D&D 5E Just how long is a long rest anyway?

[Hriston]

Hello,

I'm currently running a game that features a lot of overland travel and exploration. I'm using the default resting rules, however, not the Gritty Realism variant, and I've noticed something a bit odd about these rules. I think it stems from a few factors that may or may not be unique to my game. First is that the party will normally travel for only eight hours a day, due to the risk of exhaustion involved with a forced march. I generally rule that making and breaking camp each take two hours, so that leaves twelve hours of the day that can be spent resting in-camp. Second is that the party is setting watches while they sleep, and although six hours is the minimum amount of sleep needed for a non-elf to gain the benefit of a long rest, I think it's implied (by the text of the elven racial trait Trance) that eight hours of sleep is ideal for non-elven humanoids (which agrees with my personal experience). Third is that the party consists of three members, all non-elfs. Consequently, the character that takes the second watch completes his long rest over a period of nine or twelve hours interrupted by a watch of between three and four hours. By a strict reading of the rules, this character cannot gain the benefit of a long rest because he's keeping watch for longer than two hours. Here's the rules-text for reference:

A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity - at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity - the characters must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it.​

A long rest must be at least eight hours but can be longer. When it is longer than eight hours, I believe the allowable period of light activity also needs to be extended by the same amount of time and that the two-hour limit on light activity only applies to a long rest that is strictly eight hours. For instance, in a three member party in which each member sleeps for eight hours, the member taking the second watch will take a long rest of twelve hours, four hours of which is spent keeping watch.

 

[commandercrud]

For me long rest is 5 downtime days. Short rest is a normal night including sleep, but the exact amount of time is undefined. Unless circumstances are unusual, it is assumed PCs take turns keeping watch, but we don't bother figuring out hour-by-hour details. If I need to know which PC was on watch when something happens, I just roll randomly.

 

[Oofta]

While I generally use the alternate longer rest rules, I think you're overthinking it. I would only say they did not get a long rest if they had a significant interruption. Having to move camp to a different location because of a flood, running from that orcish warband that found your camp and so on would qualify as interrupting the rest period.

Being on watch? Nah.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Being on watch will not interrupt a long rest, neither will combat or other strenuous activity unless it totals 1 hour or more. If their interruption is more than 1 hour (such as moving camp, traveling, etc.) then they won't get the benefit of the rest.

 

[Charlaquin]

This is a very interesting feature of the exploration rules when used with the default resting rules, and is one of the reasons I don’t switch to the “gritty realism” rest times or rule that players can only benefit from a long rest when they take it in a secure location. As you observe here, 8 hours of travel plus 8 hours of rest seems to leave 8 hours of the day unaccounted for. Some of it can be shuffled around to setting up and breaking camp, taking breaks during travel, etc. but it still seems like an awful lot of dead time. But that’s only if the players insist on never making a forced march. But here’s the thing: under the default resting rules, the PCs should be making a forced march every day.

In the worst case scenario, the PCs travel 9 hours, everyone fails their con saves and gets a level of exhaustion... Then they make camp, take a long rest, and that level of exhaustion goes away. Best case scenario, everyone succeeds on their con saves and you can press on for another hour. Basically, since you lose exhaustion levels at a rate of 1/day, your first exhaustion level each day is “free.”

In addition to this, I like to break the travel day up into 6 4-hour periods. With 2 periods set aside for a long rest, the players have 4 periods, during each of which they can travel for 3 hours and rest for 1. That makes a standard traveling day 9 hours of travel punctuated by 3 short rests, at the end of which they make a single DC 10 con save for the hour of forced marching. If they decide to press on for the fourth period, they make a DC 15 con save (and of course if they want to push back their long rest they can keep going, making another con save at +5 DC for each additional period they travel before taking a long rest.)

 

[Hriston]

While I generally use the alternate longer rest rules, I think you're overthinking it. I would only say they did not get a long rest if they had a significant interruption. Having to move camp to a different location because of a flood, running from that orcish warband that found your camp and so on would qualify as interrupting the rest period.

Being on watch? Nah.

Being on watch will not interrupt a long rest, neither will combat or other strenuous activity unless it totals 1 hour or more. If their interruption is more than 1 hour (such as moving camp, traveling, etc.) then they won't get the benefit of the rest.

My post isn’t talking about interruption of a long rest by at least an hour of strenuous activity. My post is talking about the two-hour limit on light activity. If I wasn’t clear enough (which I think I wasn’t due to posting a little too hastily), I think the text should read, “A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs only light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch, in the time remaining.” The way it’s worded now, a character that takes a twelve hour long rest has to spend ten hours of it asleep, unless there’s something between sleep and light activity.

 

[DND_Reborn]

My post isn’t talking about interruption of a long rest by at least an hour of strenuous activity. My post is talking about the two-hour limit on light activity. If I wasn’t clear enough (which I think I wasn’t due to posting a little too hastily), I think the text should read, “A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs only light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch, in the time remaining.” The way it’s worded now, a character that takes a twelve hour long rest has to spend ten hours of it asleep, unless there’s something between sleep and light activity.

Gotcha.

No, I would think that if you have 12 hours to rest, only "at least 6 hours" must be spent sleeping. Once you also have two hours, or less depending on how long you slept, of light activity, so the total is at least 8 hours, the long rest is over. The remaining 4 hours are just downtime really.

In short, it doesn't say you can only spend two hours doing light activity, it says you need at least 6 hours of sleep.

 

[Oofta]

My post isn’t talking about interruption of a long rest by at least an hour of strenuous activity. My post is talking about the two-hour limit on light activity. If I wasn’t clear enough (which I think I wasn’t due to posting a little too hastily), I think the text should read, “A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs only light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch, in the time remaining.” The way it’s worded now, a character that takes a twelve hour long rest has to spend ten hours of it asleep, unless there’s something between sleep and light activity.

I understood, I just think it's being overly restrictive for no reason than strict adherence to the rules. The rules assume a 4 person group and you have a smaller group than that.

I'd rather do what makes logical sense than adhere to the strict letter of the rules.

 

[Prakriti]

...the party will normally travel for only eight hours a day, due to the risk of exhaustion involved with a forced march. I generally rule that making and breaking camp each take two hours, so that leaves twelve hours of the day that can be spent resting in-camp.

You're leaving out short rests and meals. The party doesn't travel continuously for 8 hours -- they stop to eat and rest. So those 8 hours of walking are spread across 10 or 12 hours of real time. If making and breaking camp each take 2 hours, then that's 14-16 hours accounted for. In the end, your adventuring day looks something like this:

6-8am: Breakfast and breaking camp
8am-1pm: 4 hours of travel, plus four 15-minute breaks
1-3pm: Lunch and short rest
3-8pm: 4 hours of travel, plus four 15-minute breaks
8-10pm: Dinner and making camp
10pm-6am: Long rest (8 hours)

 

[Hriston]

Gotcha.

No, I would think that if you have 12 hours to rest, only "at least 6 hours" must be spent sleeping. Once you also have two hours, or less depending on how long you slept, of light activity, so the total is at least 8 hours, the long rest is over. The remaining 4 hours are just downtime really.

What about the circumstance where a character is taking the second watch, gets four hours of sleep, stands watch for four hours, and then gets another two plus hours of sleep? Did the character get a long rest? According to the RaW, I don’t think so.

In short, it doesn't say you can only spend two hours doing light activity, it says you need at least 6 hours of sleep.

I’m not sure what you think “performs no more than 2 hours of light activity” means, but I agree that the intention seems to be that you just need to get enough sleep. I don’t think the text itself does a good job of conveying that.