A Short Rest is a 1-hour period of downtime, during which a creature does nothing more strenuous than reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. To start a Short Rest, you must have at least 1 Hit Point.
Benefits of the Rest. 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.
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
An interrupted Short Rest confers no benefits.
Homebrew:
Short Rests are limited to 2 per Long Rest
Short Rests only take up a little bit of time, meaning:
- Limited effects on story pacing. Only get punished for using SRs, if time is known to be of the essence
- Reduced chance of interruptions compared to Long Rests
Short Rests interrupted at the end can offer their normal benefits (DM Fiat)
Short Rests return Spell Slots based on their levels in Caster/Hybrid/Non-Magic Classes
Casters: Wizards, Sorcerers, Clerics, Druids, Bards
Hybrid: Anything else with Spell Slots from Class or Sub-Class
Martials: Classes without Spell Slots
| Character Level | Full Caster Recovery | Hybrid Recovery | Martial Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | +1 | +0 | +0 |
| 3–4 | +2 | +1 | +0 |
| 5–8 | +3 | +1 | +0 |
| 9–12 | +4 | +2 | +0 |
| 13–16 | +5 | +2 | +0 |
| 17–20 | +6 | +3 | +0 |
Multiclass:
Adapt based on Hybrid Spellslots. So:
- L9 Character with 3 Wizard, 3 Ranger, 3 Fighter (Battlemaster):
- 3 Full, 3 Hybrid Levels
- 3 Full Levels Converted to 3 Hybrid Levels
- 6 Hybrid Levels = +1 Spell Slot
Optional Addition. Recovered Spell Slots also limited in Levels to prevent Caster Novas:
| Character Level | Max Slot Level Recoverable |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | 1st |
| 5–8 | 2nd |
| 9–12 | 3rd |
| 13–16 | 4th |
| 17–20 | 5th |
In Sum:
Short Rests are a Lower-Risk, but Limited Resource