Wizards Sleep Requirements

[Harmon]

I know this has more then likely been done to death, but I am working on my characters chronicles and I came to a certain part about sleeping that just frustrated the hell out of me. Bear with me please.

Okay, we're just a few hours (for the characters) into this dungeon, and the two (main) wizards are near out of spells as is the only cleric and the druid is running low too, so we hold up in this room which isn’t very defendable but we think we have killed most things ahead and behind us a reasonable distance. We settle in for the rest of the day and then drift off to sleep that night. Attacks start, and the wizards are awakened interrupting their sleep.

The next day the druid shapes some defenses and makes things better for us, we wait that day and that night we’re attacked again. After that we flee, running out of the dungeon and back to the surface where we get our rest.

Something I am having trouble with is the requirement for uninterrupted sleep for eight hours. In all the years of being a relative adult I do not think I have ever had eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, and I know for darn sure that I have never had more then a few hours sleeping on hard ground in a strange enviroment.

How is it that everyone else (spell casters) requires eight hours of rest and wizards/sorcerers having to have eight of sleep?

Is there some other way of doing this? :\

FWIW- we went back in, the dungeon creatures reset with undead versions and the traps are reset. We got a little further this time, but now we’re about to retreat and the GM has mentioned that he doesn’t think we should get full xps for the adventure because we keep retreating to get rest.

Not sure how I would handle this as a GM, but I am fairly certain the GM is correct in that we should not get full xp, I just want to have something to do besides watch everyone fight and root them on from the side lines for the rest of the adventure.

 

[Mouseferatu]

IIRC (I don't have the book in front of me), you can still regain your spells if your sleep is interrupted. You just have to add another hour per interruption.

For instance, you sleep for three hours, and are then attacked by goblins. You wake up, fight the goblins for a few rounds, go back to bed. You now need six hours (rather than five) of remaining sleep to regain spells.

Also, not every moment of the eight hours have to be sleep. It has to be mostly sleep, but simple rest is also sufficient.

 

[UltimaGabe]

FWIW- we went back in, the dungeon creatures reset with undead versions and the traps are reset. We got a little further this time, but now we’re about to retreat and the GM has mentioned that he doesn’t think we should get full xps for the adventure because we keep retreating to get rest.

Not sure how I would handle this as a GM, but I am fairly certain the GM is correct in that we should not get full xp, I just want to have something to do besides watch everyone fight and root them on from the side lines for the rest of the adventure.

That's the DM's call, and nobody can argue with him- but I think he's wrong. After all, if you get through the adventure you get through the adventure, right? If he planned on the adventure being beaten without the chance to rest, he shouldn't have let you rest. Plain and simple. Or, at least, he should have warned you ahead of time.

 

[Thanee]

How is it that everyone else (spell casters) requires eight hours of rest and wizards/sorcerers having to have eight of sleep?

Is there some other way of doing this? :\

How about using the correct rules?

Rest: To prepare her daily spells, a wizard must first sleep for 8 hours. The wizard does not have to slumber for every minute of the time, but she must refrain from movement, combat, spellcasting, skill use, conversation, or any other fairly demanding physical or mental task during the rest period. If her rest is interrupted, each interruption adds 1 hour to the total amount of time she has to rest in order to clear her mind, and she must have at least 1 hour of uninterrupted rest immediately prior to preparing her spells. If the character does not need to sleep for some reason, she still must have 8 hours of restful calm before preparing any spells.

Bye
Thanee

 

[dcollins]

As others have said, the specific rules are a bit more lenient than you seem to think.
- The 8 hours rest is not entirely sleep.
- Interruptions add 1 hour rest requirement each.
- But, note any spells cast in that time period cannot be refreshed that day.

we’re about to retreat and the GM has mentioned that he doesn’t think we should get full xps for the adventure because we keep retreating to get rest.

That's definitely wrong. Each encounter is evaluated for XP on its own terms. It's not supposed to be dialed up or down depending on the prior preparations of the PCs.

Similarly, you're not supposed to get more XP if you blunder into an encounter with no spells, half-drunk, and 1 hp each (that is, make the encounter harder on yourselves due to particularly poor preparation). That, too, is a common misinterpretation by some DMs.

 

[Darren]

How is it that everyone else (spell casters) requires eight hours of rest and wizards/sorcerers having to have eight of sleep?

Is there some other way of doing this? :\

As others have said, the requirements aren't quite that strict. Also, divine casters don't have to have rest quite like wizards. See PHB pg179 - Preparing Divine Spells. They just choose a time of day to prepare spells.

 

[Thanee]

- But, note any spells cast in that time period cannot be refreshed that day.

This is only partially true.

With interruptions, the rest period can be longer than 8h, and if the interruptions occurred during the first hour, then you will have 8h without spellcasting before preparing spells.

Also, you can simply extend the rest to have the 8h complete.

Clerics and druids do not have this option.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Pages 157 to 162 of Unearthed Arcana have the full rules for recharge magic. Attached is the basics.

 

[Kilroy]

FWIW- we went back in, the dungeon creatures reset with undead versions and the traps are reset. We got a little further this time, but now we’re about to retreat and the GM has mentioned that he doesn’t think we should get full xps for the adventure because we keep retreating to get rest.

Not sure how I would handle this as a GM, but I am fairly certain the GM is correct in that we should not get full xp, I just want to have something to do besides watch everyone fight and root them on from the side lines for the rest of the adventure.

Well, the DM has made it clear that casters aren't supposed to rest, um, pretty much ever, and he's changed the rules enough that it sounds like they can't. What you do is as follows:

Cast your spells as normal, budgeting for a few fights if you can. When you run out, pull out a dagger and charge the biggest creature still standing. When you die, roll up another caster. Repeat. See if you can go through a few PCs a night.

Eventually, your DM may come to the understanding that maybe he's being dumb.

 

[Thanee]

Could be several reasons, tho.

- The DM doesn't want you to rest "in between" encounters and to get along with what you have.

- The players always use their abilities to the fullest, blasting away at their leisure, with the reassurance, that they can simply rest for more. The DM might have a problem with this, as it makes spellcasters more powerful than they should be.

While the DM should not restrict the players from having their PCs rest, if it is reasonably possible, the players also should use their powers with a bit more care.

There are always more sides than just one.

Bye
Thanee