D&D 5E Can you concentrate on a spell while resting?

[dco]

Except that "short rest", "long rest", and "concentration" are all game terms with their own unique D&D definition that has nothing to do with the common english language definition.

Concentration only has a few key things that stop it.

• Death
• Taking damage
• Being incapacitated, unconsciousness causes this
• Casting another concentration spell
• Failing a Con save under certain environmental phenomena

Resting is not listed as one of the things, so a short rest doesn't stop it plain and simple. If you go unconscious and therefore incapacitated during a long rest that would stop concentration as well.

Appart of the terms "short rest" and "long rest" there is a wall of text in that section of the book where the "rest" word is used.

 

[Paraxis]

Appart of the terms "short rest" and "long rest" there is a wall of text in that section of the book where the "rest" word is used.

The context of the word "rest" in that wall of text is in reference to short and long rests in the game.

But the point is only a few key things break concentration, and resting isn't one of them.

 

[dco]

The context of the word "rest" in that wall of text is in reference to short and long rests in the game.

But the point is only a few key things break concentration, and resting isn't one of them.

And uses the notations of the dictionary.
"They need rest - time to sleep and eat, tend their wounds, refresh their minds and spirits for spellcasting..."

Less things break spell casting, attacking people, etc, a player could also do all those things if we follow that reasoning, for example short rest doesn't say anything epecific about those activities, anyone can argue that for him attacking with his sword or casting spells requires less energy than eating and relaxing, the same is being done with concentration.

 

[Leatherhead]

And uses the notations of the dictionary.
"They need rest - time to sleep and eat, tend their wounds, refresh their minds and spirits for spellcasting..."

Less things break spell casting, attacking people, etc, a player could also do all those things if we follow that reasoning, for example short rest doesn't say anything epecific about those activities, anyone can argue that for him attacking with his sword or casting spells requires less energy than eating and relaxing, the same is being done with concentration.

Specific rules override general rules.
The resting rules are generalized, the concentration spells are specific.

 

[dwayne]

Ok after looking at short and long rest the short is only one hour and you do not sleep at all so in this case it would not end the duration then, but a long one would as you sleep and that its self would fall under incapacitated which would break the duration.

 

[Joe Liker]

I think it kind of explains its self, a rest long or short denotes relaxing and to regain lost hit points or what ever the benefits are from doing so. If you are concentrating on something then your not resting pretty simple really. So you would not gain any benefits till you relax and stop focusing on what ever it is. Just like people who dwell and worry an can not relax as there too focused or concentrating on some thing.

There is nothing in the concentration rules to imply that it requires any effort at all. Certainly not more effort than applying first aid.

There's simply no reason to rule that it would interfere with rest on those grounds.

 

[Chocolategravy]

A character cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period, and a character must have at least 1 hit point at the start of the rest to gain its benefits. The benefit happens at the end of the long rest, not at the start.

Any part of a rest within 24 hours of the last one ending gives no benefit. A long rest is 8 hours, not 1 second of massively intense rest preceded by 7:59:59 of something that has no benefit.

 

[Paraxis]

Any part of a rest within 24 hours of the last one ending gives no benefit. A long rest is 8 hours, not 1 second of massively intense rest preceded by 7:59:59 of something that has no benefit.

No the benefit happens at the end of the long rest. That is plain simple language I don't understand your confusion.
When the rest starts doesn't matter, only when the benefit happens.

 

[Uchawi]

Specific rules override general rules.
The resting rules are generalized, the concentration spells are specific.

That is interesting because how do you determine which rules are specific and which ones are general. Resting and concentration are two separate rules. What needs to be determined is how they overlap. So if concentration has condition set A and rest has condition set B, and neither references each other specifically, then you have to determine what is defined for either condition set. If the DM has to decide additional conditions that may apply then it would be a house rule.

 

[Leatherhead]

That is interesting because how do you determine which rules are specific and which ones are general. Resting and concentration are two separate rules. What needs to be determined is how they overlap. So if concentration has condition set A and rest has condition set B, and neither references each other specifically, then you have to determine what is defined for either condition set. If the DM has to decide additional conditions that may apply then it would be a house rule.

Resting is a general rule, because it is the default rule everyone uses (even classes that don't use spells). Concentration is the specific rule in this case, because we are using the concentration rules to modify the resting rules. As a rule of thumb, whichever rule is used by less people is the more specific one.