D&D 5E How to easily and simply balance all the short rest classes

[jmartkdr2]

Maybe keep the "per-short rest" number as a cap on uses in one encounter?

Honestly it sounds easier to just make short rests easier to do between encounters.

 

[MichaelSomething]

I'm against this. Short rest based classes are for preventing "sameness" in the classes!

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I think the fear is giving huge nova potential to existing short rest classes like warlocks spamming top-level spells or three Action Surges in a row.

Basically you just switch which classes are better at five minute work days.

Now, if 5MWD isn’t a problem than this solution is fine… but the problem it’s addressing probably doesn’t exist.

If you make it an action to recover short rest resources, that introduces an actual decision point rather than being able to burn through an entire day's worth of resources at the same speed as a full caster can.

 

[Tazawa]

Simple and elegant. I like it.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Still much rather everything become per encounter and long rests be for healing.

 

[ECMO3]

So what is Snarf's Simplified Solution to tables with Short Rest problems? Simple- any class ability premised on a short rest gets trasmogrified into a Long Rest ability, but with 3x the number of uses. So Monks get 3x the ki. Warlocks get 3x the spells. Fighters get 3x the second winds and action surge. And so on.

I think this would be abused. An 11th level fighter with a 3-level Ranger dip could do 20 attacks in 3 rounds of combat.

Short rest abilities are short rest limited for a reason.

TBH I've never seen it as a problem. Sure a majority of the time they have less uses than a long rest character, but on the other hand on long adventuring days they can top up pretty easily.

The 2 short rests and 6 combatsper day is supposed to be an average and as a mean excluding days with no combat I would say it is probably accurate. The median is lower than that - probably more like 2-3 combats and 0-1 short rests. But there is a floor of zero and really no upper bounds and on those long days short rest classes are much better.

 

[Umbran]

So what is Snarf's Simplified Solution to tables with Short Rest problems? Simple- any class ability premised on a short rest gets trasmogrified into a Long Rest ability, but with 3x the number of uses. So Monks get 3x the ki. Warlocks get 3x the spells. Fighters get 3x the second winds and action surge. And so on.

Say hello to the 5-minute workday everyone!

 

[FireLance]

I agree with the goal, but I prefer to approach from the opposite direction: give long rest classes one third of their daily resources at a time, and they get one third back every time they take a short rest.

See here for an example.

This also kinda solves the five minute work day problem, although it may become a five minute work shift problem.

 

[Horwath]

Short rest is an Action.
you can take this action a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier.
After you take this action you are Incapacitated until the end of your next round.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Players have to pay the DM $60 each time they take a Long Rest, but get a $20 discount for each Short Rest they take first.