Sleep is one of the most powerful spells in the game even as things stand. Yes, to get the most out of it you have to pay attention to who's near your targets and what initiative order they're in.
But it's still undeniably one of the most powerful spells in the game. No saving throw. No random chance. And when you use it to your tactical advantage, it gives you a free critical against the target.
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I don't care if shove wakes up sleeping targets.
--actually, it might be better that shove does wake up targets now that I think about it. Otherwise, the spell would be truly OP.
But anyway, that aside, if you do care and you do for whatever reason think it's a problem, it's worth noting that the "problem" has nothing to do with shove being a bonus action. Just change the rule to say that shove can't wake up sleeping targets, regardless of whether shove is a bonus action or not.
This. Sleep is actually simultaneously buffed and nerfed in BG3.
Why it's buffed:
1) instead of rolling 5d8 (22.5 average), you are always guaranteed the 24 HP (no low rows, no RNG)
2) in BG3 - you KNOW precisely what the HP the enemies has, unlike Tabletop which you don't
3) no friendly fire
Nerfs:
1) In table top, enemies sleep for 1 full minute once it lands
2) In tabletop, need a full action to wake, or need to receive damage
Sleep is powerful in tabletop, but it's more of a artillery barrage. You launch it into a general area (away from your party) and hope it takes out a bunch of targets randomly. Sometimes it can win a fight outright, other times it does absolutely nothing. In BG3, it's much more of a precision tool that completely bypasses RNG, that you can toss into a crowd without fear.
I think I actually find the BG3 version more powerful. It gives you another powerful tool to bypass RNG - which I find more valuable to have than another AOE RNG CC spell. The combination of controlling other characters to be able to set-up combos, AND having the team initiative / order be so clear is another huge tool in BG3 Sleeps' favor.
