Can you use a bonus action in the middle of an attack (e.g. after the attack roll, but before the outcome is determined)?

Question

Say you're a paladin, and you want to cast searing smite (PHB, p. 274).

Can I roll my attack, see the result, and decide if I want to spend my bonus action on searing smite before the outcome is determined?

Taking this a step further, can I do it after the outcome is known (so I know I will hit)?

---

Relevant quotes from Jeremy Crawford, D&D 5E Development Lead:

• (1) You make an attack roll. (2) You hit or miss. (3) You roll damage if you hit. "When you hit" happens at number 2.

• {The quote below} was addressing bonus actions and reactions that have triggers. A bonus action that has no trigger—such as Cunning Action and the misty step spell—can take place whenever you want on your turn (PH, 189).

• No general rule allows you to insert a bonus action between attacks in a single action. You can interrupt a multiple-attack action with a bonus action/reaction only if the trigger of the bonus action/reaction is an attack, rather than the action.

Crawford's quotes above are about timing related to things like spending a bonus action between attacks, or defining how certain abilities determine when the "hit" is calculated in the damage formula.

Can something as general as a bonus action interfere with the "steps" of the attack roll if it has no required trigger?

We know that something like the shield spell can directly interfere with these steps (as the spell's trigger requires an attack that "hits" you, but then the AC bonus applied can then negate that hit from occurring). However, is that specifically due to the shield spell's trigger and magical effect, or is it using a general rule?

---

Other related questions:

• Can you use a bonus action from Cunning Action in the middle of an Attack action?
• Can you use a bonus action between the separate attacks of a spell?

Answer 1

No

To understand it, we should carefully read the Section Making an Attack. Once you have declared your attack, calculated the proper modifiers, you resolve the attack

3. Resolve the attack. You make the attack roll. On a hit, you roll damage, unless the particular attack has rules that specify otherwise. Some attacks cause special effects in addition to or instead of damage.

From my understanding, all of this occurs without the player being able to take any other action in between. This is a general rule. Some features, however, have a specific rule that allows them to be declared between the hit and dealing damage, for example, Divine Smite

when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage.

This is triggered specifically by the hit, so it is a specific rule that allows the player to break the general rule that nothing should be declared after the hit, but before the damage.

The other smites have no such specific rule, and therefore they can not be used that way.

This is backed up by the fact that hitting and dealing damage are simultaneous events (in-game), therefore, the character can not perform an action in between them.

Probably Intended

The other smites, from my understanding, are supposed to be cast before the attack. If it was intended that they were used like Divine Smite, they would use a similar wording, specifically allowing the player to choose to use them in between hit and damage. The reason Divine Smite is strong is precisely because you can choose to use it only after you hit, never wasting a spell slot for it.