D&D 5E Correcting ripple effects of slow resting variant

[Blue]

So, due to the pacing I am looking for in a specific exploration campaign I am working on, I was planning on using the DMG variant for slower rests. That is that short rests take 8 hours and a long rest takes 7 days. (Though I will actually give the players some breaks on that occasionally - reduce time if resting in comfort and safety, like Elrond's Last Homely House type of sanctuary, and some other tricks up my sleeve.)

However, there are a number of other assumptions that get pushed out. Spells like goodberries where you can dump remaining slots before a long rest recharges you won't have that. A week of Mage Armor is a lot more slots than a day of Mage Armor. That sort of thing.

So, besides characters recovering features and spell, what changes will this have and does it need to be corrected? I'd love your thoughts and suggestions.

I mentioned spells, I was thinking durations of 8 hours become 3 days, and durations of 24 hours become 7 days. (I was originally thinking "until the spell slot gets regained, but that interacts oddly with warlock vs. others".) That still interacts weirdly with long lasting Concentration spells like Hex and Hunter's Mark cast at high levels - I was thinking that if they are still up at the beginning of the rest you could drop them and regain the slot. But that's now adding exceptions on top of exceptions, I welcome your thoughts.

Again, I am very much interesting in hearing what I haven't thought about. Don't focus on just the spell duration thing.

Thanks!

 

[commandercrud]

I use the slower rest variant, but do not change any spell durations. Works perfectly.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Don't change anything else. It makes the game more interesting, intense, and (IMO) re-tilts the balance more in favor of martial characters.

 

[TwoSix]

Some magic items recharge at dawn (or another fixed time) rather than per rest, the variant is a boost to their power. That's under the DM's control, so not really that problematic, but something to be aware of.

Catnap (from Xanathar's Guide) becomes a much stronger spell if it stays the same.

I feel like Exhaustion is probably too penalizing if a long rest takes a week. I would probably have 1 long rest remove all exhaustion. Or possibly have a short rest remove 1 level of exhaustion, but that may have unwanted side effects (thinking of Berzerker Barbarian here).

 

[commandercrud]

I've leave Exhaustion alone too. With the slow variant option, it finally matters.

 

[Fenris-77]

I think it works fine as is. Catnap could use the buff too. I don't have an issue with exhaustion being removed by a short rest in this variant.

 

[Oofta]

I multiply spell durations that are 30 minutes or more by 5. Pretty arbitrary but easier.

It seems to work fairly well. I'm not overly concerned about balance from a spell duration perspective other than I don't want to have 6 encounters in a day for pacing reasons nor do I want to have 2 encounters between long rests.

 

[keynup]

You can also make a difference between a short rest sleeping on the ground while wondering if you'll get attacked versus sleeping in a bed in a locked room.

Exhaustion could be either 1 long rest or a short in a bed.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

As previous posters have mentioned, there are some features that are limited by days rather than long rests. You may wish to adjust these to fit with your new pacing.
How long will your party generally be going before having a Long rest?

 

[Oofta]

Another aspect of the alternate rules that I like is that I have a lot of control over pacing, and people are much more hesitant to take even a short rest. That, and it's easier to justify the "you can't take a long rest now".

The only issue is that I've hit is that every once in a while I want to give the group a break. The dice went bad, the group's tactics were sub-par, I underestimated difficulty or what have you. So I want to give them a long rest but depending on the background story that can be difficult. I end up using "magic rest time" which can be less than satisfactory.

Along with pacing, I don't set up large "dungeon" type settings. Not a big deal for me because I've always thought dungeons were a bit silly. On the other hand it does make battle royale scenarios more difficult, but then again maybe they should be.

In any case I find that it works a lot better for me. People are much more conservative with resources and the game is better paced for my taste.