Resting Rules Rewritten

Resting

Heroic though they might be, adventurers can't spend every moment in the thick of exploration, social interaction, and combat. They need rest — time to sleep and eat, tend their wounds, refresh their minds and spirits for spellcasting, and brace themselves for further adventure.

While resting, a character can engage in limited activity. If they do more, their rest is interrupted, and they gain no benefit from the rest unless they start again. Light activity is reading, talking, eating, playing an instrument, tending to wounds, standing watch, or similar downtime activity. Strenuous activity is walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity.

Short Rest

A short rest is a 1-hour period of downtime, during which:

• A character can perform light activity.
• A character cannot perform strenuous activity.

Benefits of a Short Rest. At the end of a short rest, you can spend Hit Dice. For each Hit Die you spend, roll the die and add your character’s Constitution modifier. Your character regains hit points equal to the total (minimum of 0). You can decide to spend an additional Hit Die after each roll, up to your character’s maximum number of Hit Dice. Class features and resources you regain after finishing a short rest are benefits of a short rest.

Long Rest

A long rest is an 8-hour period of downtime, during which:

• A character must sleep for at least 6 hours. 
• A character cannot perform more than 2 hours of light activity.
• A character cannot perform more than 1 hour of strenuous activity.

Limitations. A character cannot benefit from a long rest if:

• They have already benefited from a long rest in the preceding 24-hour period. 
• They have 0 hit points at the start of the long rest.

Benefits of a Long Rest. At the end of a long rest, a character regains all lost hit points. The character also regains spent Hit Dice, up to half of the character's total Hit Dice (minimum of one die). Class features and resources you regain after finishing a long rest are benefits of a long rest.