D&D 5E What interupts a long rest?

[clearstream]

The resting rules in the PHB don't say to extend the rest in so many words, but it's at least as reasonable to read the requirements (at least 8 hours total, at least 6 hours sleeping, any activity "light") to mean that time lost to other activity must be added, as it is to interpret the wording that any fighting at all will interrupt a long rest to the point it must be restarted.

I agree that you could reasonably play that way, joining others in not following the RAW.

 

[prabe]

I agree that you could reasonably play that way, joining others in not following the RAW.

I think it's a reasonable reading of the words on the page. Personally, I don't keep that sort of track as DM (unless, of course, I need to) but as a player it wouldn't bring me up short the way ruling that any fighting at all meant the long rest needed to be restarted would.

 

[clearstream]

No. Nowhere do the rules state that.

An interruption that lasts an hour or more means that you must restart. An interruption that lasts less than an hour is still an interruption, but allows you to pick up resting afterwards, from the point where you left off.

To count as interrupting, the adventuring activity must be an hour or more. That defines what an "interruption" is for the purposes of the game mechanic. Adventuring activity of less than an hour is not an interruption. Look again at the sentence and ask yourself, how is an interruption defined by this sentence?

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.

It is defined as "at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity". It is not an "interruption" per RAW, unless is is exactly that. Less than an hour of those things is not a period that interrupts. This is really a straightforward parsing of the text.

 

[clearstream]

I think it's a reasonable reading of the words on the page. Personally, I don't keep that sort of track as DM (unless, of course, I need to) but as a player it wouldn't bring me up short the way ruling that any fighting at all meant the long rest needed to be restarted would.

It's a way to add some words to the page, to reach the reading one prefers, I grant you!

 

[prabe]

It's a way to add some words to the page, to reach the reading one prefers, I grant you!

No need to add words, just look at the words there are, in a certain way.

 

[clearstream]

No need to add words, just look at the words there are, in a certain way.

That old chestnut

 

[MarkB]

To count as interrupting, the adventuring activity must be an hour or more. That defines what an "interruption" is for the purposes of the game mechanic. Adventuring activity of less than an hour is not an interruption. Look again at the sentence and ask yourself, how is an interruption defined by this sentence?

It is defined as "at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity". It is not an "interruption" per RAW, unless is is exactly that. Less than an hour of those things is not a period that interrupts. This is really a straightforward parsing of the text.

The sentence doesn't define what is or isn't an interruption. It only defines what is enough of an interruption to require you to start over from scratch.

The rules say that a long rest consists of a period of eight hours during which you do nothing other than sleeping or light activity. It would therefore be reasonable to conclude that any time spent doing other things (let's just say taking a half-hour walk, to avoid the original controversy of the topic) does not count towards those eight hours.

Whether you define that half-hour stroll as an interruption, or a diversion, or any other word you want to use for it, it wasn't a period during which you were either sleeping or performing light activities such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. Therefore it doesn't count towards your long rest, and you'll need to spend another half-hour doing something that actually does count towards your long rest.

 

[clearstream]

The sentence doesn't define what is or isn't an interruption. It only defines what is enough of an interruption to require you to start over from scratch.

You were making an argument for extending: at no point does the RAW say that anything that fails to interrupt a rest (meaning it starts over from scratch) extends the rest.

That is your addition, which you are free to make. It is not what the words on the page say.

 

[MarkB]

You were making an argument for extending: at no point does the RAW say that anything that fails to interrupt a rest (meaning it starts over from scratch) extends the rest.

That is your addition, which you are free to make. It is not what the words on the page say.

The words on the page say that a long rest consists of 6 hours of sleep and 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. You are the one saying that some of that period can be taken up with doing things other than those activities. That is not what the words on the page say.

 

[clearstream]

The rules say that a long rest consists of a period of eight hours during which you do nothing other than sleeping or light activity. It would therefore be reasonable to conclude that any time spent doing other things (let's just say taking a half-hour walk, to avoid the original controversy of the topic) does not count towards those eight hours.

I think I see where you run into problems. The RAW does not say how much you must sleep or perform light activity. Rather it requires sleep (without saying what amount) and light activity (no more than 2 hours) over an 8 hour span. It also allows for less than an hour of fighting etc to be non-interrupting.

Therefore, over 8 hours, you cannot spend more than 2 hours in light activity. You must get some sleep. And you may fight etc for up to anything less than a full hour. If one wants to be exacting, the sleep could in fact be just over 5 hours. Using the rest of the time for light activity (no more than 2 hours) and adventuring (less than 1 hour).