SunGold
First Post
I don't know why this thread is back but here's the answer, courtesy of Jeremy Crawford: you can shove before or after the Attack action.
Sure looks to me the attack of the attack action occurs when the action is taken rather than the attack action enabling you to take an attack on some part of your turn. One doesn't have the bonus shove until after that.
And it looks like 2 weapon fighting works the same way.
According to Jeremy Crawford:
[MENTION=4036]Jeremy[/MENTION]ECrawford
@J_McGrody As with most bonus actions, you choose the timing, so the Shield Master shove can come before or after the Attack action.
That was from 2015. This thread started because he then "clarified" (read: changed) his ruling with the following a couple days ago:
"Clarification about bonus actions: if a feature says you can do X as a bonus action if you do Y, you must do Y before you can do X. For Shield Master, that means the bonus action must come after the Attack action. You decide when it happens afterward that turn."
While I think the original ruling was ridiculous and the new ruling is the only sane way to adjudicate such things, changing rulings back and forth like this is not the sort of thing you want to see from a "rules guru." At the very least, it should be called out in the Sage Advice compendium that the ruling has been changed.
If you choose to shove a creature as part of on of your attack action and also choose to shove using the Shieldmaster feat which comes first... the bonus shove or the shove attack? Answer - "It doesn't matter..."
Here are all of the relevant rule breakdowns and I don't care how old this thread is because this hadn't been done fully yet.
ShieldMaster Feat:
You use shields not just for protection but also for
offense. You gain the following benefits while you are
wielding a shield:
• If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use
a bonus action to try to shove a creature within 5 feet
of you with your shield.
PHB189 Bonus Actions: "You choose when to take a bonus action during your turn, unless the bonus action’s timing is specified."
PHB192 Actions in Combat: "The most common action to take in combat is the "Attack action", whether you are swinging a sword, firing an arrow from a bow, or brawling with your fists. With this action;
"you make one melee or ranged attack. See the "Making an Attack" section for rules that govern attacks."
PHB194 Making an Attack: "If there's ever any question whether something you're doing counts as an attack, the rule is simple: if you're making an attack roll, you're making an attack."
PHB195 Melee Attacks - Shoving a creature: Using the attack action you can make a special melee attack to shove a creature, either to knock it prone or push it away from you. If you're able to make multiple attacks with the attack option this attack replaces one of them."
Since a shove requires an attack role it can by itself initiate the "attack action" and according to these these rules it can also occur anywhere in the sequence.