diff --git a/apps/openmw/mwlua/actions.cpp b/apps/openmw/mwlua/actions.cpp
index 7389363fe6..49bb5cfcb4 100644
--- a/apps/openmw/mwlua/actions.cpp
+++ b/apps/openmw/mwlua/actions.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 #include <components/debug/debuglog.hpp>
 #include <components/lua/luastate.hpp>
+#include <components/settings/settings.hpp>
 
 #include "../mwworld/cellstore.hpp"
 #include "../mwworld/class.hpp"
@@ -12,12 +13,12 @@
 
 namespace MWLua
 {
-
-#ifdef NDEBUG
-    Action::Action(LuaUtil::LuaState* state) {}
-#else
-    Action::Action(LuaUtil::LuaState* state) : mCallerTraceback(state->debugTraceback()) {}
-#endif
+    Action::Action(LuaUtil::LuaState* state)
+    {
+        static const bool luaDebug = Settings::Manager::getBool("lua debug", "Lua");
+        if (luaDebug)
+            mCallerTraceback = state->debugTraceback();
+    }
 
     void Action::safeApply(WorldView& w) const
     {
@@ -28,11 +29,11 @@ namespace MWLua
         catch (const std::exception& e)
         {
             Log(Debug::Error) << "Error in " << this->toString() << ": " << e.what();
-#ifdef NDEBUG
-            Log(Debug::Error) << "Traceback is available only in debug builds";
-#else
-            Log(Debug::Error) << "Caller " << mCallerTraceback;
-#endif
+
+            if (mCallerTraceback.empty())
+                Log(Debug::Error) << "Set 'lua_debug=true' in settings.cfg to enable action tracebacks";
+            else
+                Log(Debug::Error) << "Caller " << mCallerTraceback;
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/apps/openmw/mwlua/actions.hpp b/apps/openmw/mwlua/actions.hpp
index 3b71eef4a9..e88b39e83c 100644
--- a/apps/openmw/mwlua/actions.hpp
+++ b/apps/openmw/mwlua/actions.hpp
@@ -29,9 +29,7 @@ namespace MWLua
         virtual std::string toString() const = 0;
 
     private:
-#ifndef NDEBUG
         std::string mCallerTraceback;
-#endif
     };
 
     class TeleportAction final : public Action
diff --git a/docs/source/reference/modding/settings/lua.rst b/docs/source/reference/modding/settings/lua.rst
index 4d1a3ca808..65faf884ae 100644
--- a/docs/source/reference/modding/settings/lua.rst
+++ b/docs/source/reference/modding/settings/lua.rst
@@ -1,6 +1,18 @@
 Lua Settings
 ############
 
+lua debug
+---------
+
+:Type:		boolean
+:Range:		True/False
+:Default:	False
+
+Enables debug tracebacks for Lua actions.
+It adds significant performance overhead, don't enable if you don't need it.
+
+This setting can only be configured by editing the settings configuration file.
+
 lua num threads
 ---------------
 
diff --git a/files/settings-default.cfg b/files/settings-default.cfg
index c0083e4238..9715e3793e 100644
--- a/files/settings-default.cfg
+++ b/files/settings-default.cfg
@@ -1106,6 +1106,9 @@ stomp intensity = 1
 
 [Lua]
 
+# Enable performance-heavy debug features
+lua debug = false
+
 # Set the maximum number of threads used for Lua scripts.
 # If zero, Lua scripts are processed in the main thread.
 lua num threads = 1