D&D (2024) Limiting Short Rests to 2x/day

[Ruin Explorer]

I'm having a hard time trying to wrap my head around the narrative of limiting Short Rests to twice per day in the TTRPG. Baldur's Gate 3 limits Short Rests to twice per day, and I've seen multiple people make that same suggestion.

I feel like it works in BG3 because I can suspend disbelief due to the video game format, but for some reason I'm having a problem with that limit in the narrative TTRPG game. But I've also been thinking that the D&D Team has been collaborating heavily with Larian for BG3 rules and they are behind a LOT of the rules changes that we're seeing in BG3, and have been wondering how much of that is writing on the wall or is otherwise predictive.

Should a Short Rest still be 1 hour to cover time spent on food, water, and recuperation (spending HD for HP)? Is it weird to get all the benefits of a Short Rest (like spending lots of HD) in only 5-15 minutes? Also, if you don't need to spend HD during a short rest, should there be other ways to spend them?

What is more important for Pact Magic-loving Warlock Fans? Shorter rests, or more of them? Or both, and the slots and power level have to be reconsidered for balance?

What do you guys think?

I don't really understand why limiting HD makes sense to you but limiting Short Rests doesn't. It's fundamentally exactly the same principal. As is limiting Long Rests to 1 per 24 hours, essentially. All of it is a bit arbitrary but the idea that one is okay and the other isn't, doesn't really hold up to any kind of analysis.

I voted for 2x short rest for 5-15 minutes, which I see is the most popular single option. I'd actually 3x short rest probably works better for 5E run RAW, but run the way it's typically run, 2x is fine.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I saw the playtest 7 video where the Wizard's Guy was talking about all classes getting some sort of SR power. I think it was in with the barbarian section of the video. Not sure if this means that 5e 2024 will change things, but I do not think they will.

I don't think they'll actually lift a single finger to make Long Rest classes any more favourable to Short Rests than they are now. Which is "not very". They keep saying things in the videos which would suggest they want to make certain changes, and then the next packet comes out and absolutely nothing that they said they wanted to do is done, and then the next packet is the same and it's like... what?

 

[MichaelSomething]

I thought people wanted conflict between different recovery methods? Unless people want a return to saminess?

 

[mamba]

I thought people wanted conflict between different recovery methods? Unless people want a return to saminess?

Having SR and LR recovery is just an inconvenience, not something that provides an interesting alternative. Throw SR out, done

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I thought people wanted conflict between different recovery methods? Unless people want a return to saminess?

Who wanted that conflict?

I've never seen that argued seriously, let alone been common enough that "people" thought. On the exact contrary, since 2014 this conflict has been an issue, much discussed and very few people are happy about it.

Having SR and LR recovery is just an inconvenience, not something that provides an interesting alternative. Throw SR out, done

I would say throw LR out but either way, it's not a good "conflict" that helps the game in any way. It's purely annoying.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I can't imagine intra-party conflict over resting 1 hr vs 8hrs being desirable to anyone.

Fear of "saminess" (class balance) would seem to be the crux of the comment. If a Fighter and a Wizard were to take a short rest, and the Fighter got back Covering Attack and Sweeping Blow, while the Wizard recovered Ray of Enfeeblement and Color Spray, they'd be exactly the same.

 

[NaturalZero]

Not at all. When I said it was not credible & asked to have it explained the scenario was changed instead of explaining it.

Nothing was changed or really needed an explanation. The long rest classes don't want to wait and hour for the short rest classes, and so they don't necessarily get a short rest. It's a straightforward situation that happens at most tables I've ever played at and happened to me this past week when i was the only one damaged and need to roll HD.

Your hypothetical was that IF you're playing high level and have arcanum, IF you're party is usually willing to wait an hour for your slots to regen, and IF you have those slots available for invocations, and IF you're lucky enough to have just the right version of a social contract, the warlock is great. In reality, the stars often don't line up for the short rest classes and that's probably why you see 5-15 minutes winning by a landslide in the poll. This is exactly why they added the fast recovery in the playtest; afer 10 years, players recognized that it's a problem with the system.

The only "ironic" part of this exchange is you not noticing that your game of three card monte has changed the scenario from an assumed possibility of "your party doesn't want to short rest because they're too long" into the entirely different scenario of "a party full of long rest players overrule the fighter or the warlock"...

The party doesn't want to short rest best because they're too long, and so they overrule the fighter or warlock.

No situations where changed, no goalposts moved. I was literally explaining both the "what" and the "why" and thought it was dead obvious that these things were a cause and effect.

 

[NaturalZero]

I can't imagine intra-party conflict over resting 1 hr vs 8hrs being desirable to anyone.

Fear of "saminess" (class balance) would seem to be the crux of the comment. If a Fighter and a Wizard were to take a short rest, and the Fighter got back Covering Attack and Sweeping Blow, while the Wizard recovered Ray of Enfeeblement and Color Spray, they'd be exactly the same.

I was there during 4e when people would argue with a straight face that the fighter being able to swing at 3 enemies and the wizard nuking with a fireball from range was the exact same thing because both were called "powers".

 

[Tony Vargas]

I was there during 4e when people would argue with a straight face that the fighter being able to swing at 3 enemies and the wizard nuking with a fireball from range was the exact same thing because both were called "powers".

"Exploits" and "Spells," respectively, but yes, that's what I assume was being alluded to.

The long rest classes don't want to wait and hour for the short rest classes, and so they don't necessarily get a short rest. It's a straightforward situation that happens at most tables I've ever played at and happened to me this past week when i was the only one damaged and need to roll HD.

I mean, the most straightforward scenario that happens at most tables (according to surveys) is that the party has a combat encounter, followed by a long rest.

(Did you try "well, if you don't want to stop and rest, would you cast a healing spell on me?")

 

[FallenRX]

A much simpler solution is just keeping short rest's the same but making a immediate rally mechanic, that short rests in 10 minutes.