D&D 5E Concentration while Short Resting

[Ganymede81]

The game may not specifically say "You can rest while concentrating."

It does, however, give a specific list of what breaks concentration, and a short rest is not on there. (Technically neither is a long rest, as someone pointed out above, unless you're also sleeping.)

This has been pointed out numerous times...


The question isn't whether a short rest breaks your concentration.


The question is whether concentrating on a spell prevents you from benefitting from a short rest.

 

[cbwjm]

If concentrating on a spell means you can't benefit from a short rest then you're not actually having a short rest, you're just sitting around for an hour.

 

[Mouseferatu]

The question is whether concentrating on a spell prevents you from benefitting from a short rest.

Given how major a factor concentration is, plus the fact that so many concentration spells have long durations, I find it borderline unfathomable that the game wouldn't say, specifically, that concentration prevented you from resting, were that the case.

Especially since the game does go out of its way to give examples of what sorts of things do prevent you from benefiting from a rest.

 

[Ganymede81]

Given how major a factor concentration is, plus the fact that so many concentration spells have long durations, I find it borderline unfathomable that the game wouldn't say, specifically, that concentration prevented you from resting, were that the case.

Especially since the game does go out of its way to give examples of what sorts of things do prevent you from benefiting from a rest.

Yeah, people appear to have passionate opinions on what ruling they'd make in this situation.

None of that helps the OP, who asked a rules question.

 

[cbwjm]

Yeah, people appear to have passionate opinions on what ruling they'd make in this situation.

None of that helps the OP, who asked a rules question.

Yes it does help OP. He asked if it's possible and people pointed out what breaks concentration. A short rest wasn't part of that list so you can concentrate on a spell during a short rest.

 

[Arial Black]

This has been pointed out numerous times...


The question isn't whether a short rest breaks your concentration.


The question is whether concentrating on a spell prevents you from benefitting from a short rest.

Correct: this is the question.

When looking at the rules we would love to find a statement saying that concentration does/does not prevent benefiting from a short rest. There is no such direct statement.

However, we know that there is an expectation of 2-3 short rests per adventuring day, which is a day chock-full of activity! We also know that there are spells intended to be used on such days which are concentration up to 8 or 24 hours.

Such spells simply would not exist if concentration prevented benefiting from a short rest.

There is nothing to indicate that concentration is strenuous. Furthermore, if concentrating on a spell did prevent you benefiting from a short rest, it is inconceivable that the rules fail to mention it!

 

[Warmaster Horus]

Can other players break your concentration?

Like, say, the barbarian and the rogue are unwinding by playing 'pass the pig's bladder' and knock the concentrating character on the head.

Or the bard is learning the violin. Slowly. Or it's raining cats and dogs.

Or maybe a gaggle of cute orphans rushes over and tugs on the poor caster's robes, demanding he do that cool magic trick again.

etc...

From the PHB:



I could see a DM asking of a caster to make a flat DC 10 Con check during the short rest, to represent something distracting them. When the check would be made, I don't know. Probably at the start, then roll a D6 to see determine how far into the rest 'something' happened to disrupt the concentration, assuming the check failed of course.

Let me get this right. My wizard is in battle with an ancient red dragon and it's legion of rampaging cohorts. Fire and death is raining all around. During this time the wizard never has to make a Concentration check unless they take damage or an extraordinary environmental effect (PHB mentions a storm-tossed ship) makes them do so. However smoking a pipe while listening to the bard murder a tune on their new zither for an hour would?

 

[aco175]

Is there some great power/spell that makes this long concentration desirable. It seems like there are spells with a 24 hour concentration making it useful up to you want to cast another spell with concentration or take damage and need to make a check.

It seems like concentration is akin to when I need to tap my phone to keep it from going black while downloading something and the partial fade before going black reminds me to tap it again.

 

[Ganymede81]

However, we know that there is an expectation of 2-3 short rests per adventuring day, which is a day chock-full of activity! We also know that there are spells intended to be used on such days which are concentration up to 8 or 24 hours.

Such spells simply would not exist if concentration prevented benefiting from a short rest.

I pointed this in another thread, but not every adventuring day has two shorts rests. Some have more, and some have less. Some have no short rests. Occasionally, an adventuring day might not even have a long rest. When I ran Out of the Abyss, drow pursuers prevented the players from making camp on several occasions. In another adventure, the players needed to rush overland to Drellin's Ferry before it was destroyed; they voluntarily skipped short rests in order to make it on time. In the latter example, the Ranger in the party literally did have Hunter's Mark up all day long.

People keep bringing up the 2 short rest expectation and then bandying around strong words like "unfathomable" and "inconceivable," but such strong words certainly don't line up with my experience.

But I digress... let's not confuse the OP and derail the thread with talk of how we rule this in our games.

Yes it does help OP. He asked if it's possible and people pointed out what breaks concentration. A short rest wasn't part of that list so you can concentrate on a spell during a short rest.

I'll point it out one more time.

The question isn't whether a short rest breaks your concentration.

The question is whether concentrating on a spell prevents you from benefitting from a short rest.

 

[Yunru]

This has been pointed out numerous times...


The question isn't whether a short rest breaks your concentration.


The question is whether concentrating on a spell prevents you from benefitting from a short rest.

If you couldn't take a short rest while concentrating, it would list taking a short rest as one of the things that would break concentration.
It doesn't, so you can.