D&D 5E Do you have to declare a rest before the rest?

[aco175]

I would tend to give short rests to all those situations. The rogue and wizard are trying to figure out the trap and the warlock is sitting around 'doing nothing'. My group tends to agree that party members are acting part of the party and not as loners, so the warlock might be doing something. Small things like making tea or looking around, maybe binding wounds of others or building a fire, things that help the party instead of just taking a nap. I would even go and say that the rogue and wizard get a short rest since they are not doing more than figuring out a puzzle or trap/lock. Part of this time is sitting there thinking which can be spent binding wounds or drinking the tea someone else prepared. It is no more stressful than walking to poke and prod a puzzle or lock.

The situation where everyone is waiting on an ambush might have me ask for a Con check to see if they stay on high alert. I laid on plenty of ambushes and know that not everyone can stay on high alert for longer than a little while, especially if the ranger is going to alert them and give them a bit of time. While you may not light a fire and cook a meal, you do bind wounds and could eat dry rations. Also, how many encounters like the one in LMoP do the PCs walk up to a cave or entrance to a module and the 'guards' get disadvantage to Perception since they are not on high alert. I'm running Forge of Fury and the same thing with the initial encounter with orcs on guard at the main entrance.

 

[iserith]

have you never had the PCs clear the monsters in the rooms?

I tend to keep wandering monsters as a pool of threats separate from any that are keyed to specific areas. One never truly clears out a dungeon in my games. They are places of supernatural evil, festering underworlds that belch forth monsters indefinitely.

 

[FrozenNorth]

In my games, because time matters and there's probably some level of stress even in just standing around waiting in the dungeon - wandering monsters could be just around the corner - the answer is No. On the traveling example, maybe, as an exception to the rule because of the investment in the wagon, but it would come at the cost of being automatically surprised if a stealthy monster comes calling. Otherwise, a short rest is a thing you prepare for in some sense, when there's danger afoot.

This is the way I play it as well. You can’t take a short rest after the fact (with one exception: while long resting, if the long rest is interrupted, you get the benefit of a short rest).

Narratively, during a short rest you are resting: i.e. if you are using HD you are bandaging wounds, Arcane recovery you are reviewing your spellbook, CD praying to your god, warlock, doing warlock-y things which may vary depending on your patron.

Waiting in ambush is not a short rest. Resting in a wagon, you can choose to take a short rest, but that is your activity and you will be surprised if you are attacked (and you would not be able to short rest retroactively). Riddle depends. Yes, you can patch wounds while trying to solve a riddle, but if you solve the riddle early, you still need to take the full hour. As with the wagon, characters can’t take a rest retroactively.

 

[Blue]

The "short rest" is obviously an arbitrary game concept - if you spend 59 minutes eating, drinking, bandaging, wounds, etc. you get no benefit, but one more minute and suddenly your wounds go away and your powers recharge. I don't think there is a benefit to being super rigid about enforcing it as a game concept - "You didn't SAY you were resting, so no HD for you!"

I have to say an aside from a few years back. Playing in an adventure specifically to help a friend get better at DMing. We got pretty messed up in previous fights and were holed up in a barn taking a short rest, with one character (the only one who didn't need it) outside on watch.

At 59 minutes and 30 seconds into the short rest we got attacked by goblins. Who saw the scout.

The question was did we abandon the scout to die, holing up for those six rounds, or did we abandon our rest and go help.

So my zero ki and 7 HPs remaining monk went out to try to lead the attackers away with the guy on watch while everyone else finished up.

It was tension and time pressure, but it felt so artificial and gamist it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

 

[iserith]

I have to say an aside from a few years back. Playing in an adventure specifically to help a friend get better at DMing. We got pretty messed up in previous fights and were holed up in a barn taking a short rest, with one character (the only one who didn't need it) outside on watch.

At 59 minutes and 30 seconds into the short rest we got attacked by goblins. Who saw the scout.

The question was did we abandon the scout to die, holing up for those six rounds, or did we abandon our rest and go help.

So my zero ki and 7 HPs remaining monk went out to try to lead the attackers away with the guy on watch while everyone else finished up.

It was tension and time pressure, but it felt so artificial and gamist it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

What would you say made it seem "artificial?" How it was presented perhaps? How did the DM determine the encounter took place 30 seconds before the rest period ended?

Looking at what you wrote, what I imagine is someone leading enemies away from wounded comrades so they could recover enough to join the fight which seems like a thing that could happen in a fantasy setting. From a gameplay standpoint, it also seems like there were some tough decisions and tension too, of which I'm a fan as both a player and DM.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I have to say an aside from a few years back. Playing in an adventure specifically to help a friend get better at DMing. We got pretty messed up in previous fights and were holed up in a barn taking a short rest, with one character (the only one who didn't need it) outside on watch.

At 59 minutes and 30 seconds into the short rest we got attacked by goblins. Who saw the scout.

The question was did we abandon the scout to die, holing up for those six rounds, or did we abandon our rest and go help.

So my zero ki and 7 HPs remaining monk went out to try to lead the attackers away with the guy on watch while everyone else finished up.

It was tension and time pressure, but it felt so artificial and gamist it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

that seems.... not like a good dm move

 

[Plaguescarred]

To me a rest is a time you take to specifically do so, not a default recharge mecanism that automatically happen after period of inactivity. You take mesure for it, put yourself in the right mindset to relax body and mind etc... Not because you lay down still that you necessarily rest ask anyone who suffer from stress or insomnia. Resting is more than just inactivity.

As per the Devs you do not get the benefit of a short rest after 1 hour into a long rest for exemple.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

To me a short rest is a time you take to specifically do so, not a default recharge mecanism that automatically happen after 1 hour of inactivity. You take mesure for it, put yourself in the right mindset to relax body and mind etc...

As per the Devs you do not get the benefit of a short rest after 1 hour into a long rest for exemple

side note how is that abuse... he is second winding to get back hp... but he gets back all his HP anyway... seems more like a waste of time TBH

 

[Baron Opal II]

So I just had a player ask something I had not considered.

if (by defualt) your rests are 1hr and 8hrs does your player have to 'intend' to rest at the beginning of the rest?

I was given 2 examples and came up with a 3rd.

1) you mid dungeon, and you come across a puzzle. You are a warlock that is not to bright and not helpful. You sit there while the wizard and the rogue play with the puzzle. it ends up taking 2 1/2 hours. Can that warlock then say "Hey, I just sat out 2 1/2 hours I'm taking a short rest"

2) (more common) you are laying an ambush. You expect the carriage to come over that hill any minute, and the ranger will signla you... an hour and a half later that signal comes can they spend HD since they just sat for over an hour?

3) (this one I came up with) you are traveling. someone is on the wagon and not really useful... but some others are on look out, driving, what ever... can the one not doing anything claim a short rest after an hour?

normally players declare what they are going to do to get a short rest, and what precisions they will take... but if time just passes, it's still restful right?

the player brought this up because at his job the computers went down today. They expected they would be up in a few minutes, but it turned into hours. They pretty much got hours of break unexpectedly.

Interesting question.

I consider resting to leave one vulnerable to surprise, as you are meditating, bandaging, eating, fixing armor, what have you. But, after a while, you can get a feel that you're in a safe-ish place to recuperate a bit. So,

1) That long? Sure. After about 30-40 minutes people guess they won't get jumped and start relaxing unless the have reason to believe otherwise. I would then extend that courtesy to the rest of the party except those solving the puzzle.

2) No, I would assume the PCs would maintain a state of readiness so as to not lose their chance. Previously the party is willing to let the world pass them by. Here they are looking to interact with the world at an uncertain time in the future.

3) No, it's not comfortable being jostled in the back of the wagon sitting next to the loot and supplies.

 

[Plaguescarred]

side note how is that abuse... he is second winding to get back hp... but he gets back all his HP anyway... seems more like a waste of time TBH

Its not necessarily abuse and a DM can certainly decide to grant the benefit of rest during inactivity anytime it want. But can also rule against it.