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The other day I found out that the tag exists. And upon looking further, it currently exists only on 14 questions (now 17, with 2 having been added to questions by other users), some of which also have the tag, some of which do not. One thing I found particularly interesting is that there are exactly two questions tagged with that are marked as duplicates, and it just so happens that none of their marked duplicates (there are four) also have this tag.

Is the spell combo Booming Blade into a quickened Thunderwave legal?

Duplicates:


Is it possible to take multiple bonus actions in a single turn?

Duplicate:

Their current (as of writing) tag descriptions are provided below:

For questions involving the rules that apply to taking a certain action in a specified system.

For questions centering around the "action economy", a meta-game term for the inherent limits on the number of things a character can do in a single turn.

In turn-based games, action economy might involve taking extra actions because of a feature, using less time to perform some action, taking actions for all of your summoned monsters, and so on.

I'm simply unsure when this tag is meant to be used and how it's been being used also doesn't make great sense to me. How exactly do the and tags differ and how should they be used?

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The tag is underused

I'm never a fan of removing/synonymizing tags simply because we don't think they are useful. Someone found that tag useful or it wouldn't exist. It's existence isn't doing any harm so we should leave it be.

I did a search for questions that mention action economy but have neither the or the tags and found 70 questions. From a quick scrolls through the previews I would guess that at least half of them would benefit from having the tag.

Action economy is a broader concern than what is covered by the actions tag. Actions are concerned with "can I do X with Y action?" whereas action economy is concerned with "what is the consequence of allowing X as a Y action?". In D&D terminology, one is primarily concerns with actions and turns, the other with rounds and encounters.

Based on this I think the tag should remain and should be used more often to link these types of questions.

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    \$\begingroup\$ A small thing: I don't think [action-economy] questions are about the consequences of allowing a new use of an action, but often about whether a specific sequence of actions is (in)valid \$\endgroup\$ Nov 20, 2019 at 3:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Medix2 True, I was having trouble coming up with a succinct way to demonstrate the difference. If I come up with a better example I'll edit my answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – linksassin Mod
    Nov 20, 2019 at 4:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ If I were to go through and use the tag (adding it into older questions), any advice on what rate to do so? 2 questions per day? More, less? \$\endgroup\$ Nov 21, 2019 at 15:11
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Medix2 My recommended rate for edits like that is around 6 or so at a time. But really any amount that doesn't flood the front page is fine. So long as new questions and answer are still getting attention it isn't a problem. \$\endgroup\$
    – linksassin Mod
    Nov 21, 2019 at 23:20
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Burninate it.

Per our help center:

What are tags, and how should I use them?

A tag is a word or phrase that describes the topic of the question. Tags are a means of connecting experts with questions they will be able to answer by sorting questions into specific, well-defined categories.

Tags can also be used to help you identify questions that are interesting or relevant to you.

“Action economy” accomplishes none of the listed purposes: it does not connect experts with questions, it does not sort questions into a well-defined category, and it is not useful for finding interesting questions.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This answer fails to establish it's main premise. Why isn't it a well-defined category or connect experts with questions? Simply stating that it doesn't isn't a good answer. You need to explain it. \$\endgroup\$
    – linksassin Mod
    Nov 21, 2019 at 23:22
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    \$\begingroup\$ @linksassin I hear what you are saying and that’s a reasonable point, but I’m not sure how to go about proving a negative. \$\endgroup\$
    – fectin
    Nov 22, 2019 at 0:35
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    \$\begingroup\$ Just explaining why you feel this way would be a good start. In my answer I tried to argue how it was different to the actions tag. If you were to draw comparisons to other tags maybe or explain how it is not well defined. Personally I think you will struggle since I disagree with your premise, but I would be interested to see a well supported argument against the tag. \$\endgroup\$
    – linksassin Mod
    Nov 22, 2019 at 2:32
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While action-economy is a subset of actions, it is a very specific subset that, at least in D&D, has a really important role in how the game is played.

Action-economy is about how to do more things in a round than the game would mandate. It is about why we don't pit big, lonely monsters against a party of 6. It is about balancing a game, it is about strategies and tactics.

Actions in general is more often about what one can do with one action, or what kind of action it is to perform a certain act in the game. It is about the rules of the game, it is about mechanics.

So, those two environments feel really different to me. Let's keep them both.

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Synonymize it away

Action economy isn't a distinct topic from actions in general, so doesn't need to exist on its own and should so just be a synonym of .

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