Sleep Deprivation

[DreadArchon]

Just there arn't any mechanics for how much or concequences.

That's what's glaringly odd. Why the hell are there classes that prevent fatigue from lack of rest when lack of rest doesn't cause fatigue? Sure, you can house rule the specifics, and classes that deserve the "less sleep" ability would miss out if you didn't give it to them first, but by that logic they might as well make classes which resist called shots, just in case someone decides to put them in.

It's just weird.

The DM could get as creative as he wants in setting these up. Factoring in age, statistics for the second wind....

How about: "You are Fatigued if you have not slept at least (8 - Con mod) of the past 24 hours. You are Exhausted if you have not slept at least (16 - (2 * Con mod)) of the past 48 hours." Age is accounted for automatically (Con penalties apply as you age). Creatures resisting Fatigue, e.g. Horizon Walkers, can go longer.

 

[mvincent]

From the WotC custserv database:
"The rules are silent on not sleeping at all, but based on the penalties you receive from a night of uncomfortable rest (page 122 of the 3.5 Player's Handbook, under Sleeping with Armor Worn) a Dungeon Master could assume that not sleeping at all could have some pretty hefty penalties. One house rule could be that the person becomes exhausted after not sleeping an entire night. But of course, since there are no rules covering this situation, it is ultimately up to the Dungeon Master of your campaign to determine how he/she wants to handle a character who hasn't slept."

 

[Kaodi]

The closest hint I could find for how rules could work, if they existed, was the forced march rules.

A character can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march. For each hour of marching beyond 8 hours, a Constitution check (DC 10, +2 per extra hour) is required. If the check fails, the character takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from a forced march becomes fatigued. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue. It’s possible for a character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself too hard.

So, I think the question would be " What is the DC of the consitution check? " and " What is the amount of non-lethal damage? "

If I were making up rules, I think it would be something like DC 0, +1 per extra hour, and a single point of non-lethal damage, and for every hour less than 8 you had the previous night, the DC also rises by 1.

Caffeine could be like anti-toxin, giving a +4 bonus on the check.

You could go further with rationalizations for simulated a " sleep debt " but that would probably be way to complicated for a game...

So under that system, Joe Lawyer the level 2 expert with 10 HP and a Con Mod of +0, drinking coffee by the bucketfull could go an average of 42 waking hours before dropping into unconsciousness...

 

[Darklone]

I do it simple and have them exhausted if they don't sleep. You're fatigued if you sleep in armor, not sleeping at all should be worse or cause non-lethal damage.

And going from experience, 3 days in a row without sleep while running through the wilderness in heavy chainmail made me look like a zombie. Yellow skin, black rings around the eyes... the PCs thought I got disguised as a zombie.

I was still running though... Hmm. I need new rules.

 

[Sigurd]

In a game where weapon damage is so abstracted, where head protection isn't, and where a little experience actually makes you able to laugh off the affects of a dagger attack you can only ask for so much realism.

It's not RAW

Sigurd's rule:

(assuming you need sleep) You dont sleep = you're fatigued. When Fatigued you may avoid sleep with a will save DC10 + number of days awake (roll once for the night). You may be only fatigued for a number of days equal to your con bonus or 1 whichever is greater. After you exceed your maximum number of fatigued days you are exhausted.
Characters that role play any alternate sleep pattern that totals at least 6 hrs or 3/4 or their required amount simply function so long as they reflect their wish for rest in their role play and do not maintain the state for over long periods.

You may effectively regain half your con bonus (or 1) in lost nights of sleep by sleeping 8 unbroken hours and rolling a DC18 fortitude save. You may add 1 to this roll for each additional hour of sleep you have in a 24 hour period.

eg. Wizard has gone 3 nights without sleep. He sleeps 9hours of good solid sleep and regains 1 extra lost night of rest on a dc18 fortitude roll (no con bonus) (+1 for sleeping the 9th hour). The wizard's con bonus limits him to regaining only 1 extra night of sleep naturally. A dwarf fighter might regain 2 to 3 nights rest in good sleeping period.


I know this makes it relatively easy for high level characters to go without sleep but hey.... They're high level. Drugs, magic and training might help characters regain lost sleep faster.


Sigurd

 

[SadisticFishing]

Should be a fortitude save.

 

[starwed]

Here's a reasonably streamlined version of sleep deprivation rules:

• If you don't get proper sleep, you need to make a Con check in the morning, DC 10. (For each hour of sleep you miss, you get a -1 on the Con check.) If you fail it, you're fatigued, and get a -2 penalty to your Con.
• Every time you engage in strenuous activity, you need to make the check again, with the same consequences except:
  If you're already fatigued, you become exhausted. If you were exhausted, you fall asleep involuntarily. (But can be roused like normal.)
• If the con penalty ever equals your constitution, you fall unconcious and cannot be woken until the penalty is somehow reduced.
• Each hour of sleep removes 2 points of con penalty, and betters your condition to fatigued. It takes a full nights rest to completely negate sleep deprivation.

Magic can remove the con penalty and fatigue conditions like normal, but don't automatically negate the sleep deprivation. (I guess Heal and Restoration should.)

edit: Now that I think about it, sleep deprivation affects pretty much every aspect of a person. Maybe a flat penalty on all d20 rolls would be more appropriate than fatigue/exhaustion, despite the name.

 

[ElectricDragon]

My version makes it a condition of its own.

Sleep Deprived: A sleep deprived character takes a -2 penalty to Constitution and Wisdom and a -2 penalty to attacks and all skill checks. After 8 hours of complete rest, sleep deprived characters are no longer sleep deprived.

Ciao
Dave

P.S. Must add:

A character becomes Sleep Deprived when getting less than two hours sleep in a night (or less than an average of two hours per night for the last few nights).