Is there anything preventing a Barbarian that is currently raging from using a bonus action to expend another rage and restart the 1 minute duration on their rage?
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asked Oct 21, 2017 at 6:25
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\$\begingroup\$ I would recommend moving the check mark to this more thorough answer since JC's rulings are not official and that answer actually engages the rules. \$\endgroup\$– Thomas MarkovMar 22, 2021 at 14:54
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4 Answers
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I don't see why not...
So the PHB says:
"On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action."
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"You can also end your rage on your turn as a bonus action" PHB 48
So from a RAW perspective I'd probably say no because to enter a rage you most likely cannot already be in a rage. That would be similar to trying to enter a house that you are already inside of if interpreted literally. And I think that the fact that you can forcefully end your rage (essentially exiting it) supports this.
However...
From a RAI perspective I think that it is okay to extend your rage duration by expending another rage slot. Consider this:
"A barbarian can draw on this reservoir of fury only a few times without resting, but those few rages are usually sufficient to defeat whatever threats arise." PHB 46
I believe the emphasis for this lies in that rest is required to replenish a barbarians fury. However, until depleted, that reservoir can continue to be tapped. One does not simply stop being furious because a minute has passed. The main thing to take into account with this mechanic is the limited reservoir of fury.
Consider also, the rage timer could reach its end, kicking the barbarian out of rage at the beginning of their turn, only for them to immediately pop another rage. There is technically no significant amount of time between the first and second rage. It would not make sense for the barbarian to experience a single moment of clarity spanning the bridge of one solitary second before becoming consumed by a furious rage once more.
In summary:
RAW is most likely a no, but from the perspective of RAI I'd give it a yes.
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You don't need to
10 rounds (1 minute) after entering your rage it ends at the start of your 11th turn. The first thing you do with your 11th turn is use your bonus action to start the next rage.
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\$\begingroup\$ The only issue that may be raised is that, for example with Pole Arm Mastery, the use of a bonus action for a second attack may be perceived as needed "in the next few rounds" when an attack, for example, just downed one of the opponents. Taking the opportunity to refresh rage "now" allows the next few rounds to us the Bonus Action for that PAM attack. (Or dual weapons attack, or shield master shove, or ...) \$\endgroup\$ Oct 21, 2017 at 12:15
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1\$\begingroup\$ I did not mention it within the question, but my specific situation is geared towards preventing my rage from ending for even a moment. So if my rage ends at the start of my 11th turn, I won't get a chance to reenter rage. This is related to surviving the unsurvivable using the 14th level Zealot feature, which allows a Barbarian to keep fighting after they've failed all their death saves. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 23, 2017 at 16:04
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Yes
Jeremy Crawford, Lead rules designer tweeted this unofficial ruling:
The Rage feature doesn't prohibit you from starting a rage while you're raging.
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Unless a restriction is stated there isn't one. I.e., Warcasters only have 1 target restriction. All the rage feature states is that you can enter a rage as a bonus action on your turn. It doesn't say "while not raging you can use a bonus action to enter a rage". So if a barbarian is in a drawn-out battle he could on round 10 use a bonus action to continue raging (using that round as the start of the 1 minute, not adding it to the current minute).
