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

[Lalato]

It's exactly this problem that would lead me to bar concentration during rest.

If you want to regain spell slots, stop concentrating/maintaining a spell.

This is a valid point. I retract my previous statement. No concentration during any rest. You can concentrate, but you don't get the benefits of the rest.

 

[ingeloak]

Lack of sleep isn't explicitly covered in the exhaustion rules. In fact, at the end of a long rest, your exhaustion is reduced by one level whether you sleep or not, as long as you eat something.

Now, a reasonable house rule might be that 24 hours without sleep adds two levels of exhaustion, one of which might be mitigated by a sleepless long rest. Your "sleeping in armor" rule has no teeth unless you bump it up to two levels (minus one for the long rest), in which case you'd have to inflict three levels for no sleep at all. But that seems excessive to me.

actually it does have teeth when the levels do not get better, and are accumulative, until you sleep without your armor. they then recover as per normal rules. im not trying to punish my players, but they dont get to sleep in their armor just because the rules dont cover it. and i certainly would impose exhaustion if a player decides his character isnt going to sleep during the long rest. have you tried going without sleep? its really miserable even for 1 day.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

I think that the long rest rules are worded that way because you don't have to spend the entire long rest sleeping to get the benefits, and that there are times where you can take a long rest without sleeping and still get the benefits. And no, it doesn't explicitly say that you eventually have to sleep. If they said you had to get 'x' hours of sleep per long rest, per day, or every 'y' days, it would 1) unnecessarily complicate the rules, 2) set a specific rule when even in the real world these specifics are variable, and 3) add little to the game. Most of the time a long rest can be glossed over since nothing happens.

But in a question about whether elves need only a 4 hour long rest instead of 8, Mike Mearls responded: "nope, they still need 8 hours of rest, but spend only 4 of it zonked out" implying that non-elves are zonked out for at least that and really longer based on the trance rule.

I certainly would rule that after the first day of no sleep that there's a chance, if not a guarantee of suffering exhaustion. And it would not be restored at the end of the long rest that caused it. Because the cause would be not resting during the long rest. In order to determine that, the penalty would be applied after the rest (and restoration from it) was completed. I hadn't gotten into the sleeping in armor thing yet, but the idea that you can't regain from exhaustion sounds like a good rule too.

As for concentration, I have no problem allowing a caster to maintain concentration during a short rest. While sleeping (or an elf in reverie), no. And I don't see a problem with that, you decide whether you risk exhaustion to maintain a spell or rest. Hex lasts up to 24 hours, so starting the long rest a little later isn't a big deal. But it all should play to the story.

Randy

 

[Uchawi]

This is a valid point. I retract my previous statement. No concentration during any rest. You can concentrate, but you don't get the benefits of the rest.

I agree. The short rest states the activities that may be performed, i.e. eating, drinking, reading and tending to wounds. Any other activity would need to be interpreted by the DM and would be considered a house rule, just like the DM can add more situations to break concentration like being on a ship in the middle of the storm. Therefore, you can continue to concentrate, but would not benefit from a short rest. Unless you add a house rule.

 

[Chocolategravy]

I think that the long rest rules are worded that way because you don't have to spend the entire long rest sleeping to get the benefits, and that there are times where you can take a long rest without sleeping and still get the benefits. And no, it doesn't explicitly say that you eventually have to sleep. If they said you had to get 'x' hours of sleep per long rest, per day, or every 'y' days, it would 1) unnecessarily complicate the rules, 2) set a specific rule when even in the real world these specifics are variable, and 3) add little to the game. Most of the time a long rest can be glossed over since nothing happens.

Most sleep isn't a long rest either. You can't even begin your long rest until at least 24 hours after the last one ended, so either most of your sleep time isn't going to be a long rest, or your days are going to be over 32 hours long. Guess the planet D&D is set on rotates slower.

 

[Paraxis]

Most sleep isn't a long rest either. You can't even begin your long rest until at least 24 hours after the last one ended, so either most of your sleep time isn't going to be a long rest, or your days are going to be over 32 hours long. Guess the planet D&D is set on rotates slower.

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.

So character wakes up at 6 am, he regains all his hit points and half his hit dice. Later that night at 10 pm he starts a new long rest and is not interrupted, he awakes at 6am the following morning, 24 hours later and again gets all the benefits of a long rest.

I would start my rest 9 hours before I am suppose to wake so just in case there is a 59 minute period of activity in the middle of the night. don''t forget it is not just sleep but light activity and it can be longer than 8 hours. So if you only sleep for 6 hours and wake up at 5 am you just have to sip some coffee and read your paper for awhile to finish your long rest.

 

[dwayne]

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.

 

[aramis erak]

If you hold a concentration spell through a rest, and your class recovers spell slots after that rest, do you recover that slot after the rest?

I.e. You have 5 spell slots. You burn one on Concentration Spell A, leaving you with 4. Still concentrating on Spell A, you take a rest. Do you have 4 or 5 spell slots free after the rest?

I'd go with 4.

 

[dwayne]

The basic definition of rest tells you that is breaks concentration

1. the refreshing quiet or repose of sleep:a good night's rest.
2. refreshing ease or inactivity after exertion or labor:to allow an hour for rest.
3.relief or freedom, especially from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs.
4.a period or interval of inactivity, repose, solitude, or tranquillity:to go away for a rest.
5.mental or spiritual calm; tranquillity.
6.the repose of death:eternal rest.
7.cessation or absence of motion:to bring a machine to rest.

verb (used without object)
15.to refresh oneself, as by sleeping, lying down, or relaxing.
16.to relieve weariness by cessation of exertion or labor.
17.to be at ease; have tranquillity or peace.
18.to repose in death.
19.to be quiet or still.
20.to cease from motion, come to rest; stop.
21.to become or remain inactive.

verb (used with object)
32.to give rest to; refresh with rest:to rest oneself.
33.to lay or place for rest, ease, or support:to rest one's back against a tree.
34.to direct (as the eyes):to rest one's eyes on someone.
35.to base, or let depend, as on some ground of reliance.
36.to bring to rest; halt; stop.
37.Law. to terminate voluntarily the introduction of evidence on:to rest one's case.

Anyone who tries to us it during a rest is in the wrong because that is not the intention, they are trying to get an advantage of not ending the spell and having to wait the spell or to gain more after using said spell. Plane and simple if you rest you relax your mind and let your worries go releasing any and all concentration on any spell of effect. Even elves because its a state of relaxation and you are focusing on something else not the spell.

 

[Paraxis]

The basic definition of rest tells you that is breaks concentration

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.