New Errata & Sage Advice Compendium (Sleep & Trance Are Fixed!)

Shouldn't that actually be the 7th printing? The last round of errata was for the 6th printing. Also, there's even errata for Out of the Abyss, Sword Coast's Adventurer's Guide, and Volo's Guide to Monsters! EDIT: I see that the D&D Conversions document has been updated to v1.01, but I can't actually see anything different at a glance.

Shouldn't that actually be the 7th printing? The last round of errata was for the 6th printing.

Also, there's even errata for Out of the Abyss, Sword Coast's Adventurer's Guide, and Volo's Guide to Monsters!

EDIT: I see that the D&D Conversions document has been updated to v1.01, but I can't actually see anything different at a glance.
 


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Yeah, the ruling is very just.. dumb really.
It makes sense thematically: succeeding by luck even where the odds are stacked against you.
In terms of power level, if its an issue at a table, then there have been some pretty good suggestions in this thread and earlier ones about watering it down to whatever level you consider appropriate..
 

CapnZapp

Legend
I would like a commentary to each change, explaining what changed, why it changed, what the previous wording could lead to, and generally how the change was necessary.
 

CapnZapp

Legend
I find the new wordings incredibly confusing:

New version (from this errata):

A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch.
So... you must sleep for six hours? Even if you're an elf that doesn't even know how to sleep? And why do I need to do it for six hours, when my Trance ability talks about four hours?!?!

And what's this with a maximum of 2 hours light activity? What if your long rest has to take 9 hours? Does this mean the human needs to go back and sleep one hour more? Does it mean the elf cannot make do with 4 hourse of trance - since out of the five extra hours, "no more than 2" of them can be spent on light activity, that presumably means three more hours of trancing?!

New explanation from the updated Sage Advice Compendium:

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.]
So my rest is done after 4 hours after all?!

Why not simply bring up trancing explicitly right there in the long rest definition:

"A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours or enters a trance for at least 4 hours, and performs no more than light activity otherwise, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch."
 

jaelis

Oh this is where the title goes?
That all seems clear enough to me. Elves are an exception explained in sage advice. As usual, they describe the general rule and let specific exceptions explain themselves.

If you spent 9 hours resting, only 8 hours matters for the benefits. You can spend an hour total at the beginning and/or end doing whatever you want.
 



Juomari Veren

Adventurer
So my rest is done after 4 hours after all?!

No. Your rest is done after 8 hours. Most creatures need to spend at least 6 hours sleeping, and have 2 hours to do something that they can do while seated. Elves only have to spend 4 hours "sleeping" in meditation, and can use 4 hours to do something simple while seated.
 

Caliban

Rules Monkey
No. Your rest is done after 8 hours. Most creatures need to spend at least 6 hours sleeping, and have 2 hours to do something that they can do while seated. Elves only have to spend 4 hours "sleeping" in meditation, and can use 4 hours to do something simple while seated.

That was the previous answer in Sage Advice, but the updated answer indicates that they've changed their mind, and now elves actually finish their long rest in 4 hours instead of 8.

At least, that is how I read the updated answer. Not really a big deal - you can still only get the benefits of a Long Rest once in any 24 hour period, regardless of how long it takes you to complete the Long Rest.
 


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