If a character were to be subjected to a magical effect while asleep that would be akin to sleepwalking (something they don't know what happened), should that character receive the benefits of a long rest? Spell slots restored, etc.? Or should they possibly receive a point of exhaustion? Total time affected by the interruption would be a couple minutes at the most, but would contain one attack-like exertion.
What is causing this effect, and why is this effect being inflicted on them?
If it was something like a magical disease, or curse - I could see it going either way, and the GM would have to ask how difficult is it for the Character to realize that they are cursed. If the Character woke up after a good night's rest, and they didn't get their spells back, they'd know right away that something was wrong. If they got the benefit of a long rest anyways, it might take a long time for them to figure it out. Which version of events makes a better game for your group? :)
If it's a spell - then I'd definitely lean towards the idea that they don't/can't notice any difference, since I would think that the puppet-master would want to obscure their tracks.
Personally, I'm pretty flexible with the idea of a long rest. If a Character gets 8 hours out of 10 hours asleep, then that's a long rest. I did it that way initially so that figuring out nighttime watches isn't complicated; the spellcasters can take the 1am to 3am watch, and still get their spells back. If it were at my table, I'd probably go with the idea of them getting benefit of a long rest, and have no idea that something is wrong.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
The Dream spell can cause a long rest to be lost, so it's certainly allowed, but for a custom effect like this, it's really a DM call what you want it to do.
For some added details, a Tiny Hut is being used for the long rest, so the group has a finite time they can get the long rest in. And the interruption is being caused by a sentient weapon that desires blood and has been forgotten/ignored. The weapon is also vampiric, so I was considering restoring HP's, but not spell slots.
A "plot device" is a perfectly acceptable thing to use. If the party is somewhere safe, go ahead and give the player a narrative description of the night and a point of exhaustion. If the party is somewhere dangerous, then give the other party members an opportunity to intervene, such as by letting a player with proficiency in perception to roll to notice them leaving.
Do what is fun for the table given the current game environment.
The most important thing is to give them a "hook", so that they understand that they aren't being randomly punished.
See the rules for Long Rest, " If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity — at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity — the characters must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it."
So simply taking damage in 1 attack, by itself, won't cause a long rest to be interrupted - since the attack is less than an hour long.
See the rules for Long Rest, " If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity — at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity — the characters must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it."
So simply taking damage in 1 attack, by itself, won't cause a long rest to be interrupted - since the attack is less than an hour long.
That's not actually clear -- the wording is sloppy so we don't know whether "at least one hour" applies to all of the subsequent activities, or if it only applies to walking. Since no-one ever spends an hour fighting and spending an hour spellcasting is pretty rare I'm guessing it was meant to only apply to walking, but I wouldn't bet heavily on that interpretation.
Make the choice that works best for your campaign, and try to avoid being bound to rulings by this level. Always be prepared to abandon RaW rulings and invent on the fly. It's amazing how much, in this game whereby you, the DM, can say "A block of stone falls on you. You die" people fixate on the rules. The rules are guidelines only.
Overall I'd say that if a character engages in combat of any type, or is hit by an attack, then they can only gain the benefits of a short rest, even if they complete the long rest after.
The most important concerns are:
Will the game be more or less fun for everyone if the character doesn't get a long rest here? E.g. will they just have to wait a day, and rest again, before going to do the next part of the adventure? Will that character be forced into a dungeon with only Cantrips to fight with? The answer can be Yes, More Fun, or No, No Fun.
Is the player going to feel that they are being punished for something they couldn't have known about?
Will it make anyone smile?
Basing your DMing around these criteria will give the best result.
What is the purpose of you causing the player to sleepwalk? Is it purely a plot device, or is this the result or consequence of gameplay that's meant to cost resources?
If the first reason, then I'd say let them have their long rest. If it's the second one, then I'd say no. If no sounds too harsh, maybe they only get half their stuff back after the rest. Tweak the consequence to fit the circumstance.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
If a character were to be subjected to a magical effect while asleep that would be akin to sleepwalking (something they don't know what happened), should that character receive the benefits of a long rest? Spell slots restored, etc.? Or should they possibly receive a point of exhaustion? Total time affected by the interruption would be a couple minutes at the most, but would contain one attack-like exertion.
What is causing this effect, and why is this effect being inflicted on them?
If it was something like a magical disease, or curse - I could see it going either way, and the GM would have to ask how difficult is it for the Character to realize that they are cursed. If the Character woke up after a good night's rest, and they didn't get their spells back, they'd know right away that something was wrong. If they got the benefit of a long rest anyways, it might take a long time for them to figure it out. Which version of events makes a better game for your group? :)
If it's a spell - then I'd definitely lean towards the idea that they don't/can't notice any difference, since I would think that the puppet-master would want to obscure their tracks.
Personally, I'm pretty flexible with the idea of a long rest. If a Character gets 8 hours out of 10 hours asleep, then that's a long rest. I did it that way initially so that figuring out nighttime watches isn't complicated; the spellcasters can take the 1am to 3am watch, and still get their spells back. If it were at my table, I'd probably go with the idea of them getting benefit of a long rest, and have no idea that something is wrong.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
The Dream spell can cause a long rest to be lost, so it's certainly allowed, but for a custom effect like this, it's really a DM call what you want it to do.
For some added details, a Tiny Hut is being used for the long rest, so the group has a finite time they can get the long rest in. And the interruption is being caused by a sentient weapon that desires blood and has been forgotten/ignored. The weapon is also vampiric, so I was considering restoring HP's, but not spell slots.
A "plot device" is a perfectly acceptable thing to use. If the party is somewhere safe, go ahead and give the player a narrative description of the night and a point of exhaustion. If the party is somewhere dangerous, then give the other party members an opportunity to intervene, such as by letting a player with proficiency in perception to roll to notice them leaving.
Do what is fun for the table given the current game environment.
The most important thing is to give them a "hook", so that they understand that they aren't being randomly punished.
See the rules for Long Rest, " If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity — at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity — the characters must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it."
So simply taking damage in 1 attack, by itself, won't cause a long rest to be interrupted - since the attack is less than an hour long.
That's not actually clear -- the wording is sloppy so we don't know whether "at least one hour" applies to all of the subsequent activities, or if it only applies to walking. Since no-one ever spends an hour fighting and spending an hour spellcasting is pretty rare I'm guessing it was meant to only apply to walking, but I wouldn't bet heavily on that interpretation.
Make the choice that works best for your campaign, and try to avoid being bound to rulings by this level. Always be prepared to abandon RaW rulings and invent on the fly. It's amazing how much, in this game whereby you, the DM, can say "A block of stone falls on you. You die" people fixate on the rules. The rules are guidelines only.
Overall I'd say that if a character engages in combat of any type, or is hit by an attack, then they can only gain the benefits of a short rest, even if they complete the long rest after.
The most important concerns are:
Basing your DMing around these criteria will give the best result.
What is the purpose of you causing the player to sleepwalk? Is it purely a plot device, or is this the result or consequence of gameplay that's meant to cost resources?
If the first reason, then I'd say let them have their long rest. If it's the second one, then I'd say no. If no sounds too harsh, maybe they only get half their stuff back after the rest. Tweak the consequence to fit the circumstance.