D&D (2024) How long should a Short rest be in 5E(2024)?

[Yaarel]

[accidental post]

 

[Vaalingrade]

The gm also has very little say over short rests when they disagree with players

That's the best part!

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

I think this is a key point about 5e Short Rests that people who want to reduce it to a 1/encounter use limit often miss.

I don't think anyone is missing that.

The game doesn't expect you to take a short rest after every encounter.

Correct, 5E does not expect this. No one has been saying otherwise.

It expects you to take 2 per day. For 5e's stated encounter math, that means you take a rest every 2 encounters. Even Level Up A5E, which changes the number of encounters per day depending on your Tier (early levels advise 2 encounters per day, Tier 4 advises 8 encounters per day) still assumes 2 short rests per day no matter the number of encounters per day (from what I understand from Warlock spell points). So 1/short rest abilities aren't supposed to be used once every encounter, they're more like "ultimate" abilities that should be used every 2-3 encounters (or rather for more climactic fights).

I've already said this, but the origin of the short rest is 4E, where (the bulk of) their purpose was literally to recharge powers usable once per encounter. What some of us are saying is that this was a nice game design element i.e. abilities whose power level was in tune with being used once per encounter. It's perfectly scalable, as it literally doesn't matter how many short rests your DM is willing or able to give you.

The 5E vision of short rest abilities is a different animal entirely; in a 5e game, a high frequency short rest table makes short rest-based characters like Warlocks and Fighters more powerful than intended (and vice versa). It makes class design, multiclassing, etc., etc. much easier as well.

(Edited to clean up a sentence fragment)

 

[tetrasodium]

My table isn't at war with each other trying to outshine one another so I haven't ever encountered these supposed issues

That's exactly why it passes with yet another short rest. Even when long rest classes feel like dead weight they blame the gm or the game rather than the players causing them to feel that way.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Every person who talks about short rest abilities being per encounter abilities is making rests mandatory

Not really. Again, looking at what a short rest was in 4E: 5 minutes spent not engaging in strenuous activity. Basically translates to: managing to stay out of combat for 5 minutes. You'd have to squint pretty hard to see that as a 'mandatory rest'

 

[billd91]

As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't necessarily have to be a specific length of time or PCs need to be able to do it X number of times per day. What the short rest needs to be is long enough that there is tension between choosing to take one or not taking one and that one choice doesn't utterly dominate the other. If it's too easy/short to take a short rest, everyone always takes it and novas off their short rest abilities every encounter - and that's a dynamic that, frankly, kind of sucks because there's no tension in it and little variety. But if the PCs are unsure if they'll be able to short rest, then you get interesting choices and a considerably more interesting game.

 

[Staffan]

As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't necessarily have to be a specific length of time or PCs need to be able to do it X number of times per day. What the short rest needs to be is long enough that there is tension between choosing to take one or not taking one and that one choice doesn't utterly dominate the other. If it's too easy/short to take a short rest, everyone always takes it and novas off their short rest abilities every encounter - and that's a dynamic that, frankly, kind of sucks because there's no tension in it and little variety. But if the PCs are unsure if they'll be able to short rest, then you get interesting choices and a considerably more interesting game.

Or you could balance the game around that. I'd love it if D&D became more like DOS2, where combat abilities recharge in a matter of 1-5 rounds. Then the tactical challenge becomes more about which ability to use when.

Or in more D&D-friendly terms: give me back my Warblade.

 

[Incenjucar]

Every person who talks about short rest abilities being per encounter abilities is making rests mandatory

No. This is grossly misunderstanding the position.

 

[Dausuul]

So how long should a Short rest be?


1. One minute long, quick breather, making the Monk's Heighten metabolism unlimited global mechanic?

2. 5 minutes long. 4E version of Short rest. DM variant. A breather, a chance to have a bite, bit of water and throw some alcohol on a cut.

3. 15 minutes. Most games half-time break. Time for a bandage or a quick lunch. Or relax for a moment.

4. 1 Hour long. Default 5E.

5. Removed. All recharge is based on Long rest. More resource management. HD usage needs to be reworked. Possible as an Action.

6. Other duration?

5 minutes, but capped at 2/day.

(I would not mind 5 minutes with no cap, but that would require a lot of rebalancing. The 2/day limit makes it work as a drop-in replacement for the current rule, which my table has been using for years.)

 

[BlackSeed_Vash]

10 mins if no one burns HD.
1 hr if anyone burns HD