On your turn, you can Move a distance up to your speed and take one action. You decide whether to move first or take your action first. Your speed--sometimes called your walking speed--is noted on your character sheet.
The most common actions you can take are described in the Actions in Combat section. Many class features and other abilities provide additional options for your action.
The Movement and Position section gives the rules for your move.
You can forgo moving, taking an action, or doing anything at all on your turn. If you can't decide what to do on your turn, consider taking the Dodge or Ready action, as described in "Actions in Combat."
Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action. The Cunning Action feature, for example, allows a rogue to take several different kinds of actions that normal require an Action as a bonus action.
You can take a bonus action only when a special ability, spell, or other feature of the game states that you can do something as a bonus action. You otherwise don't have a bonus action to take.
You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose which bonus action to use when you have more than one available.
You choose when to take a bonus action during your turn, unless the bonus action's timing is specified, and anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also prevents you from taking a bonus action.
¶ Optional Rule: Bonus Action Substitution
In the core rules of D&D5e as presented, abilities that require a bonus action to be used can only be used with the single Bonus Action a character is granted per round.
Given that Bonus Actions are generally less powerful than Actions--and previous playtest versions of 5th Edition featured a type of action called a Swift Action in place of Bonus actions and allowed you to convert your Action into a Swift Action, but not vice versa--this optional rule allows Players and Monsters to trade their primary Action for an additional Bonus Action, if they wish.
Your turn can include a variety of flourishes that require neither your action nor your move.
For instance, you can communicate however you are able, through brief utterances and gestures, as you take your turn, or drop an object that you are currently holding for free.
You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your weapon as part of the same action you use to attack.
If you want to interact with a second object, you need to use your action. Some magic items and other special objects always require a character to take the Magic Action to use, as stated in their descriptions.
The DM might require you to use an action for any of these activities when it needs special care or when it presents an unusual obstacle. For instance, the DM could reasonably expect you to use an action to open a stuck door or turn a crank to lower a drawbridge.
Interacting with Objects Around You
Here are a few examples of the sorts of thing you can do in tandem with your movement and action:
❖ Draw or sheathe a sword.
❖ Open or close a door.
❖ Withdraw a potion from your backpack.
❖ Pick up a dropped weapon.
❖ Take a bauble from a table.
❖ Remove a ring from your finger.
❖ Stuff some food into your mouth.
❖ Plant a banner in the ground.
❖ Fish a few coins from your belt pouch.
❖ Drink all the ale in a flagon.
❖ Throw a lever or a switch.
❖ Pull a torch from a sconce.
❖ Take a book from a shelf you can reach.
❖ Extinguish a small flame.
❖ Don a hat, mask, gloves or other simple garment.
❖ Pull the hood of your cloak up and over your head.
❖ Put your ear to a door.
❖ Kick a small stone or other similar object.
❖ Turn a key in a lock.
❖ Tap the floor with a 10-foot pole.
❖ Hand an item already at hand to another character.
Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else's. The Opportunity Attack, described under Actions in Combat, is the most common type of reaction.
When you take a reaction, you can't take another one until the start of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts another creature's turn, that creature can continue its turn right after the reaction.