Short Rests
A Short Rest is a period of extended downtime—at least 8 hours—available to any creature. During a Short Rest, you sleep for at least 6 hours and perform no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch.
During sleep, you have the Unconscious condition. After you finish a Short Rest, you must wait at least 16 hours before starting another one.
Benefits of the Rest.
To start a Short Rest, you must have at least 1 Hit Point. When you finish the rest, you gain the following benefits:
Spend Hit Point Dice. You can spend one or more of your Hit Point Dice to regain Hit Points. For each Hit Point Die you spend in this way, roll the die and add your Constitution modifier to it. You regain Hit Points equal to the total (minimum of 1 Hit Point). You can decide to spend an additional Hit Point Die after each roll.
Ability Scores Restored. If any of your ability scores were reduced, they return to normal.
Exhaustion Reduced. If you have the Exhaustion condition, you can attempt a DC 10 Constitution check to reduce its level by 1.
Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Short Rest. If you have such a feature, it recharges in the way specified in its description.
Interrupting the Rest.
A Short Rest is stopped by the following interruptions:
- Rolling Initiative
- Casting a spell other than a cantrip
- Taking any damage
- 1 hour of walking or other, similar physical exertion
You can resume a Short Rest immediately after an interruption. If you do so, the rest requires 1 additional hour, per interruption, to finish.
Long Rests
A Long Rest is a full 72-hour period of low exertion.
It must be spent in a safe places such as a city, well-fortified town, or hidden dungeon.
Benefits of the Rest.
A Long Rest must be bookended by a successful Short Rest on either side. When you successfully finish the latter Short Rest, you gain the following benefits:
Regain All HP. You regain all lost Hit Points and half (rounded up) of your spent Hit Point Dice. If your Hit Point maximum was reduced, it returns to normal.
Exhaustion Reduced. If you have the Exhaustion condition, its level decreases by 1. Also, you lose all accumulated exertion points.
Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Long Rest. If you have such a feature, it recharges in the way specified in its description.
Interrupting the Rest.
The Long Rest can be interrupted by the following exertions:
| ExPo | Exertion |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Round of Initiative |
| 2 | 1 minute of athletic activity |
| 3 | 1 hour of travel (walking, etc.) |
| N | Taking N Damage |
| N*2 | Expending an N level spell slot |
Each exertion, when performed, generates a number of exertion points. These accumulate until you finish a Short or Long rest. If your exertion points (ExPo) exceed your Constitution score, your Long Rest confers no benefit.
ExPo only affect Long Rests so only track them when you are attempting one.