Of what use is Arcane Recovery to an Elf Wizard?





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$begingroup$


My reading of this Q&A is that elves recover spell slots after a 4-hour long trance.



However, if that is the case, then what good is Arcane Recovery to an Elf Wizard?










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$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Based on these comments there’s more going on here than is stated in the question. Please use an edit to spell out the assumptions the question is starting from, and any clarifications about what you’re asking. The answers (and comments) are already a mess, so I’m putting this question on pause so that it can be cleared up and all information provided, before more answers come in.
    $endgroup$
    – SevenSidedDie
    Mar 11 at 21:47








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Rubiksmoose, question just edited. Better? I don’t feel that the question is opinion based and there is a definite answer: Arcane recovery is practical/helpful for a rest in the range [1, 4), where at hour 4 the trance of an elf will become effective in terms of recovering spent spell slots.
    $endgroup$
    – Greg0141
    Mar 11 at 23:51






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Greg0141 yup! Looks good. Voting to reopen.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Mar 12 at 0:33


















7












$begingroup$


My reading of this Q&A is that elves recover spell slots after a 4-hour long trance.



However, if that is the case, then what good is Arcane Recovery to an Elf Wizard?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Based on these comments there’s more going on here than is stated in the question. Please use an edit to spell out the assumptions the question is starting from, and any clarifications about what you’re asking. The answers (and comments) are already a mess, so I’m putting this question on pause so that it can be cleared up and all information provided, before more answers come in.
    $endgroup$
    – SevenSidedDie
    Mar 11 at 21:47








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Rubiksmoose, question just edited. Better? I don’t feel that the question is opinion based and there is a definite answer: Arcane recovery is practical/helpful for a rest in the range [1, 4), where at hour 4 the trance of an elf will become effective in terms of recovering spent spell slots.
    $endgroup$
    – Greg0141
    Mar 11 at 23:51






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Greg0141 yup! Looks good. Voting to reopen.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Mar 12 at 0:33














7












7








7





$begingroup$


My reading of this Q&A is that elves recover spell slots after a 4-hour long trance.



However, if that is the case, then what good is Arcane Recovery to an Elf Wizard?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$




My reading of this Q&A is that elves recover spell slots after a 4-hour long trance.



However, if that is the case, then what good is Arcane Recovery to an Elf Wizard?







dnd-5e wizard rests spell-slots






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Mar 11 at 23:44







Greg0141

















asked Mar 11 at 20:27









Greg0141Greg0141

478216




478216








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Based on these comments there’s more going on here than is stated in the question. Please use an edit to spell out the assumptions the question is starting from, and any clarifications about what you’re asking. The answers (and comments) are already a mess, so I’m putting this question on pause so that it can be cleared up and all information provided, before more answers come in.
    $endgroup$
    – SevenSidedDie
    Mar 11 at 21:47








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Rubiksmoose, question just edited. Better? I don’t feel that the question is opinion based and there is a definite answer: Arcane recovery is practical/helpful for a rest in the range [1, 4), where at hour 4 the trance of an elf will become effective in terms of recovering spent spell slots.
    $endgroup$
    – Greg0141
    Mar 11 at 23:51






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Greg0141 yup! Looks good. Voting to reopen.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Mar 12 at 0:33














  • 2




    $begingroup$
    Based on these comments there’s more going on here than is stated in the question. Please use an edit to spell out the assumptions the question is starting from, and any clarifications about what you’re asking. The answers (and comments) are already a mess, so I’m putting this question on pause so that it can be cleared up and all information provided, before more answers come in.
    $endgroup$
    – SevenSidedDie
    Mar 11 at 21:47








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Rubiksmoose, question just edited. Better? I don’t feel that the question is opinion based and there is a definite answer: Arcane recovery is practical/helpful for a rest in the range [1, 4), where at hour 4 the trance of an elf will become effective in terms of recovering spent spell slots.
    $endgroup$
    – Greg0141
    Mar 11 at 23:51






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Greg0141 yup! Looks good. Voting to reopen.
    $endgroup$
    – Rubiksmoose
    Mar 12 at 0:33








2




2




$begingroup$
Based on these comments there’s more going on here than is stated in the question. Please use an edit to spell out the assumptions the question is starting from, and any clarifications about what you’re asking. The answers (and comments) are already a mess, so I’m putting this question on pause so that it can be cleared up and all information provided, before more answers come in.
$endgroup$
– SevenSidedDie
Mar 11 at 21:47






$begingroup$
Based on these comments there’s more going on here than is stated in the question. Please use an edit to spell out the assumptions the question is starting from, and any clarifications about what you’re asking. The answers (and comments) are already a mess, so I’m putting this question on pause so that it can be cleared up and all information provided, before more answers come in.
$endgroup$
– SevenSidedDie
Mar 11 at 21:47






2




2




$begingroup$
@Rubiksmoose, question just edited. Better? I don’t feel that the question is opinion based and there is a definite answer: Arcane recovery is practical/helpful for a rest in the range [1, 4), where at hour 4 the trance of an elf will become effective in terms of recovering spent spell slots.
$endgroup$
– Greg0141
Mar 11 at 23:51




$begingroup$
@Rubiksmoose, question just edited. Better? I don’t feel that the question is opinion based and there is a definite answer: Arcane recovery is practical/helpful for a rest in the range [1, 4), where at hour 4 the trance of an elf will become effective in terms of recovering spent spell slots.
$endgroup$
– Greg0141
Mar 11 at 23:51




1




1




$begingroup$
@Greg0141 yup! Looks good. Voting to reopen.
$endgroup$
– Rubiksmoose
Mar 12 at 0:33




$begingroup$
@Greg0141 yup! Looks good. Voting to reopen.
$endgroup$
– Rubiksmoose
Mar 12 at 0:33










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















21












$begingroup$

Short Rests are faster



There really is only one benefit of the Arcane Recovery feature over taking a Long Rest (4 Hour trance for Elves) and that is time. A short rest as defined by the PHB is:




A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, during which a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading and tending to wounds.




If we then look at Arcane Recovery and what it grants us:




You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spells slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level.




So the benefits of Arcane Recovery are the same for an Elf wizard as they are for any other race of wizard. The benefit of the trance is allowing a long rest in 4 hours, it does not modify the utility of a short rest which only takes 1 hour.



Limitations



As pointed out by @Joel Harmon and Dan B. The rules on Long Rests apply to the Elf's trace feature and contain the following:




A character can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




If you have 4 hours to rest and have used neither your long rest or Arcane Recovery within the last 24 hours then yes, the Arcane Recovery feature won't help you that much since you can regain all of your slots with a trance instead of just some with a short rest.



If you don't have 4 hours, have already had a long rest, or can't convince the rest of your party to wait that long then Arcane Recovery will help you just like it will help any other wizard.



Since both spell recovery methods are limited to once per 24 hours it makes sense to use both of them to regain the maximum number of spell slots you can.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 2




    $begingroup$
    I think this otherwise good answer could be improved by mentioning the other limitation on long rests; you can only do one of them in a 24 hour period (PHB 186)
    $endgroup$
    – Joel Harmon
    Mar 12 at 3:07



















9












$begingroup$

Arcane Recovery is just as useful for an elf wizard as it would be for any other wizard.



If I'm understanding your question correctly, it sounds like you're asking this:




"My elf wizard can regain all his spell slots by taking a four-hour long rest. So why should he bother regaining just a few spell slots in one hour with Arcane Recovery, when he can ask the party to rest just three hours longer and get them all back?"




The point you're missing is this text from the Long Rest rules (linked in your question):




You cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




Your party will be long-resting once per day anyway, so you can't get any more long rests than that.



Your "finish a long rest in four hours" ability means you can spend more time staying on watch during the night while everyone else sleeps, but unfortunately that's the only benefit you're likely to get from it.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$





















    4












    $begingroup$

    Short rests are for everyone



    The elf wizard is (typically) one of many party members; each of those party members might recover certain resources on a short rest or a long rest. After a fight or two, it should be easy to convince the party to take a short rest.



    Some classes, like fighters, monks, and warlocks, recover all or most of their resources on a short rest. Most classes at least recover something, as with the wizard's Arcane Recovery. Everyone can at least roll Hit Dice to recover HP. It's a lot easier to say "let's all take a short rest" than "you all take a short rest followed by 3 hours of nothing, while I recover spell slots".



    Sometimes you're on the clock



    The difference between 4 hours and 1 hour may determine if the evil necromancer completes her ritual by midnight. You may be able to squeeze in a short rest when you don't have time to wait for 4 hours. Well-designed adventures may account for this by providing just enough time for a fast party to take one or two short rests, perhaps with consequences for doing so.



    Short rests don't have to be 1 hour



    Bards, sorcerers, and wizards have access to the spell catnap (XGtE, p. 151), which grants the benefits of a short rest to three creatures over the course of 10 minutes.



    Additionally, the Dungeon Master's Guide presents the Epic Heroism rest variant as a play option, in which a short rest only lasts 5 minutes (DMG, p. 267).



    Short rests are different than long rests



    As Joel Harmon pointed out in the comments of linksassin's answer, you may only benefit from one long rest in a 24-hour period (PHB, p. 186). There is no such restriction on short rests; however, linksassin rightly points out in the comments that you may only use Arcane Recovery once per day (which may or may not be the same as once per long rest).



    Additionally, you need not sleep (or trance) during a short rest; you can remain fully alert and aware. Trancing elves are "semiconscious" during their long rest, which a DM may rule imposes disadvantage on Perception checks.






    share|improve this answer











    $endgroup$









    • 2




      $begingroup$
      "There is no such restriction on short rests." There is such a restriction however on Arcane Recovery. Yes you can take multiple short rests but you cannot benefit from Arcane Recovery more than once per day.
      $endgroup$
      – linksassin
      Mar 12 at 3:32










    • $begingroup$
      @linksassin Good point, edited.
      $endgroup$
      – Chris Starnes
      Mar 12 at 3:39












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    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes








    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    21












    $begingroup$

    Short Rests are faster



    There really is only one benefit of the Arcane Recovery feature over taking a Long Rest (4 Hour trance for Elves) and that is time. A short rest as defined by the PHB is:




    A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, during which a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading and tending to wounds.




    If we then look at Arcane Recovery and what it grants us:




    You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spells slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level.




    So the benefits of Arcane Recovery are the same for an Elf wizard as they are for any other race of wizard. The benefit of the trance is allowing a long rest in 4 hours, it does not modify the utility of a short rest which only takes 1 hour.



    Limitations



    As pointed out by @Joel Harmon and Dan B. The rules on Long Rests apply to the Elf's trace feature and contain the following:




    A character can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




    If you have 4 hours to rest and have used neither your long rest or Arcane Recovery within the last 24 hours then yes, the Arcane Recovery feature won't help you that much since you can regain all of your slots with a trance instead of just some with a short rest.



    If you don't have 4 hours, have already had a long rest, or can't convince the rest of your party to wait that long then Arcane Recovery will help you just like it will help any other wizard.



    Since both spell recovery methods are limited to once per 24 hours it makes sense to use both of them to regain the maximum number of spell slots you can.






    share|improve this answer











    $endgroup$









    • 2




      $begingroup$
      I think this otherwise good answer could be improved by mentioning the other limitation on long rests; you can only do one of them in a 24 hour period (PHB 186)
      $endgroup$
      – Joel Harmon
      Mar 12 at 3:07
















    21












    $begingroup$

    Short Rests are faster



    There really is only one benefit of the Arcane Recovery feature over taking a Long Rest (4 Hour trance for Elves) and that is time. A short rest as defined by the PHB is:




    A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, during which a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading and tending to wounds.




    If we then look at Arcane Recovery and what it grants us:




    You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spells slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level.




    So the benefits of Arcane Recovery are the same for an Elf wizard as they are for any other race of wizard. The benefit of the trance is allowing a long rest in 4 hours, it does not modify the utility of a short rest which only takes 1 hour.



    Limitations



    As pointed out by @Joel Harmon and Dan B. The rules on Long Rests apply to the Elf's trace feature and contain the following:




    A character can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




    If you have 4 hours to rest and have used neither your long rest or Arcane Recovery within the last 24 hours then yes, the Arcane Recovery feature won't help you that much since you can regain all of your slots with a trance instead of just some with a short rest.



    If you don't have 4 hours, have already had a long rest, or can't convince the rest of your party to wait that long then Arcane Recovery will help you just like it will help any other wizard.



    Since both spell recovery methods are limited to once per 24 hours it makes sense to use both of them to regain the maximum number of spell slots you can.






    share|improve this answer











    $endgroup$









    • 2




      $begingroup$
      I think this otherwise good answer could be improved by mentioning the other limitation on long rests; you can only do one of them in a 24 hour period (PHB 186)
      $endgroup$
      – Joel Harmon
      Mar 12 at 3:07














    21












    21








    21





    $begingroup$

    Short Rests are faster



    There really is only one benefit of the Arcane Recovery feature over taking a Long Rest (4 Hour trance for Elves) and that is time. A short rest as defined by the PHB is:




    A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, during which a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading and tending to wounds.




    If we then look at Arcane Recovery and what it grants us:




    You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spells slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level.




    So the benefits of Arcane Recovery are the same for an Elf wizard as they are for any other race of wizard. The benefit of the trance is allowing a long rest in 4 hours, it does not modify the utility of a short rest which only takes 1 hour.



    Limitations



    As pointed out by @Joel Harmon and Dan B. The rules on Long Rests apply to the Elf's trace feature and contain the following:




    A character can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




    If you have 4 hours to rest and have used neither your long rest or Arcane Recovery within the last 24 hours then yes, the Arcane Recovery feature won't help you that much since you can regain all of your slots with a trance instead of just some with a short rest.



    If you don't have 4 hours, have already had a long rest, or can't convince the rest of your party to wait that long then Arcane Recovery will help you just like it will help any other wizard.



    Since both spell recovery methods are limited to once per 24 hours it makes sense to use both of them to regain the maximum number of spell slots you can.






    share|improve this answer











    $endgroup$



    Short Rests are faster



    There really is only one benefit of the Arcane Recovery feature over taking a Long Rest (4 Hour trance for Elves) and that is time. A short rest as defined by the PHB is:




    A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, during which a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading and tending to wounds.




    If we then look at Arcane Recovery and what it grants us:




    You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spells slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level.




    So the benefits of Arcane Recovery are the same for an Elf wizard as they are for any other race of wizard. The benefit of the trance is allowing a long rest in 4 hours, it does not modify the utility of a short rest which only takes 1 hour.



    Limitations



    As pointed out by @Joel Harmon and Dan B. The rules on Long Rests apply to the Elf's trace feature and contain the following:




    A character can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




    If you have 4 hours to rest and have used neither your long rest or Arcane Recovery within the last 24 hours then yes, the Arcane Recovery feature won't help you that much since you can regain all of your slots with a trance instead of just some with a short rest.



    If you don't have 4 hours, have already had a long rest, or can't convince the rest of your party to wait that long then Arcane Recovery will help you just like it will help any other wizard.



    Since both spell recovery methods are limited to once per 24 hours it makes sense to use both of them to regain the maximum number of spell slots you can.







    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Mar 12 at 6:16









    V2Blast

    27.3k595165




    27.3k595165










    answered Mar 12 at 2:35









    linksassinlinksassin

    10.5k13477




    10.5k13477








    • 2




      $begingroup$
      I think this otherwise good answer could be improved by mentioning the other limitation on long rests; you can only do one of them in a 24 hour period (PHB 186)
      $endgroup$
      – Joel Harmon
      Mar 12 at 3:07














    • 2




      $begingroup$
      I think this otherwise good answer could be improved by mentioning the other limitation on long rests; you can only do one of them in a 24 hour period (PHB 186)
      $endgroup$
      – Joel Harmon
      Mar 12 at 3:07








    2




    2




    $begingroup$
    I think this otherwise good answer could be improved by mentioning the other limitation on long rests; you can only do one of them in a 24 hour period (PHB 186)
    $endgroup$
    – Joel Harmon
    Mar 12 at 3:07




    $begingroup$
    I think this otherwise good answer could be improved by mentioning the other limitation on long rests; you can only do one of them in a 24 hour period (PHB 186)
    $endgroup$
    – Joel Harmon
    Mar 12 at 3:07













    9












    $begingroup$

    Arcane Recovery is just as useful for an elf wizard as it would be for any other wizard.



    If I'm understanding your question correctly, it sounds like you're asking this:




    "My elf wizard can regain all his spell slots by taking a four-hour long rest. So why should he bother regaining just a few spell slots in one hour with Arcane Recovery, when he can ask the party to rest just three hours longer and get them all back?"




    The point you're missing is this text from the Long Rest rules (linked in your question):




    You cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




    Your party will be long-resting once per day anyway, so you can't get any more long rests than that.



    Your "finish a long rest in four hours" ability means you can spend more time staying on watch during the night while everyone else sleeps, but unfortunately that's the only benefit you're likely to get from it.






    share|improve this answer









    $endgroup$


















      9












      $begingroup$

      Arcane Recovery is just as useful for an elf wizard as it would be for any other wizard.



      If I'm understanding your question correctly, it sounds like you're asking this:




      "My elf wizard can regain all his spell slots by taking a four-hour long rest. So why should he bother regaining just a few spell slots in one hour with Arcane Recovery, when he can ask the party to rest just three hours longer and get them all back?"




      The point you're missing is this text from the Long Rest rules (linked in your question):




      You cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




      Your party will be long-resting once per day anyway, so you can't get any more long rests than that.



      Your "finish a long rest in four hours" ability means you can spend more time staying on watch during the night while everyone else sleeps, but unfortunately that's the only benefit you're likely to get from it.






      share|improve this answer









      $endgroup$
















        9












        9








        9





        $begingroup$

        Arcane Recovery is just as useful for an elf wizard as it would be for any other wizard.



        If I'm understanding your question correctly, it sounds like you're asking this:




        "My elf wizard can regain all his spell slots by taking a four-hour long rest. So why should he bother regaining just a few spell slots in one hour with Arcane Recovery, when he can ask the party to rest just three hours longer and get them all back?"




        The point you're missing is this text from the Long Rest rules (linked in your question):




        You cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




        Your party will be long-resting once per day anyway, so you can't get any more long rests than that.



        Your "finish a long rest in four hours" ability means you can spend more time staying on watch during the night while everyone else sleeps, but unfortunately that's the only benefit you're likely to get from it.






        share|improve this answer









        $endgroup$



        Arcane Recovery is just as useful for an elf wizard as it would be for any other wizard.



        If I'm understanding your question correctly, it sounds like you're asking this:




        "My elf wizard can regain all his spell slots by taking a four-hour long rest. So why should he bother regaining just a few spell slots in one hour with Arcane Recovery, when he can ask the party to rest just three hours longer and get them all back?"




        The point you're missing is this text from the Long Rest rules (linked in your question):




        You cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.




        Your party will be long-resting once per day anyway, so you can't get any more long rests than that.



        Your "finish a long rest in four hours" ability means you can spend more time staying on watch during the night while everyone else sleeps, but unfortunately that's the only benefit you're likely to get from it.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered Mar 12 at 3:21









        Dan BDan B

        39.4k879150




        39.4k879150























            4












            $begingroup$

            Short rests are for everyone



            The elf wizard is (typically) one of many party members; each of those party members might recover certain resources on a short rest or a long rest. After a fight or two, it should be easy to convince the party to take a short rest.



            Some classes, like fighters, monks, and warlocks, recover all or most of their resources on a short rest. Most classes at least recover something, as with the wizard's Arcane Recovery. Everyone can at least roll Hit Dice to recover HP. It's a lot easier to say "let's all take a short rest" than "you all take a short rest followed by 3 hours of nothing, while I recover spell slots".



            Sometimes you're on the clock



            The difference between 4 hours and 1 hour may determine if the evil necromancer completes her ritual by midnight. You may be able to squeeze in a short rest when you don't have time to wait for 4 hours. Well-designed adventures may account for this by providing just enough time for a fast party to take one or two short rests, perhaps with consequences for doing so.



            Short rests don't have to be 1 hour



            Bards, sorcerers, and wizards have access to the spell catnap (XGtE, p. 151), which grants the benefits of a short rest to three creatures over the course of 10 minutes.



            Additionally, the Dungeon Master's Guide presents the Epic Heroism rest variant as a play option, in which a short rest only lasts 5 minutes (DMG, p. 267).



            Short rests are different than long rests



            As Joel Harmon pointed out in the comments of linksassin's answer, you may only benefit from one long rest in a 24-hour period (PHB, p. 186). There is no such restriction on short rests; however, linksassin rightly points out in the comments that you may only use Arcane Recovery once per day (which may or may not be the same as once per long rest).



            Additionally, you need not sleep (or trance) during a short rest; you can remain fully alert and aware. Trancing elves are "semiconscious" during their long rest, which a DM may rule imposes disadvantage on Perception checks.






            share|improve this answer











            $endgroup$









            • 2




              $begingroup$
              "There is no such restriction on short rests." There is such a restriction however on Arcane Recovery. Yes you can take multiple short rests but you cannot benefit from Arcane Recovery more than once per day.
              $endgroup$
              – linksassin
              Mar 12 at 3:32










            • $begingroup$
              @linksassin Good point, edited.
              $endgroup$
              – Chris Starnes
              Mar 12 at 3:39
















            4












            $begingroup$

            Short rests are for everyone



            The elf wizard is (typically) one of many party members; each of those party members might recover certain resources on a short rest or a long rest. After a fight or two, it should be easy to convince the party to take a short rest.



            Some classes, like fighters, monks, and warlocks, recover all or most of their resources on a short rest. Most classes at least recover something, as with the wizard's Arcane Recovery. Everyone can at least roll Hit Dice to recover HP. It's a lot easier to say "let's all take a short rest" than "you all take a short rest followed by 3 hours of nothing, while I recover spell slots".



            Sometimes you're on the clock



            The difference between 4 hours and 1 hour may determine if the evil necromancer completes her ritual by midnight. You may be able to squeeze in a short rest when you don't have time to wait for 4 hours. Well-designed adventures may account for this by providing just enough time for a fast party to take one or two short rests, perhaps with consequences for doing so.



            Short rests don't have to be 1 hour



            Bards, sorcerers, and wizards have access to the spell catnap (XGtE, p. 151), which grants the benefits of a short rest to three creatures over the course of 10 minutes.



            Additionally, the Dungeon Master's Guide presents the Epic Heroism rest variant as a play option, in which a short rest only lasts 5 minutes (DMG, p. 267).



            Short rests are different than long rests



            As Joel Harmon pointed out in the comments of linksassin's answer, you may only benefit from one long rest in a 24-hour period (PHB, p. 186). There is no such restriction on short rests; however, linksassin rightly points out in the comments that you may only use Arcane Recovery once per day (which may or may not be the same as once per long rest).



            Additionally, you need not sleep (or trance) during a short rest; you can remain fully alert and aware. Trancing elves are "semiconscious" during their long rest, which a DM may rule imposes disadvantage on Perception checks.






            share|improve this answer











            $endgroup$









            • 2




              $begingroup$
              "There is no such restriction on short rests." There is such a restriction however on Arcane Recovery. Yes you can take multiple short rests but you cannot benefit from Arcane Recovery more than once per day.
              $endgroup$
              – linksassin
              Mar 12 at 3:32










            • $begingroup$
              @linksassin Good point, edited.
              $endgroup$
              – Chris Starnes
              Mar 12 at 3:39














            4












            4








            4





            $begingroup$

            Short rests are for everyone



            The elf wizard is (typically) one of many party members; each of those party members might recover certain resources on a short rest or a long rest. After a fight or two, it should be easy to convince the party to take a short rest.



            Some classes, like fighters, monks, and warlocks, recover all or most of their resources on a short rest. Most classes at least recover something, as with the wizard's Arcane Recovery. Everyone can at least roll Hit Dice to recover HP. It's a lot easier to say "let's all take a short rest" than "you all take a short rest followed by 3 hours of nothing, while I recover spell slots".



            Sometimes you're on the clock



            The difference between 4 hours and 1 hour may determine if the evil necromancer completes her ritual by midnight. You may be able to squeeze in a short rest when you don't have time to wait for 4 hours. Well-designed adventures may account for this by providing just enough time for a fast party to take one or two short rests, perhaps with consequences for doing so.



            Short rests don't have to be 1 hour



            Bards, sorcerers, and wizards have access to the spell catnap (XGtE, p. 151), which grants the benefits of a short rest to three creatures over the course of 10 minutes.



            Additionally, the Dungeon Master's Guide presents the Epic Heroism rest variant as a play option, in which a short rest only lasts 5 minutes (DMG, p. 267).



            Short rests are different than long rests



            As Joel Harmon pointed out in the comments of linksassin's answer, you may only benefit from one long rest in a 24-hour period (PHB, p. 186). There is no such restriction on short rests; however, linksassin rightly points out in the comments that you may only use Arcane Recovery once per day (which may or may not be the same as once per long rest).



            Additionally, you need not sleep (or trance) during a short rest; you can remain fully alert and aware. Trancing elves are "semiconscious" during their long rest, which a DM may rule imposes disadvantage on Perception checks.






            share|improve this answer











            $endgroup$



            Short rests are for everyone



            The elf wizard is (typically) one of many party members; each of those party members might recover certain resources on a short rest or a long rest. After a fight or two, it should be easy to convince the party to take a short rest.



            Some classes, like fighters, monks, and warlocks, recover all or most of their resources on a short rest. Most classes at least recover something, as with the wizard's Arcane Recovery. Everyone can at least roll Hit Dice to recover HP. It's a lot easier to say "let's all take a short rest" than "you all take a short rest followed by 3 hours of nothing, while I recover spell slots".



            Sometimes you're on the clock



            The difference between 4 hours and 1 hour may determine if the evil necromancer completes her ritual by midnight. You may be able to squeeze in a short rest when you don't have time to wait for 4 hours. Well-designed adventures may account for this by providing just enough time for a fast party to take one or two short rests, perhaps with consequences for doing so.



            Short rests don't have to be 1 hour



            Bards, sorcerers, and wizards have access to the spell catnap (XGtE, p. 151), which grants the benefits of a short rest to three creatures over the course of 10 minutes.



            Additionally, the Dungeon Master's Guide presents the Epic Heroism rest variant as a play option, in which a short rest only lasts 5 minutes (DMG, p. 267).



            Short rests are different than long rests



            As Joel Harmon pointed out in the comments of linksassin's answer, you may only benefit from one long rest in a 24-hour period (PHB, p. 186). There is no such restriction on short rests; however, linksassin rightly points out in the comments that you may only use Arcane Recovery once per day (which may or may not be the same as once per long rest).



            Additionally, you need not sleep (or trance) during a short rest; you can remain fully alert and aware. Trancing elves are "semiconscious" during their long rest, which a DM may rule imposes disadvantage on Perception checks.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Mar 12 at 6:15









            V2Blast

            27.3k595165




            27.3k595165










            answered Mar 12 at 3:07









            Chris StarnesChris Starnes

            3,9811934




            3,9811934








            • 2




              $begingroup$
              "There is no such restriction on short rests." There is such a restriction however on Arcane Recovery. Yes you can take multiple short rests but you cannot benefit from Arcane Recovery more than once per day.
              $endgroup$
              – linksassin
              Mar 12 at 3:32










            • $begingroup$
              @linksassin Good point, edited.
              $endgroup$
              – Chris Starnes
              Mar 12 at 3:39














            • 2




              $begingroup$
              "There is no such restriction on short rests." There is such a restriction however on Arcane Recovery. Yes you can take multiple short rests but you cannot benefit from Arcane Recovery more than once per day.
              $endgroup$
              – linksassin
              Mar 12 at 3:32










            • $begingroup$
              @linksassin Good point, edited.
              $endgroup$
              – Chris Starnes
              Mar 12 at 3:39








            2




            2




            $begingroup$
            "There is no such restriction on short rests." There is such a restriction however on Arcane Recovery. Yes you can take multiple short rests but you cannot benefit from Arcane Recovery more than once per day.
            $endgroup$
            – linksassin
            Mar 12 at 3:32




            $begingroup$
            "There is no such restriction on short rests." There is such a restriction however on Arcane Recovery. Yes you can take multiple short rests but you cannot benefit from Arcane Recovery more than once per day.
            $endgroup$
            – linksassin
            Mar 12 at 3:32












            $begingroup$
            @linksassin Good point, edited.
            $endgroup$
            – Chris Starnes
            Mar 12 at 3:39




            $begingroup$
            @linksassin Good point, edited.
            $endgroup$
            – Chris Starnes
            Mar 12 at 3:39


















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