Questions tagged [actions]
For questions involving the rules that apply to taking a certain action in a specified system.
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What does upper-case-A-Attack action vs. lower-case-a-attack mean?
What exactly is the difference between Attack action and attack?
It seems each time a question regarding this pops up, there's always somebody arguing they are not different. I feel there should be a ...
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Two-Weapon Fighting & Bonus Actions
During the latest gaming session our level 3 Rogue was Two-Weapon fighting with a Rapier in the main-hand and a scimitar in the off-hand. At the completion of our gaming session I contested the ...
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What happens if a caster is surprised while casting a spell with a long casting time?
Casting a spell with a long casting time requires the caster to use their action each turn casting the spell:
you must spend your action each turn casting the spell
However, what would happen if ...
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Casting multiple spells in a single round
In the PHB page 202 under the bonus action heading it states:
You can't cast another spell during the same turn, except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.
This seems to state that if ...
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If you start casting a new concentration spell while concentrating on Haste, does the wave of lethargy interrupt the casting of the new spell?
Say a spellcaster has previously cast haste on themselves and is currently concentrating on it. However, they see a situation unfolding that desperately requires them to concentrate on another spell (...
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Can an unconscious person drink a potion?
PHB 153 reads:
Potion of Healing. A character who drinks the magical red fluid in
this vial regains 2d4 + 2 hit points. Drinking or administering a
potion takes an action.
By my interpretation,...
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46
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1
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How far does a rogue move when dashing twice using Cunning Action?
A rogue receives a bonus Cunning Action, and one option is to Dash. My understanding is a Dash allows a player to move up to twice his speed for his turn.
If a rogue is using a regular action to Dash ...
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Is it possible to cast multiple spells per turn?
Never had an issue with spellcaster scaling until today.
A player in the group claims he can cast Eldrich Blast twice on his turn. Once as an action, and a second time as a bonus action since it is a ...
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Shield Master - Can the shield push be taken before an attack?
Can the shield push from the Shield Master feat be taken before an attack? i.e. Push prone, follow up with an attack while they're down.
Shield Master
You use shields not just for protection ...
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4
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Can I use a spell with a casting time of "Bonus Action" as my action?
I get that some spells are "especially swift" to cast and thus have a casting time of "Bonus Action". But is there any reason I couldn't cast such a spell as my Action?
Does it make a difference if ...
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Does picking up a weapon or drawing one take an action?
I ran into a couple of questions while playing D&D 5th:
Does drawing a weapon take an action?
Does picking up a weapon from the ground take an action?
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Can a Goodberry not be administered to an unconscious creature?
Potion of Healing (DMG, page 187):
You regain hit points when you drink this potion.
Potions (DMG, page 139): Drinking or administering a potion to another character requires an action.
As ...
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Does a fighter's Action Surge trigger Extra Attack?
Context
A player in my game will play a fighter with a greatsword. At 5th level he has Extra Attack and the option to use Action Surge. PHB p.72 states:
Action Surge. Starting at 2nd level, you ...
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Which uses of Bonus-Action spellcasting are legal?
Looking at other questions about casting spells as a bonus action has left me trying to keep a lot of information in my head about whether a given combination of spells is legal according to the ...
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What overpowered combinations would be available if I allow a bonus action to be used in place of a standard action?
It has come up in game a couple of times that a player might want to cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 bonus action using their "main" action (if they have another bonus action they also want ...
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Is it possible to interrupt spellcasting?
As this blog post suggests, there seems to be a hole in the D&D Basic rules. Maybe. The rules for readying an action state:
When the trigger occurs, you can either take your reaction right ...
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1
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Can I use a bonus action before my action?
In D&D 5e can I use my bonus action before my action? For example if I wanted to cast Ensnaring Strike before my action to benefit from the bonus immediately.
Is this OK, or is a bonus action ...
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Can you break up your Attack action for a bonus action?
You can do it to move:
If you take an action that includes more than one weapon attack, you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks. For example, a fighter who can ...
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Can you forgo your readied action to take an opportunity attack instead? [duplicate]
Example:
Player 1 uses the ready action to do something when something happens (unimportant)
Goblin, decides to charge across the battlefield and attack Player 2, but happens to cross paths with ...
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Does an ability or spell grant me the bonus action with which to use it?
The 5e D&D Basic Rules v0.1 description of casting times says that spells with a casting time of "bonus action" require a bonus action to cast (p. 79, emphasis mine):
Most spells ...
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Is dropping a weapon "free", in terms of action cost?
I've seen many people on StackExchange and other forums mention that you can drop something as a free action, but I've never seen it sourced, or come across support for it in the Player's Handbook. ...
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Is it possible to use a spell scroll with a spell that requires a reaction to cast?
The DMG contains spell scrolls (on page 200), with the following rule:
If the spell is on your class's spell list, you can use an action to read the scroll and cast its spell without having to ...
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4
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How does switching weapons work?
How does switching, or dropping, weapons work in D&D 5e? Does it take an action?
For instance, if I have a polearm equipped, can I switch to two handaxes, throw the handaxes, and then switch back ...
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Does an Action Surge grant a second bonus action?
We were trying to understand how the "Action Surge" rule works, and after some discussion we came to a standstill.
Starting at 2nd level, you can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a ...
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1
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Drawing and sheathing a weapon in 5e, and the actions required
I've seen this question asked about 4e, and I think I've found the passage in the 5e PHB that answers the question, but I'd like to make sure I understand this correctly before I impose it on my game.
...
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2
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Does every potion require an Action to consume?
The PHB description of a Potion of Healing states:
A character who drinks the magical red fluid in this vial regains 2d4+2 hit points. Drinking or administering a potion takes an action.
(...
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28
votes
4
answers
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Do ability checks in combat require an action?
I was under the impression that using skills, and therefore making an ability check in combat required an action. Note: I'm obviously not talking about passive perception, it's definitely passive, it'...
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Is there a better technique to handle the lag between cause and effect?
Many spells and abilities, such as Command, Fear, Turn Undead have the caster do something on their turn, the target fail a saving though and then be forced into a behavior or condition on their turn. ...
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Would allowing a Thief (with Fast Hands) to use the Healer feat's tending action as a bonus action be balanced?
Related: usable objects with Fast Hands
The Healer feat states:
[...] As an action, you can spend one use of a healer’s kit to tend to a creature and restore 1d6 + 4 hit points to it, plus ...
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1
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Is it possible to use a spell scroll with a spell that requires a bonus action to cast?
The DMG contains spell scrolls (on page 200), with the following rule:
If the spell is on your class's spell list, you can use an action to read the scroll and cast its spell without having to ...
- 143k
28
votes
1
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Are you considered to have a free hand while using a Versatile weapon?
Certain abilities require a free hand to perform: picking up an item or drawing a weapon, casting a spell with a somatic component, using Gloves of Missile Snaring, etc.
If you make a two-handed ...
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What does Use an Object cover?
I saw this come up in another question in regards to drinking a healing potion not being a Use an Object action as the text in the equipment chapter under healing potion specifically says that using a ...
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Can monsters with multiattack take grapple and shove actions?
If lets say... an Owlbear which has the multiattack trait wants to knock someone down and grapple them. Can the owlbear replace the 2 attack actions covered under the multiattack with a grapple and a ...
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Can a rider move using his mount, attack from his mount, then have the mount dash away?
I seem to have misunderstood the mounted combat rules. Reading them again it seems that the mount and rider are treated as separate entities but share initiative (this assumes a controlled mount, not ...
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How to explain the mechanics of movement in the absence of a "move action"?
D&D 5e has actions, bonus actions, and reactions. People frequently also use the term move action when talking about the kinds of actions you can take during your turn.
However, a “move action” ...
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Can monk move between his extra and bonus attacks?
There are clean rules for moving between actions and between attacks granted by those action (e.g. a fighter with four attacks can move between them freely).
But the monk's Flurry of Blows feature is ...
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Does a surprised creature obey the 1st-level spell Command?
The description of the Command spell says:
You speak a one-word command to a creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or follow the command on its next ...
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1
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What are Mythic Actions?
Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft features a creature called a Dullahan. Dullahan has a feature which allows it to come back to life after being reduced to 0 hit points, and doing so allows the ...
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Could a Warlock use the One with Shadows eldritch invocation to remain invisible during a long rest/sleep?
The warlock's One with Shadows eldritch invocation presents an interesting opportunity: it gives you invisibility without requiring concentration. Specifically (PHB, p. 111):
One with Shadows
...
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If a Spell has a casting time of 1 minute, what part of the caster's action economy would it take up if it was cast in combat?
This is a bit difficult of an idea for me to articulate, so I'll try and do my best:
If a character was to attempt and cast a spell with a casting time of 1 minute, while in combat, would they have to ...
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Which balancing issues, if any, would arise from allowing PCs to spend actions on bonus action features?
I understand that RAW, features/spells/etc. that require a bonus action (e.g. Bardic Inspiration or Healing Word) cannot be used with a regular action instead (see this question).
However, what would ...
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What is the difference between "No Action" and "Free Action"?
What is the difference between No Action, e.g. the Monk's Centered Flurry of Blows [ddi], and the more common Free Action?
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If a character is stunned but still has attacks remaining, can they still make those attacks?
Suppose Alex is a fighter with the Extra Attacks feature, so each time they take the Attack action they can make two attacks. Alex attacks Sam, a Fighter/Monk with access to the Riposte Battle Master ...
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Should breaking down something like a door be adjudicated as an attempt to beat its AC and HP, or as an ability check against a set DC?
It is not uncommon for players to encounter a door that resists being opened - the door may be stuck, barred, locked, barricaded, etc. A locked door could be unlocked by finding a key or passing a ...
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Can you take the Dodge action while prone?
I was wondering what the rules say about dodging while prone. I couldn't find anything from the PHB. I would imagine that rolling out of the way of attacks is possible but it would be kind of slow so ...
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What exactly does the Otto's Irresistible Dance spell prevent?
In 5e, Otto's Irresistible Dance forces its target to do the following things:
The target begins a comic dance in place: shuffling, tapping its feet, and capering for the duration. [...]
A dancing ...
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Is drawing an arrow from a quiver an item interaction?
So in a given turn in combat, you can interact with an item once per turn for free, then any subsequent interactions with the same or another item costs an Action (which, unless you can Action Surge ...
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How does the Bladesinging wizard's Extra Attack feature interact with the additional Attack action from the Haste spell?
The Bladesinging arcane tradition for wizards (TCE) gains the Extra Attack feature at level 6, whose description states:
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you ...
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1
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What can I do in one round?
I'm still little confused about actions in Pathfinder. There are standard actions, move actions, full round actions, free actions, etc. I need to know which combinations of these actions I can use in ...
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Does The Amazing Lightspeed Horse work, RAW?
N Medium humanoids have gathered on an arbitrarily long field, standing in a line with each creature 120 feet away from each of its neighbors. The creature at one end of the line is mounted on a horse ...
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