D&D 5E Elven trance and long rests

[jasper]

So if an elf trances for 4 hours, and can do no more than 2 hours of light activity, but must have at least 8 hours of extended downtime.....than how does an elf actually long rest?

search the web for gnome....beep. Write long love letters to his toes.

 

[jasper]

And this thread is why I would get rid the trance ability and immune to sleep spell.

 

[Henry]

You would think they would be more specific with their attention to rules clarity, though. They need to break down the long rest and say what it includes.

The whole thrust of D&D5 is not explicitly spelling out every rule; the majority of its players don't even both with thinking about it that hard. If we're the type to frequent forums, tweets, and facebook posts for clarifications, (and trust me, I am too), chances are we're not among the other 80% who play and gloss over this kind of stuff.

 

[WhosDaDungeonMaster]

This might have already been covered, I don't have time to read the whole thread right now:

From Sage Advice Compendium (ver 2.2, the last update I have), Page 2:

Does the Trance trait allow an elf to finish a long rest in 4 hours?
If an elf meditates during a long rest (as described in the Trance trait), the elf finishes the rest after only 4 hours. A meditating elf otherwise follows all the rules for a long rest; only the duration is changed. [This answer has been altered as a result of a tweak to the rules for a long rest, which appears in newer printings of the Player’s Handbook.]

Every ruling is up to interpretation by the DM and group to decide on, but even with this alteration, we continue to stipulate Elves need 8 hours still to recover HP, features, spell slots, etc. as other races. But, that is just our group. Cheers.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Officially (per Mike Mearls), Trance does not reduce the length of a Long Rest. However, I've allowed Trance to do so in my game, and have found no ill effects for play. Really it's just a matter of preference, as it will only matter maybe once in an entire campaign.

It really depends on the DM. If you're the DM: do whatever you want. If you're not the DM, and feel strongly about it, talk to your DM about it.

The difference is huge. It lets the elves in the party act all the more uppity and superior. Honestly, do they really need that kind of encouragement? It’s hard enough to bear as it is.

 

[Charlaquin]

This might have already been covered, I don't have time to read the whole thread right now:

From Sage Advice Compendium (ver 2.2, the last update I have), Page 2:

Does the Trance trait allow an elf to finish a long rest in 4 hours?
If an elf meditates during a long rest (as described in the Trance trait), the elf finishes the rest after only 4 hours. A meditating elf otherwise follows all the rules for a long rest; only the duration is changed. [This answer has been altered as a result of a tweak to the rules for a long rest, which appears in newer printings of the Player’s Handbook.]

Every ruling is up to interpretation by the DM and group to decide on, but even with this alteration, we continue to stipulate Elves need 8 hours still to recover HP, features, spell slots, etc. as other races. But, that is just our group. Cheers.

This thread is a 4-year necro and the change in question had not been made yet at the time the original discussion was going on.

 

[Charlaquin]

The difference is huge. It lets the elves in the party act all the more uppity and superior. Honestly, do they really need that kind of encouragement? It’s hard enough to bear as it is.

The post you’re responding to was written in 2015.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

This thread is a 4-year necro and the change in question had not been made yet at the time the original discussion was going on.

Well, l guess I should look at the time stamp. I didn’t realize it had been necro’d. I do enjoy reading my own jokes though, so it was worth the 2 minutes I took to write it

 

[lall]

I heard that people were complaining about the 4 hour thing, so they changed it back to 8. We’ll just pretend elves aren’t superior.

 

[Charlaquin]

I heard that people were complaining about the 4 hour thing, so they changed it back to 8. We’ll just pretend elves aren’t superior.

Well you heard wrong, cause there hasn’t been any further errata to either of the relevant rules, any new Sage Advice on the subject, or any new tweets about it from either Crawford or Mearls.