Pretty sure the Trance ability (4 hour long rest) is the norm for ALL elves that trance. can't remember where I saw that it's official, but pretty sure it is.
In this UA it's even MORE different - Autognomes have a 6 hour long rest (sentry's rest).
Edit: Found at least one
Source. It's on page 2.
Wow, that change is awful.
It should be a ribbon and not a potentially game changing ability. While not common, there are going to be times when the party can rest for 4 hours and not 8. Or they have their long rest interrupted half way through. Now the Elf character has gotten a long rest but the rest of the party hasn't. That's just not fun. I don't see how this improves the game in any way.
They changed it in 2017. Here is the pre-2017 Sage Advice:
Does the Trance trait allow an elf to finish a long rest in 4 hours? The intent is no. The Trance trait does let an elf meditate for 4 hours and then feel the way a human does after sleeping for 8 hours, but that isn’t intended to shorten an elf’s long rest. A long rest is a period of relaxation that is at least 8 hours long. It can contain sleep, reading, talking, eating, and other restful activity. Standing watch is even possible during it, but for no more than 2 hours; maintaining heightened vigilance any longer than that isn’t restful. In short, a long rest and sleep aren’t the same thing; you can sleep when you’re not taking a long rest, and you can take a long rest and not sleep.
Here’s what this all means for an elf. An elf can spend 4 hours in a trance during a long rest and then has 4 additional hours of light activity. While an elf’s companions are snoozing, the elf can be awake and engaged in a variety of activities, including carving a lovely trinket, composing a sonnet, reading a tome of ancient lore, attempting to remember something experienced centuries before, and keeping an eye out for danger. The Trance trait is, ultimately, meant to highlight the otherworldly character of elves, not to give them an edge in the game.
That all said, if you’re the DM and you decide to let Trance shorten an elf’s long rest, you’re not going to break the game. You are making a world-building choice if you do so. You’re deciding that elves, on a global scale, are ready to reenter a ght before anyone else, that they heal faster than most humanoids, and that they regain their magical energy faster. Such a choice would make sense in a world where elves are the dominant race, where they not only live longer than others, but also recover faster.
dnd.wizards.com
