Short answer: Yes, you can maintain concentration during a short rest.
You can also maintain it during a long rest if you have some feature that lets you go without sleep (since sleep could easily be regared as "incapacitated" which would end concentration).
RAW, there's nothing to say or suggest you can't continue concentrating or that you are incapacitated. The Trance is described as being semi-conscious rather than unconscious and I don't see why it would stop you from reacting to stimuli and breaking trance to take actions or reactions which is how the incapacitated condition is applied.
DMs might make a ruling here and I can see arguments for both cases.
1. Trance notes you as semi-conscious which isn't a state people would say you can be concentrating on something in. 2. Trance notes meditating and dreaming as part of a mental exercise which suggests a degree of control over thoughts that could argue an ability to maintain concentration on a spell.
EDIT: I can't be bothered looking up the exact rules but from memory, Sleep and Long Rest are not synonymous. Any creature can take a Long Rest without sleeping, however creatures that need sleep and don't sleep for 24 hours need to take constitution saving throws or suffer exhaustion. The other caveat being that the standard adventuring day from the DMG only allows the benefits of a Long Rest once every 24 hours. So you might Long Rest without sleep and then sleep within 24 hours of that Long Rest but not gain the Long Rest benefits after you sleep.
As a DM I rule it that no, you cannot gain the benefits of a short rest if you're concentrating on a spell. Concentrating on a spell is intense focus. You can use the spell for 10 minutes, then rest after.
Of course you're giving us one line of text here if there is more to this your DM might rule differently.
As a DM I rule it that no, you cannot gain the benefits of a short rest if you're concentrating on a spell. Concentrating on a spell is intense focus. You can use the spell for 10 minutes, then rest after.
Of course you're giving us one line of text here if there is more to this your DM might rule differently.
According to the rules the give the following as the only ways in which you can lose concentration in the following ways. Looking at the Hex spell where when cast at 3rd or 4th level it lasts up to 8 hours and at 5th or higher it lasts up to 24 it is clearly intended that there will be occassions when you will want ot maintain concentration for more than 8 hours which while possible without a short rest I think it a clear indication that RAI you can maintain concentration through a short rest as well as RAW (below)
Normal activity, such as moving and attacking, doesn’t interfere with concentration. The following factors can break concentration:
Casting another spell that requires concentration. You lose concentration on a spell if you cast another spell that requires concentration. You can’t concentrate on two spells at once.
Taking damage. Whenever you take damage while you are concentrating on a spell, you must make a Constitution saving throw to maintain your concentration. The DC equals 10 or half the damage you take, whichever number is higher. If you take damage from multiple sources, such as an arrow and a dragon’s breath, you make a separate saving throw for each source of damage.
Being incapacitated or killed. You lose concentration on a spell if you are incapacitated or if you die.
The DM might also decide that certain environmental phenomena, such as a wave crashing over you while you’re on a storm-tossed ship, require you to succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell.
"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."
It doesn't depend on sleep, I think this hinges entirely on the short rest rules and how strenuous your DM interprets concentrating is compared to the listed acceptable activities. Personally, I imagine maintaining a spell requires much more mental effort than 'reading' so I would rule no.
As a DM I rule it that no, you cannot gain the benefits of a short rest if you're concentrating on a spell. Concentrating on a spell is intense focus. You can use the spell for 10 minutes, then rest after.
Of course you're giving us one line of text here if there is more to this your DM might rule differently.
So basically you don't want any Rangers or Warlocks at your table then? Both Hunter's Mark and Hex are an absolute staple for those classes, intended for use in combat and can stay up for 24 hours. Ruling that they have to choose between taking a short rest or keep the spell going seems very harsh, especially as there is nothing that in the rules for concentration that says taking a rest is a problem. There are other spells that can stay up for that length too, they aren't so clearly geared towards combat though but taking a short rest isn't something that's meant to happen really rarely so it seems strange that they wouldn't clearly say that it interrupts concentration if that was the intention.
As a DM I rule it that no, you cannot gain the benefits of a short rest if you're concentrating on a spell. Concentrating on a spell is intense focus. You can use the spell for 10 minutes, then rest after.
Of course you're giving us one line of text here if there is more to this your DM might rule differently.
So basically you don't want any Rangers or Warlocks at your table then? Both Hunter's Mark and Hex are an absolute staple for those classes, intended for use in combat and can stay up for 24 hours. Ruling that they have to choose between taking a short rest or keep the spell going seems very harsh, especially as there is nothing that in the rules for concentration that says taking a rest is a problem. There are other spells that can stay up for that length too, they aren't so clearly geared towards combat though but taking a short rest isn't something that's meant to happen really rarely so it seems strange that they wouldn't clearly say that it interrupts concentration if that was the intention.
Warlocks get all their spell slots back on completing a short rest, so there's no real big need for them to care about not getting the full duration out of Hex, plus letting a warlock maintain concentration on a spell, and then re-filling all their spell slots with a short rest is basically the equivalent of giving them +1 spell slot, that's a lot - 25% extra spell slot capacity.
I don't think short rests were meant to be a free opportunity to roll hit dice while keeping all the cool other stuff - you have to chose and if you don't need the health and aren't refreshing abilities you need - why are you taking the short rest in the first place?
The turnabout in the question here seems to be that while nothing about a short rest interferes with concentration, the concentration might interfere with the short rest.
So short rest is at least 1 hour of "doing nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds."
It's not official but for RAI, Mike Mearls has stated: @mikemearls Howdy, Mike! Just one question: can I start a short rest while keeping concentration on a spell like Hex? Thank you! @IgorRuffinengo as long as you don't sleep
Some are arguing that the closest mental comparison listed in the Short rest is "reading" and that concentration on a spell is more strenuous than reading. However I'd note that while concentrating on a spell, you can still move, dash, shove or grapple and cast 1 action spells among many other things. Even if you're hurt you might be able to maintain concentration. Trying to do all that in a 6 second timeframe while persisting with reading a book seems pretty difficult.
RAW there's nothing stating that Concentration on a spell is particularly strenuous and you can clearly do other strenuous activities while maintaining it. There's also no RAW stating that you specifically loose concentration while resting (without sleep). RAI we have the tweet from Mike Mearls that indicates mixing short rest and concentration is intended.
As a DM I rule it that no, you cannot gain the benefits of a short rest if you're concentrating on a spell. Concentrating on a spell is intense focus. You can use the spell for 10 minutes, then rest after.
Of course you're giving us one line of text here if there is more to this your DM might rule differently.
So basically you don't want any Rangers or Warlocks at your table then? Both Hunter's Mark and Hex are an absolute staple for those classes, intended for use in combat and can stay up for 24 hours. Ruling that they have to choose between taking a short rest or keep the spell going seems very harsh, especially as there is nothing that in the rules for concentration that says taking a rest is a problem. There are other spells that can stay up for that length too, they aren't so clearly geared towards combat though but taking a short rest isn't something that's meant to happen really rarely so it seems strange that they wouldn't clearly say that it interrupts concentration if that was the intention.
Warlocks get all their spell slots back on completing a short rest, so there's no real big need for them to care about not getting the full duration out of Hex, plus letting a warlock maintain concentration on a spell, and then re-filling all their spell slots with a short rest is basically the equivalent of giving them +1 spell slot, that's a lot - 25% extra spell slot capacity.
I don't think short rests were meant to be a free opportunity to roll hit dice while keeping all the cool other stuff - you have to chose and if you don't need the health and aren't refreshing abilities you need - why are you taking the short rest in the first place?
Actually there is, very much so. If I cast hex at a higher level so it lasts 24 hours and then later take a short rest, after the rest I have both spell slots back and hex up. But if hex goes down then I need to cast it again and will be down to 1 spell slot again. There is literally no point in having the duration increase to 8 or 24 hours if the spell goes down after a short rest.
RAW there's nothing stating that Concentration on a spell is particularly strenuous and you can clearly do other strenuous activities while maintaining it. There's also no RAW stating that you specifically loose concentration while resting (without sleep). RAI we have the tweet from Mike Mearls that indicates mixing short rest and concentration is intended.
As always, DMs can house rule whatever they like.
"RAW doesn't say" can get kind of strange on us, though.
RAW doesn't say you can maintain concentration during a short rest, therefore you cannot. RAW doesn't say a short rest ends concentration, therefore it does not.
For my part, I think concentration is a bit too strenuous for gaining the benefit of a short rest, but I can see where someone else might read the short rest description and think a character concentrating on a spell, but otherwise relaxing physically falls well within the limits of downtime during a short rest. I don't think we are going to get a definitive answer from this sentence: "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."
Concentration requires no actions, no components, no resources and can explicitly be done whilst doing complex things such as casting spells, doing your daily activities, dungeon puzzle solvings, etc.
"Concentration" the mechanic is clearly not what we use it for in every day life - it isn't the caster constantly thinking about maintaining the spell.
"Concentration" is the name given to the game mechanic. It has nothing to do with actually concentrating on anything.
Quoting from above:
Normal activity, such as moving and attacking, doesn’t interfere with concentration. The following factors can break concentration:
Casting another spell that requires concentration. You lose concentration on a spell if you cast another spell that requires concentration. You can’t concentrate on two spells at once.
Taking damage. Whenever you take damage while you are concentrating on a spell, you must make a Constitution saving throw to maintain your concentration. The DC equals 10 or half the damage you take, whichever number is higher. If you take damage from multiple sources, such as an arrow and a dragon’s breath, you make a separate saving throw for each source of damage.
Being incapacitated or killed. You lose concentration on a spell if you are incapacitated or if you die.
The DM might also decide that certain environmental phenomena, such as a wave crashing over you while you’re on a storm-tossed ship, require you to succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell.
Attacking doesn't break concentration. Normal activity doesn't break concentration. Does normal activity include "eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds." I'd say absolutely yes. If you can attack someone else, cast other spells, run, jump, climb, ride a horse, operate a vehicle .. none of which would break concentration .. then "eating, drinking, reading or tending wounds" certainly would not break concentration on a spell.
To OP: Yes, you can maintain concentration on Wall of Stone while taking a short rest (but ask your DM how they want to run it, in case they have different house rules).
The DM could decide that certain (violent) environmental phenomena could cause a concentration check - like a wave crashing over you on a storm tossed ship - and even then the caster gets a DC10 constitution save. Is reading as strenuous as a "wave crashing over you while you’re on a storm-tossed ship"? No.
DMs seem to sometimes get confused by the name given to the mechanic. If it was called "maintain spell" rather than "concentration", there would be less of a reaction to what characters can or can't do while concentrating on a spell.
Concentrating on a spell, based on the rules, requires very little effort.
The rules are very clear. There are three situations plus DM specified environmental situations that could result in loss of concentration. Normal activity isn't one of them. Being on the same plane of existence isn't one of them.
A character loses concentration when incapacitated. Unconscious also imposes incapacitated. Based on the XGtE rules, sleep imposes the unconscious condition. As a result, a sleeping creature loses concentration on any spells they are maintaining.
In the case of a trance rest (like Elves) : "Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) " ... it does not impose the sleeping condition .. it does not impose the unconscious conditions and as a result it does not impose the incapacitated condition. So, RAW at least, an elf could maintain concentration on a spell throughout a long rest while a creature requiring sleep could not.
P.S. Just adding the obligatory "DM can choose to run it however they like" :)
I don't think the argument is that taking a short rest breaks your concentration. I think the argument is that concentration makes you unable to rest properly.
I don't think the argument is that taking a short rest breaks your concentration. I think the argument is that concentration makes you unable to rest properly.
The second sentence isn't supported by the rules, which has a specific list of things that can break concentration.
Well, that isn't what I said, but I also felt like I said what I said pretty clearly.
True but this section this section of the forums is about the rules the WotC have written. Mainly RAW but their is a place for RAI (e.g. the rgument about hex being upgradable for 8 hours to 24 is RAI).
If you want to homebrew that something dfferent you are welcome to do so but and there is a section on homebrew rules to post about it.
I don't think the argument is that taking a short rest breaks your concentration. I think the argument is that concentration makes you unable to rest properly.
If that was true why wouldn't that actually be stated?
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Title is self-explanatory, but just so you know, the spell I'm talking about is wall of stone.
Most online sources say yes, but I just wanted to make sure.
Short answer: Yes, you can maintain concentration during a short rest.
You can also maintain it during a long rest if you have some feature that lets you go without sleep (since sleep could easily be regared as "incapacitated" which would end concentration).
Would Elves' Trance trait let you concentrate?
RAW, there's nothing to say or suggest you can't continue concentrating or that you are incapacitated. The Trance is described as being semi-conscious rather than unconscious and I don't see why it would stop you from reacting to stimuli and breaking trance to take actions or reactions which is how the incapacitated condition is applied.
DMs might make a ruling here and I can see arguments for both cases.
1. Trance notes you as semi-conscious which isn't a state people would say you can be concentrating on something in.
2. Trance notes meditating and dreaming as part of a mental exercise which suggests a degree of control over thoughts that could argue an ability to maintain concentration on a spell.
EDIT: I can't be bothered looking up the exact rules but from memory, Sleep and Long Rest are not synonymous. Any creature can take a Long Rest without sleeping, however creatures that need sleep and don't sleep for 24 hours need to take constitution saving throws or suffer exhaustion. The other caveat being that the standard adventuring day from the DMG only allows the benefits of a Long Rest once every 24 hours. So you might Long Rest without sleep and then sleep within 24 hours of that Long Rest but not gain the Long Rest benefits after you sleep.
As a DM I rule it that no, you cannot gain the benefits of a short rest if you're concentrating on a spell. Concentrating on a spell is intense focus. You can use the spell for 10 minutes, then rest after.
Of course you're giving us one line of text here if there is more to this your DM might rule differently.
According to the rules the give the following as the only ways in which you can lose concentration in the following ways. Looking at the Hex spell where when cast at 3rd or 4th level it lasts up to 8 hours and at 5th or higher it lasts up to 24 it is clearly intended that there will be occassions when you will want ot maintain concentration for more than 8 hours which while possible without a short rest I think it a clear indication that RAI you can maintain concentration through a short rest as well as RAW (below)
I would add that you can still cast non-concentration spells while concentrating, so concentrating isn't that intense.
"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."
It doesn't depend on sleep, I think this hinges entirely on the short rest rules and how strenuous your DM interprets concentrating is compared to the listed acceptable activities.
Personally, I imagine maintaining a spell requires much more mental effort than 'reading' so I would rule no.
So basically you don't want any Rangers or Warlocks at your table then? Both Hunter's Mark and Hex are an absolute staple for those classes, intended for use in combat and can stay up for 24 hours. Ruling that they have to choose between taking a short rest or keep the spell going seems very harsh, especially as there is nothing that in the rules for concentration that says taking a rest is a problem.
There are other spells that can stay up for that length too, they aren't so clearly geared towards combat though but taking a short rest isn't something that's meant to happen really rarely so it seems strange that they wouldn't clearly say that it interrupts concentration if that was the intention.
Warlocks get all their spell slots back on completing a short rest, so there's no real big need for them to care about not getting the full duration out of Hex, plus letting a warlock maintain concentration on a spell, and then re-filling all their spell slots with a short rest is basically the equivalent of giving them +1 spell slot, that's a lot - 25% extra spell slot capacity.
I don't think short rests were meant to be a free opportunity to roll hit dice while keeping all the cool other stuff - you have to chose and if you don't need the health and aren't refreshing abilities you need - why are you taking the short rest in the first place?
The turnabout in the question here seems to be that while nothing about a short rest interferes with concentration, the concentration might interfere with the short rest.
So short rest is at least 1 hour of "doing nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds."
It's not official but for RAI, Mike Mearls has stated:
@mikemearls Howdy, Mike! Just one question: can I start a short rest while keeping concentration on a spell like Hex? Thank you!
@IgorRuffinengo as long as you don't sleep
Some are arguing that the closest mental comparison listed in the Short rest is "reading" and that concentration on a spell is more strenuous than reading. However I'd note that while concentrating on a spell, you can still move, dash, shove or grapple and cast 1 action spells among many other things. Even if you're hurt you might be able to maintain concentration. Trying to do all that in a 6 second timeframe while persisting with reading a book seems pretty difficult.
RAW there's nothing stating that Concentration on a spell is particularly strenuous and you can clearly do other strenuous activities while maintaining it. There's also no RAW stating that you specifically loose concentration while resting (without sleep). RAI we have the tweet from Mike Mearls that indicates mixing short rest and concentration is intended.
As always, DMs can house rule whatever they like.
Actually there is, very much so. If I cast hex at a higher level so it lasts 24 hours and then later take a short rest, after the rest I have both spell slots back and hex up. But if hex goes down then I need to cast it again and will be down to 1 spell slot again. There is literally no point in having the duration increase to 8 or 24 hours if the spell goes down after a short rest.
"RAW doesn't say" can get kind of strange on us, though.
RAW doesn't say you can maintain concentration during a short rest, therefore you cannot.
RAW doesn't say a short rest ends concentration, therefore it does not.
For my part, I think concentration is a bit too strenuous for gaining the benefit of a short rest, but I can see where someone else might read the short rest description and think a character concentrating on a spell, but otherwise relaxing physically falls well within the limits of downtime during a short rest. I don't think we are going to get a definitive answer from this sentence: "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."
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Concentration requires no actions, no components, no resources and can explicitly be done whilst doing complex things such as casting spells, doing your daily activities, dungeon puzzle solvings, etc.
"Concentration" the mechanic is clearly not what we use it for in every day life - it isn't the caster constantly thinking about maintaining the spell.
"Concentration" is the name given to the game mechanic. It has nothing to do with actually concentrating on anything.
Quoting from above:
Attacking doesn't break concentration. Normal activity doesn't break concentration. Does normal activity include "eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds." I'd say absolutely yes. If you can attack someone else, cast other spells, run, jump, climb, ride a horse, operate a vehicle .. none of which would break concentration .. then "eating, drinking, reading or tending wounds" certainly would not break concentration on a spell.
To OP: Yes, you can maintain concentration on Wall of Stone while taking a short rest (but ask your DM how they want to run it, in case they have different house rules).
The DM could decide that certain (violent) environmental phenomena could cause a concentration check - like a wave crashing over you on a storm tossed ship - and even then the caster gets a DC10 constitution save. Is reading as strenuous as a "wave crashing over you while you’re on a storm-tossed ship"? No.
DMs seem to sometimes get confused by the name given to the mechanic. If it was called "maintain spell" rather than "concentration", there would be less of a reaction to what characters can or can't do while concentrating on a spell.
Concentrating on a spell, based on the rules, requires very little effort.
The rules are very clear. There are three situations plus DM specified environmental situations that could result in loss of concentration. Normal activity isn't one of them. Being on the same plane of existence isn't one of them.
A character loses concentration when incapacitated. Unconscious also imposes incapacitated. Based on the XGtE rules, sleep imposes the unconscious condition. As a result, a sleeping creature loses concentration on any spells they are maintaining.
In the case of a trance rest (like Elves) : "Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) " ... it does not impose the sleeping condition .. it does not impose the unconscious conditions and as a result it does not impose the incapacitated condition. So, RAW at least, an elf could maintain concentration on a spell throughout a long rest while a creature requiring sleep could not.
P.S. Just adding the obligatory "DM can choose to run it however they like" :)
I don't think the argument is that taking a short rest breaks your concentration. I think the argument is that concentration makes you unable to rest properly.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
The second sentence isn't supported by the rules, which has a specific list of things that can break concentration.
Well, that isn't what I said, but I also felt like I said what I said pretty clearly.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
True but this section this section of the forums is about the rules the WotC have written. Mainly RAW but their is a place for RAI (e.g. the rgument about hex being upgradable for 8 hours to 24 is RAI).
If you want to homebrew that something dfferent you are welcome to do so but and there is a section on homebrew rules to post about it.
If that was true why wouldn't that actually be stated?