Taking two or more successional short rests for healing?

[Shin Okada]

PHB P.263 "Short Rest" says,

Using Powers while You Rest: If you use an encounter power (such as a healing power) during a
short rest, you need another short rest to renew it so that you can use it again.

Well, while you can spend as many healing surges as you want during one short rest, healing by a leader's power (say, Healing Word) restores you more hps per healing surge.

So, some players try to use those powers during a short rest, then take another (or more) short rest to regain encounter powers.

Do you simply allow this? Or do you try to discourage or even penalize this by some mean?

 

[Aulirophile]

I not only allow it, there is a feat that specifically encourages it (Restful Healing). All it does is make your adventuring day, say during a delve, more efficient in terms of surges. I don't really have a problem with that, surges are not usually the limiting factor of a parties overall resources (particularly not with Comrade's Succor being so cheap to buy and cast).

That said, there are tons of instances where the party simply shouldn't have the time. I've put parties in situations where they didn't even get a short rest between encounters, because they were time limited. They figured that out in advance and played defensively, so they wouldn't need to.

But if they feel it is safe to rest in a room... it would be dumb not to, assuming the PCs were living in a world where healing worked that way. There is no good reason their characters wouldn't take advantage of that fact to increase their endurance.

 

[Starfox]

There are enough "until the end of the encounter" powers that my players sometimes choose not to take a short rest when they could.

 

[Ebylon]

You can always let them try to take the second short rest and then interrupt it with a monster attack of some sort. Let them be able to take multiple short rests if time allows, but as DM you don't always have to actually let the rest happen, or allow rests at all.

 

[Mouseferatu]

There are enough "until the end of the encounter" powers that my players sometimes choose not to take a short rest when they could.

Just don't forget that there's still a hard five-minute limit on those, even if they don't choose to rest...

 

[Mengu]

I don't use it as a player. I never know when I'm going to need my inspiring words. So right after a short rest when they have just refreshed, spending them seems like a bad idea. I like to always be prepared for a fight.

As DM I've never had to discourage it, but I would, if I needed to. PC's have healing surges, I feel they should use them. This is part of why I found healics to be rather objectionable until the recent updates.

 

[jbear]

Totally encouraged. Those HSurges are what keeps the group trekking on. Way better than making them go back to town.

Actually i give them dirty looks when they don't fully optimise their between fight healing.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Just don't forget that there's still a hard five-minute limit on those, even if they don't choose to rest...

Yes, I enforce that also, and my groups try to do whatever-word healings instead of just spending surges. It is plain better healing

Sometimes not possible, but it is the goal.

 

[DracoSuave]

Do you simply allow this? Or do you try to discourage or even penalize this by some mean?

Not only do I allow it, it's explicitly encouraged in the game itself

 

[Steelwill]

PHB P.263 "Short Rest" says,



Well, while you can spend as many healing surges as you want during one short rest, healing by a leader's power (say, Healing Word) restores you more hps per healing surge.

So, some players try to use those powers during a short rest, then take another (or more) short rest to regain encounter powers.

Do you simply allow this? Or do you try to discourage or even penalize this by some mean?

I don't penalize for it, but if the players are in a dungeon and don't take some precaution against being interrupted, they may get hit with a random encounter. It may even happen with precautions. But generally no, as long as time and safety aren't believably an issue, players can do this as much as they want. They already are limited by their total healing surges and ability to take an extended rest, so I see no reason to limit further. Also there is no RAW reason or even implication for such a limit. My 2 cents.