A mechanic in Dungeons & Dragons is often overlooked, even though there are many applications for it. A game master shows why it is more important than it may seem.
What mechanic are we talking about? Hardly any mechanic leads to as much discussion in the community as the bonus action (see Reddit). Many players find it unnecessary in the rules of the 5th edition or simply do not know how to use it because it offers little obvious advantage.
In a combat round in Dungeons & Dragons, players can move within their range, take an action, and take a bonus action. However, bonus actions are not always available. A bonus action can only be taken if a specific ability, spell, or other game function explicitly states that it can be done as a bonus action.
Because they are so limited and not available to every character, many players feel that they cannot use them properly or that it is pointless for them to even exist.
If you play according to the 2024 rulebook, even minor actions like drinking a potion are, newly, a bonus action. This makes them seem much more meaningful for all classes, but still, some would like to see more options.
A game master therefore shares his approach on Reddit to develop meaningful additional bonus actions for his players. But it shows: This is not as easy as it seems. And it also shows that bonus actions are already more meaningful than they may seem.
Is it all a matter of balance?
Why are bonus actions underrated? User Worried_Bowl_9489 shares in his thread on Reddit his attempt to develop his own bonus actions that all his players can use. In the comments, many users point out to him that many of his ideas are already anchored somewhere else in the game.
For example, the actions “Help” and “Shove” in the game are already considered full actions and not bonus actions, which would affect the balance of the game. Additionally, other suggestions are anchored in the features of various classes or talents and would make these redundant or less unique (see Reddit).
Thus, there is a risk that players of these classes or talents feel overlooked or would resort to other things, although they already have a right to exist in the game. It also has to be considered that a player turn lasts about 6 seconds. This means that the action should take around 4 seconds and the bonus action should take about 2 seconds.
Therefore, bonus actions are indeed to be seen more as a situational “bonus” rather than an action that should be fully utilized in every round. Even developing bonus actions would require an immense understanding of the game and subtlety to not jeopardize game balance. They are important to give shape to certain classes, minor abilities, or items, rather than for players to maximize the 6 seconds every time.
Here you see the list of ideas that the game master has come up with as new bonus actions for his players:
Should one not use the suggestions of the game master or develop their own? No, because it mainly depends on what you want to achieve with your own rule adjustments and what intention they originated from. As always, it primarily depends on the group and their expectations for the game.
For example, if you play with a group that likes to maximize their stats with minimal effort and enjoys diving deep into rules and sticking to them, you should avoid such things. But if you are mainly playing with a role-playing focus, where cool situations are more important than a game with 100% balanced stats, then there is absolutely nothing against it.
In the case of Worried_Bowl_9489, the latter is more the case, and that is why he developed the list to provide his players with a bit more fun. And perhaps others will also find encouragement or ideas in his list on how to make their own game a bit more exciting.
Either way, bonus actions play an important role in the game that should not be overlooked. Be it to make certain classes, abilities, talents, or items more original and maintain balance, or to remodel them and use them as another option for storytelling in combat.
As always, it depends on having fun together while playing and telling a cool story. It doesn’t matter if you adapt the rules for yourself or strictly adhere to them, as long as it works for the group. However, it becomes complicated when individual players want to ignore all rules: A player ruins the fun for his group in Dungeons & Dragons because he does not follow simple rules
