Rests and Magics – Down the Rabbit Hole

In other people’s campaigns, there seems to be an awful lot of confusion about how rests work and what you can replenish during these rests. In particular getting spell slots back and the differences in mechanics between Magic using classes – they’re mostly slightly different…

Short Rest

Short rests are at least 1 hour long. If you are somewhere potentially hostile, they you may need someone to keep watch. Generally during a rest, people won’t naturally be that alert of their surroundings. During short rests, however, you don’t usually sleep unless you really want a nap. You usually do some equipment maintenance, eat or drink something, forage for food, read a book, etc.

You can naturally heal using Hit Die during rests.

Long Rest

Long rests are at least 8 hours long. If you are somewhere potentially hostile, you will definitely need to find a way to keep watch. In general, characters can only stand watch for 2 hours. Elves and some other races can use an ability called Trance. While Trancing, they enter a meditative state doing mental exercises instead of sleep. Trancing takes 4 hours but the other 4+ hours of a long rest can be used for other things including attempting to keep watch.

You also have some time to study, play relaxing music, forage for food, do some crafting, eat, drink, sleep, and relax. [Addendum] Doing strenuous things like long watches, fighting/walking/foraging for more than an hour will mean you have to restart the long rest. 2 long rests in a 24-hour period won’t help you at all. If you are KO, then you will regain 1 HP/hour during the long rest but get no other benefits from it.

You can naturally heal using your time to typically fully heal your wounds.

ADDENDUM: You regain 1/2 your levels worth of Hit Die (rounded down, minimum of 1) when you take a long rest. Between adventures, you will typically have several days to rest, etc so you will typically START a new adventure with all your Hit Die. Ongoing adventures, however, you will not. Adventures taken outside of the standard story continuity will likely have all characters start with all their Hit Die without affecting the “Main Story” continuity if it’s an ongoing adventure.

Healing

You have a limited number of Hit Die. Which die you use is determined by how many levels you have in which job classes. You can spend those Hit Die during a rest. These Hit Die are the same ones that determine your Hit Point Maximum.

Roll your Hit Die and add your Physical Modifier to the value and heal that many Hit Points.

If you are resting with a Bard (Level2+), they can play a Song of Rest that will enable everyone to gain additional healing for each Hit Die they use.

If your Maximum HP has been damaged, depending on what caused it, you probably cannot heal it without taking a Long Rest.

Exhaustion

Exhaustion has many levels. Short Rests will not help you at all to overcome exhaustion but Long Rests will help you recover one level of exhaustion.

Job Classes, Rests, and Magic

Bards

Regain Spell Slots during a Long Rest.
Bardic Inspiration replenished during a Long Rest.
Level 5: Font of Inspiration allows you replenish all your Bardic Inspiration during a Short Rest
You choose your spells when you get them and then you cannot usually change them.
You do NOT prepare any spells – you memorize them.
When you level up in Bard Levels, you can choose to replace one of your existing normal Bard spells with a new one.
Special conditions may apply do spells that come with your sub class such as spells you can use once per rest, once per long rest, once per day. You also probably can’t replace spells that you’ve learned from your subclass.
Ritual Casting is OK
Arcane Focus is OK

Clerics

Regain Spell Slot durings a Long Rest.
You regain your uses of Channel Divinity during a Short Rest.
Successful Divine Intervention takes 7 days to recover. Failure takes a Long Rest to recover.
You choose a limited number of spells to prepare from the non-Domain spells available to you but you can only do this during a Long Rest.
Your spells granted to you as a feature of your domain are always considered “prepared” and do not count towards your limit of prepared spells (so don’t prepare a spell that is always prepared)
Ritual Casting is OK
Divine Focus is OK

Druids

Regain Spell Slots during a Long Rest
Wild Shape uses replenished during a Short Rest
You prepare a limited number of spells from the non-circle (subclass) spells available to you to use during during a Long Rest
IF your Druidic Circle grants you Circle Spells, they are always considered “Prepared” and do not count towards your limit of prepared spells (do don’t prepare a spell that is always prepared)
Ritual Casting is OK
Druidic Focus is OK

Fighters/Eldritch Knights

Second Wind, Action Surge, Combat Superiority Dice are replenished during a Short Rest
Indomitable, Eldritch Knight Spell Slots are replenished during a Long Rest
Eldritch Knights choose their spells from the Wizard Spell list but they have to memorize the spells and have a lot of restrictions such as which schools you can choose.
Eldritch Knights can change ONE of your memorized spells when you level up in EK.
Eldritch Knights have trained to do their somatic components while wielding a weapon.
Ritual Casting is NOT OKAY
Arcane Focus is NOT OKAY

Paladins

Regain Spell Slots during a Long Rest
Regain uses of of Divine Sense, Lay on Hands, Cleansing Touch, Holy Nimbus (OoDevotion), Undying Sentinel (OoAncients), Elder Champion (OoAncients), Avenging Angel (OoVengenace) a Long Rest.
Channel Divinity uses replenish during a Short Rest.
You prepare a limited number of non-Oath spells you have access to during a Long Rest.
Your Oath (subclass) may give you access to Oath Spells. These are always considered “prepared” and don’t count towards your list of prepared spells (so don’t prepare an always prepared spell)
Ritual Casting is NOT OKAY
Divine Focus is OK

Rangers

Regain Spell Slots during a Long Rest
You learn a limited number of spells from the Ranger list of spells at certain levels. You only have access to the specific spells you have learned.
You can replace one of your existing spells with a new one when you level up.
Ritual Casting is NOT OKAY
Arcane Focus is NOT OKAY

Rogues/Arcane Tricksters

Stroke of Luck uses replenish during a Short Rest
Arcane Trickster spell slots replenish during a Long Rest
Arcane Tricksters learn spells at certain levels from the Wizard spell list but there are restrictions such as which school the spells are from.
Arcane Tricksters do not prepare spells so you only have access to the limited number you have learned but you can replace an existing spell with a new one when you level up in AT.
Ritual Casting is NOT OKAY
Arcane Focus is NOT OKAY

Sorcerers

Spell Slots are replenished during a Long Rest.
Sorcerer Points are replenished during a Long Rest.
Learn new spells when you level up in Sorcerer.
You can replace one of your existing spells with a new when you level up in Sorcerer.
You don’t prepare any spells you just know the spells you’ve learned.
Your subclass (Origin) may also give you access to more spells but check the individual details about whether they consume spell slots, sorcerer points, or are usable a number of times per rest, long rest, or day.
The key to sorcerer’s magic is meta magic allowing you to manipulate your magic using forces changing how quickly, how far, how powerful, how hidden, etc. you cast spells.
Ritual Casting is NOT OKAY
Arcane Focus is OK

Warlocks/Channelers

Spell Slots are replenished during a SHORT Rest.
Eldritch Invocations might have be replenished after a rest, long rest, or day; See each specific invocation for details.
Arcanum are usable once until a Long Rest.
Eldritch Master will recover all Spell Slots but is usable once until a Long Rest.
Most Pact Magic using Class features uses are replenished during a Short Rest.
You learn PactMagic spells as you gain levels in a PactMagic using Job Class.
When you level up in a PactMagic using Job Class, you can replace one of your previously learned PactMagic spells.
These Job Classes are Magic Users but don’t have the “Spellcasting” Feature that other magic users. Instead they use “Pact Magic” as their class feature. If you multiclass, they do NOT contribute to your Spellcasting spell slot unlock progression but Pact Magic and Spellcasting Spell Slots are compatible for use with any time of Magic that uses Spell Slots.
Spell Levels 1 to 5 use standard spell slots however Spell Levels 6-9 have their own separate “accounting” mechanic.
Magic Casting Focus is OK
Ritual Magic is sometimes OK (such as when you take the Pact of the Tome’s Book of Ancient Secrets feature)

Wizards

Spell Slots are replenished during a Long Rest
Arcane Recovery will allow recovering a limited number of Spell Slots during a Short Rest
Most class features from your Wizardry School specialization that have limited use, will have their uses replenished only during a Long Rest.
Wizards use a Spell Book. All their spells, other than cantrips, must be written into your spell book in order to be prepared or used as a ritual. Your spell book has to be with you in order to prepare or use rituals.
As you gain Wizard Levels, you learn new spells that you record into your Spell Book.
You can find other people’s spell books as well as spell scrolls. You can spend time and money to decipher and reencode these into your spell book although it’s much cheaper to copy your own spells (for example: copying into a back up spell book)
If your spell book is destroyed, you can create a new one as a ritual and spend time and money to record your already prepared spells back into the spell book.
You prepare a limited number of spells for use during a long rest but that is a small % of your total spells that you’ve probably recorded in your spell book.
You can pay to learn new spells to record into your spell book but not only does it require time and money, but you need to find someone who is actually willing to teach it to you.
Arcane Focus is OK
Ritual Magic is not only OK but you don’t even prepare it. You can either cast it directly from your spell book or from a ritual spell scroll (either case, you will have to have your book or scroll out and use it in the ritual)