run into the action economy: Don't allow too many actions to be taken per turn; don't allow certain actions to be taken at the same time; sometimes allow more than one action to be done on the same turn.
Let's see if I can work out a framing for it.
• As part of your turn, you may perform a Primary Action, a Move Action, or a Trivial Action. These may be performed in any order, and components of each may be split up around any other actions you take.
• You may use a Reaction on any turn, either under defined circumstances, or as a default response, such as for opportunity attacks. You may use a Reaction once in between the start of any two of your turns.
• Some features may let you take an additional action as part of your Primary Action.
This makes it fairly generic. It allows for combinations that might be equivalent to taking two bonus actions (which wouldn't be possible under the current rules), but I don't think that's necessarily problematic.
Does framing it this way improve things?
Rogue
- Cunning Action: You may use Dash, Disengage, or Hide as additional actions on your turn.
- Sneak Attack: Instead of making a Standard attack, you may make a Sneak attack, and add Sneak Attack bonus dice to the damage done. You may only do this once per turn.
Barbarian
- Rage: Initiating a Rage is a Trivial Action.
- Rage: While raging, you may add Rage bonus damage to all Standard attacks you make each turn.
- Frenzy: You may take an additional Attack action each turn while you're raging.
- Eagle: You may Dash as an additional action on your turn.
Fighter
- Second Wind: You may use an additional action (or Trivial Action?) on your turn to recover health.
- Extra Attack: You may make one additional Standard attack on the first Attack action you take each turn.
Cleric
- Spiritual Weapon: You may use an additional action on your turn to cast this spell, and an additional action each following turn to manipulate it.
Sorcerer
- Quickened Spell: You may use an additional action to cast this spell.
Ehh.. Somewhat? It's only barely different from a bonus action in some regards. The main improvements are likely to just how the Attack action is framed and used, and that some things are opened up a bit more.
For example, as written, Spiritual Weapon could be manipulated to attack twice in one turn. That's more than what you could do before, but it is really a problem compared to making a normal melee attack plus a Spiritual Weapon attack? It seems like a restriction that doesn't provide any real benefit.
It seems a little bit simpler, as it's no longer a question of whether an action is a regular action or a bonus action, and having to figure out which is which when choosing what to do. That 'split' of attention is gone; all actions are actions, rather than some that are actions and some that are bonus actions, even if they do the same thing.
And it gives a little more flexibility in what you can do. For example, a Sorcerer casting a quickened spell doesn't automatically prevent you from casting a bonus action cantrip. And you don't have the conflict of figuring out which of the spells has to be quickened in order to use it.
And some actions can be dropped to Trivial Actions, which also absorbs the free Object Interaction space. These are things that shouldn't have to compete with regular actions in the first place, and that players often don't think of in terms of actions anyway (eg: activating Rage, or using Second Wind).
It's not a huge change, but it does get rid of a little potential friction in designing things, or in thinking about action economy. It's just Act or Move, with occasional Trivial additions or Reactions. The action economy interferes less with the design because there's no complicated interaction with different action types.
While I personally don't think it's a huge deal, I can see it being an annoying itch for someone who has to work with it constantly. And even if not a big deal, I can still see how it would be easier to deal with as a player or DM.
