D&D 5E Search as a Bonus Action

[Ganymede81]

Maybe because they haven't yet found a project where that would be the best choice? Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Doing something just because it hasn't been done yet it is not good design.

Nowhere did I suggest that it should be done because it hasn't been done.

I merely wondered why it hadn't been done, when it would seem to be an interesting and thematic class ability for some rangers, barbarians, and rogues. As we learned, a search as a bonus action has been done recently; it is an ability granted to the Inquisitive archetype for Rogues.

 

[GX.Sigma]

I merely wondered why it hadn't been done, when it would seem to be an interesting and thematic class ability for some rangers, barbarians, and rogues.

The mission of the PHB was to deliver the classic D&D character archetypes. All the character options in 5e come from that mission. "I can look around at the same time as I do other stuff" is not important to any of those archetypes in the same way that "I can pick locks and steal stuff" is important to the Thief.

Also, in 5e's case, the whole concept of the bonus action came very late in the development process (after the end of the public playtest, IIRC), as a safety valve to regulate features like swift spells, Haste, Cunning Action, and so forth. The actual design of class features and so forth was pretty much done by that point. So really, there was no point at which they could've said "hey, we have bonus actions, let's see what we can do with those."

Does that answer your question?

 

[Ganymede81]

"I can look around at the same time as I do other stuff" is not important to any of those archetypes in the same way that "I can pick locks and steal stuff" is important to the Thief.

The notion that barbarians counter rogues has been with D&D ever since Unearthed Arcana of First Edition. I think your second suggestion regarding the timing of bonus action development is far more plausible than this.