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Message: <blockquote data-quote="epithet" data-source="post: 7773496" data-attributes="member: 6796566">The player decides what her character does. The dungeon master decides what game mechanics apply, and how. Of course almost every dungeon master will respect his player's application of game mechanics, because that's doing your work for you. Many players will specify game mechanics when they describe a character's actions. Ultimately, though, the player decides what the character does and the DM decides how the rules and game mechanics apply to that.So no, I'm not forcing a PC to use the bonus action, but if the player describes a course of action that involves movement, action, and bonus action I can easily parse that into those game terms. If the rogue says she's going to run in, stab the hobgoblin, and disengage, I don't need her to tell me it is a cunning action she's using to disengage. I put effort into keeping my players in the moment, playing their characters. The last thing I'm going to do is to instruct them to repeat their action sequence, this time in game mechanics terms. Well... actually that's the second-last thing. The last thing I'd do is to wreck verisimilitude by telling them their attacks have to come in a certain order because Jeremy changed his mind.</blockquote>