Actions

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Action redirects here. For the resource, see Resources#Action.

Actions are the acts taken by creatures on their turns in Baldur's Gate 3. Actions are generally taken in order to deal damage or inflict harmful conditions, but they can also be taken to heal or aid allies.

A special form of action – known as a reaction – can be used as a response to certain triggers, including on the turns of other creatures.

Taking actions usually requires the acting creature to expend one of three resources:

  • Action
  • Bonus action
  • Reaction

Overview[edit | edit source]

Actions are categorised by their source:

Common actions
Common actions are actions available to all creatures.
Class actions
Class actions are actions available through features, such as those gained from classes or equipment. Many actions taken by NPCs are also considered class actions.
Racial actions
Racial actions are actions available through racial features, and are exclusively gained from race.
Weapon actions
Weapon actions are actions available through equipping weapons.
Spells
Spells are cast by casters and by other creatures through the use of scrolls.
Situational actions
Situational actions unlock as a result of another ability, feature, or condition. It remains at the side of the character's hotbar until the conditions creating it expire. One such example is Forced Manoeuvre as a result of Manoeuvring Attack (Melee).

Resources[edit | edit source]

Creatures take actions in turn-based mode by expending one of two resources:   Action or   Bonus action.

Additionally, some actions require both of the two resources to be expended.

An additional resource –   Reaction – is used to take conditional reactions on another creature's turn.

All creatures have 1 charge of each of the three resources that recharges at the beginning of each turn, but additional charges can be gained from various sources.

Exceptions[edit | edit source]

Additional actions
Actions that allow a creature to take an additional action per turn – such as   Action Surgedo not consume the resource they provide.
Free attacks
Classes that have the   Extra Attack feature can take an additional free Attack action on their turn after taking an Attack action, without expending an   Action resource.

Reactions[edit | edit source]

 
Figure 1 - Active Reactions

Reactions are actions taken in response to a trigger, and can be taken even if triggered on another creature's turn.

Some reactions require the acting creature to expend a  , whereas other reactions do not. Those that do not are generally class features which use the reaction mechanic, such as   Divine Smite,   Sneak Attack or   Reckless Attack.[note 1]

The Reactions tab[edit | edit source]

 
Figure 2 - Reactions Tab

Reactions are managed for each character through the Reactions tab, located on the spellbook page of a character sheet. The tab can also be accessed immediately by pressing on one of the active reactions on the hotbar, or by pressing a hotkey (default: L).

Reactions can be set to be taken automatically, or the game can be set to prompt the player first.

If taking the reaction expends any resources, they are listed under the reaction's name.

Limitations[edit | edit source]

Creatures that are   Dazed,   Prone,   Stunned,   Incapacitated or   Surprised cannot take reactions.

Some spells – such as   Shocking Grasp and   Arms of Hadar – inflict specific conditions that prevent targeted creatures from taking reactions. However, these conditions do not prevent those creatures from taking reactions which do not consume the Reaction resource.

Examples of reactions[edit | edit source]

Spells[edit | edit source]

Class actions[edit | edit source]

Lists of common actions[edit | edit source]

Actions[edit | edit source]

Bonus actions[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

Footnotes[edit | edit source]

  1. Many class features which are implemented as reactions in Baldur's Gate 3 are not reactions in the tabletop RPG which Baldur's Gate 3 is based on. Reactions were added to the game fairly late in development, which may the cause of this change.