D&D 5E Variable Short and Long rests

[Moorcrys]

I allow quicker short rests if the players are in a place where they can/choose to completely drop their guard, such as in the extra-dimensional space of a rope trick spell. Basically if they're willing to spend a resource to rest in safety I let them rest quickly. If they're not using magic like rope trick or 'completely drop their guard' to rest in a place they think is safe but it isn't, they're surprised for round 1 and at disadvantage for round 2 while the threat gets the drop on them.

Since the rules seem to be balanced off the idea that certain classes should get 2 short rests per day, I'm lenient with when they can use them and how long they are, but also rule that characters can't benefit from more than 2 before needing a long rest recover except under special circumstances (such as encountering a magical pool that refreshes characters or some other bennie they run across).

 

[GameOgre]

I would like to respond to you guys but first want to say I think everyone in the thread is being cool and that my points are words for consideration. I indeed don't think there is anything wrong with running the game however it works for you and your group. You know best! I just like to chat about games!

Goemoe
A fighter doing his action surge once or twice a day does good beside a paladin. A fighter doing 4-6 action surges a day makes a paladin wonder, why he picked his class at all


A fighter gets one action surge per short rest by design. I don't change that. The players are supposed to be able to get in two short rests in between long rests. I don't change that either. Now I suppose you could be making the point that using my method you might get more short and long rests in during a 24 hour period. That would indeed be true I suppose but then the Paladin would receive them as well so ...not sure there would be a issue.



Meliath1742


I can't wrap my head around a long rest being anything less than 6-10 hours. I understand we are playing a game of Fantasy but it has to be based on some physical truths. Unless some type of magic is being used, characters could not go without long periods of rest without incurring fatigue or worse. I like the idea that if the scenario is limiting the group rest time that it starts to "grind" the characters down. Being an adventurer isn't for the meek ;-)



The characters still need sleep. In general that is how the long rest works, I just have the option of letting them get those effects much faster if I deem it more fun/necessary. In practice it has only happened twice in our games that long rests were received in less than eight hours. Both times those were exceptions made based on the needs of the game, note I said needs of the game not needs of the players.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I use this system for my games.

The default short rest takes 1 hour.
The default long rest takes eight hours.

In practice however it's far different.

Most of the time as long as it's not abused I let it take a few minutes only. In other words the party has been into some major battles and burned some resources, as a rule of thumb after the second battle of the day. Then again after the fourth battle of the day.

A long Rest after 6-8 Battles takes about one hour.

In general I would limit them to one long rest per day. I would break this guideline if I feel they had earned it and it would be more fun to do so.

Once or twice I have let them get in a Long Rest in seconds. Mostly this was done because we had long play sessions and to be honest taking even one hour to rest up would have been cataclysmic to the storyline and to not get in a long rest would have been a campaign ender. We used those few minutes to run a montage of campaign memorable moments that had built up to this final encounter and taking deep breaths the player characters calmed down, threw off their fatigue and weariness and steeled themselves for what was to come.

In short. I use no ironclad rule but a rough guideline and for us that seems to work very well.

What about you guys?

If it works for you and yours, that's really all that matters!

For me personally, I actually like the *choice* of resting. Our session last night had an awesome moment where we discussed as a party whether or not to rest because there was a cost associated with it. It was a real strategic moment, where we had to make a hard choice about how to proceed. It's the first time I've seen that since early 3e, and I LOVE it - it's a vital element of the challenge of exploration, and I've missed it. I want this to be an active decision.

So for me, 1 hour rests and 8 hour rests work good, and I wouldn't be inclined to gloss over that, because it's a FUN challenge to overcome.

But I'm glad you've found a way that works.

 

[Agamon]

I like the idea of changing rest times depending on environment. Overland travel, short rest is 8 hours, long rest is a week. If there's a lot of back-back dungeon-style fighting, the default works great.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Meta-gaming gives me a headache. If I don't know what the requirements will be for taking a short rest or long rest - what I can do in an hour, or a week - then I can't even begin to assign a cost to my limited-use abilities.

Personally, my preference is that eight hours of rest (once per day) will give you the benefits of a short rest, including one hit die that you can spend immediately to recover HP, and a long rest requires you to spend at least 24 hours in a safe location where you can drop your guard (e.g in town). Long rests don't give any HP or hit dice or anything, except in that each night also gives you the benefit of a short rest. Second Wind gives you an equivalent amount of temporary HP that last until your next short rest.

 

[Bacon Bits]

We decided pretty early on that short rests don't have a time requirement. Instead, there are simply several things that need to happen for a short rest to happen:

1. Spells and effects that last less than an hour end.
2. PCs should feel relatively safe. "Safe enough to remove armor," or "safe enough to take a nap", are the rules of thumb that gets bandied about, but that's not a hard rule. There should be no immediate danger from the environment or aggressive nearby NPCs, or if there is they've taken steps to protect themselves (e.g., constructed a barricade).
3. NPCs have the opportunity to recover, reposition, generally respond to PC presence, make plans for defense, set up ambushes and traps, etc. They can interrupt a rest, of course, but the fact that they can isn't enough to forestall a short rest on it's own.

Sometimes the DM asks us what we're doing during a short rest. If you say something that's not really resting, then you're not resting. Your spells will still expire, of course, but you don't get any rest. Reading, games, cooking up a lunch, eating some rations or leftovers, and curling up for a nap are all common.

 

[Wik]

While I get the reasoning for the idea, I really do prefer the rules as written... and might even, in my next campaign, go for the longer ones!

My reasoning for loving the current rule is that it forces players to make decisions. Do we move on, at hugely limited resources, or do we rest? Last session, the players decided they needed a long rest, without having FULLY cleared the dungeon, and while they went out to find their retainers, came across a small baggage train of surviving goblins fleeing the dungeon. They got some of the dungeon's remaining loot, but not all of it, as a few goblins were able to flee.

In the same session, they came across a Sea Wolf (an old 2e monster) pirate with a few levels of fighter. That monster took on the party of seven characters, and still almost killed two. So, they decide to short rest... and the monsters nearby heard the attack and moved to set up a defensive position.

Allowing for players to have the ability to control the game's passage of time is fun, and really helps with the whole "exploration" pillar. By allowing a meaningful unit of time to pass (an hour), their environment can change. And this isn't a GM-mandated passage of time, but one that the players themselves announce, and therefore, one that is much more enjoyable for everyone at the table.

Of course, if you want to have an action movie vibe of smash cuts, explosions, and all that, then your system is probably better. Different strokes for different folks, eh?

 

[bedir than]

Meta-gaming gives me a headache. If I don't know what the requirements will be for taking a short rest or long rest - what I can do in an hour, or a week - then I can't even begin to assign a cost to my limited-use abilities.

Personally, my preference is that eight hours of rest (once per day) will give you the benefits of a short rest, including one hit die that you can spend immediately to recover HP, and a long rest requires you to spend at least 24 hours in a safe location where you can drop your guard (e.g in town). Long rests don't give any HP or hit dice or anything, except in that each night also gives you the benefit of a short rest. Second Wind gives you an equivalent amount of temporary HP that last until your next short rest.

This is what we're using on my table. There are a couple abilities that I've moved from long to short rest because of it, but for the most part it gives a style of play that is more like books/movies/TV rather than video games/comic books. Which in our case was the point, because there's also short story and plotless narrative that accompany the game story.

I also say that Rangers, Druids, Clerics of Nature and a difficult Survival check (25) can create a place of sanctuary out in the wilderness. Certain spells and magic items will also create/help with the sanctuary.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I like the short rest about 1 hr, and long rest about 6-8 hrs. I also like the DMG option of the milestone mini-short rest - that from time to time, at the end of some significant event, the PCs might be able to immediately or within 5-10 mins spend a HD or whatever. Or a fighter might recover 1 maneuver dice, a warlock recover one specific spell, or a monk recover a Ki point. That sort of thing. I am mindful of the "long rest" based classes however and don't allow this too often.

 

[Flamestrike]

I run it exactly like the OP.

A short rest is a few minutes to take a breather, check the map, bind wounds, grab a drink and then forge on.

You wont get more than 2 or 3 a day. Sometimes I roll a random encounter during them.