The description of the fear spell states, in part:
While frightened by this spell, a creature must take the Dash action
and move away from you by the safest available route on each of its
turns, unless there is nowhere to move.
The description of bonus actions in the Player's Handbook (p. 189) mentions that:
anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also
prevents you from taking a bonus action.
Does the fear spell "deprive you of your ability to take actions", and thereby prevent you from taking bonus actions?
I'm asking cause I've seen people in some games understand it that way. I know it's up to every DM, but what would be the interpretation by RAW?
What is behind this question: I want to figure out if a Sorcerer under the effects of the fear spell could cast any spell as long as he used the Metamagic option Quickened Spell.
Best Answer
Yes, you can use your bonus action
Fear requires you to take the Dash action. You can use your action to do this, or your bonus action (e.g. the Rogue’s Cunning Action), or even a magic item that gives you the Dash action (off the cuff, I’m not aware of any) - you don’t lose your action or bonus action. As such, you are free to use any action or bonus action you might have that you haven’t used. So, for a sorcerer, a quickened spell is one such option.
Just a note that if you have the Rogue’s Cunning Action feature, you don’t have to use it to Dash. In fact, you can use your bonus action to take the Dash action, leaving your action free for whatever you want. This is because it says you “must take the Dash action”, not “you must use your action to Dash” - so long as you Dash through some means, you have met the requirements of the spell.
Furthermore, you have to “move away by the safest available route” only; the spell doesn’t require you to move as fast as possible. Because you are frightened you can never move closer, but so long as you move away, 5 feet away will meet this requirement. Of course, bolting as fast as you can to get out of line of sight might be the best option but you can do a slow, terrified retreat.