Im confused as to how Elf Trance should be handled:
1. Elves only take 4 hours to complete a long rest 2. Elves only take 4 hours to sleep, instead of 6 and therefore must still complete 4 more hours of light activity to complete a long rest
Which is the correct reading from the Errata PHB?
A. A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps or performs light activity: reading, talking, eating, or standing watch for no more than 2 hours. B. long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch.
If the answer is option B, then DNDBeyond is not up to date to the errata. if so, is that a mistake or is none of the material on DNDBeyond updated from the Errata?
Does the Trance trait allow an elf to finish a long rest in 4 hours? The intent is no. The Trance trait does let an elf meditate for 4 hours and then feel the way a human does after sleeping for 8 hours, but that isn’t intended to shorten an elf’s long rest. A long rest is a period of relaxation that is at least 8 hours long. It can contain sleep, reading, talking, eating, and other restful activity. Standing watch is even possible during it, but for no more than 2 hours; maintaining heightened vigilance any longer than that isn’t restful. In short, a long rest and sleep aren’t the same thing; you can sleep when you’re not taking a long rest, and you can take a long rest and not sleep.
Here’s what this all means for an elf. An elf can spend 4 hours in a trance during a long rest and then has 4 additional hours of light activity. While an elf’s companions are snoozing, the elf can be awake and engaged in a variety of activities, including carving a lovely trinket, composing a sonnet, reading a tome of ancient lore, attempting to remember something experienced centuries before, and keeping an eye out for danger. The Trance trait is, ultimately, meant to highlight the otherworldly character of elves, not to give them an edge in the game.
That all said, if you’re the DM and you decide to let Trance shorten an elf’s long rest, you’re not going to break the game. You are making a world-building choice if you do so. You’re deciding that elves, on a global scale, are ready to reenter a fight before anyone else, that they heal faster than most humanoids, and that they regain their magical energy faster. Such a choice would make sense in a world where elves are the dominant race, where they not only live longer than others, but also recover faster.
TL;DR: It's just a flavor thing for role playing purposes. The intended mechanics are supposed to work exactly the same way as any other race's long rest. 2 hours maximum light duty (that includes standing watch). Goes without saying DM's can houserule they way they want it to work.
Does the Trance trait allow an elf to finish a long rest in 4 hours? If an elf meditates during a long rest (as described in the Trance trait), the elf finishes the rest after only 4 hours. A meditating elf otherwise follows all the rules for a long rest; only the duration is changed. [This answer has been altered as a result of a tweak to the rules for a long rest, which appears in newer printings of the Player’s Handbook.]
So if you search in DNDBeyond for "Long Rest" you'll get the PHB and Basic Rules results and they are different. it is my understanding that the PHB is the correct errata while the basic rules are its original printing and has not been update with the PHB.
that being said the SA contradicts the errata and im not sure which is most recent.
As filcat has pointed out, this is a detail for which the official answer used to be different than it now is.
Somewhere along the line, the man in charge decided to go ahead and let Trance-having characters finish a long rest in less time than other characters even though he had already made a point of saying that they weren't supposed to be able to.
Most of the comments are very old on this topic. Just checking in because DnDBeyond and PHB page 23, absolutely states that an Elf gains the same benefit of a long rest in only 4 hours.
From Trance: "After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep." (no mention of long rest)
From Long Rest: "A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity,"
Does this means an elf only needs to trance for 3 hours to get the 6 hours of sleep required by everyone else? Does this mean their long rest is 4 hours with 1 hour of light activity or 5 hours with two hours of light activity or 8 hours with 5 hours of light activity?
Does this means an elf only needs to trance for 3 hours to get the 6 hours of sleep required by everyone else? Does this mean their long rest is 4 hours with 1 hour of light activity or 5 hours with two hours of light activity or 8 hours with 5 hours of light activity?
If an elf is in Trance for 3 hours, nothing happen specifically; it must do so for 4 hours to gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep, such as long rest and then can do any activities after such period.
How conscious do elves remain while trancing for. a long rest? If an elf meditates outside while the rest of the party is asleep, are they able to keep watch and spot any possible ambushers? Or are they too deep in their trance to spot them?
How conscious do elves remain while trancing for. a long rest? If an elf meditates outside while the rest of the party is asleep, are they able to keep watch and spot any possible ambushers? Or are they too deep in their trance to spot them?
When Elf Trance they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, whatever that may be. This could impose disadvantage to Wisdom (Perception ) checks for example.
I always pictured such semiconcious state has having one’s head in the clouds like when getting lost in it's thoughts . The nickname for such ability way back in 2E Complete Book of Elves was Reverie.
That is just wrong. The elven Trait says “after resting this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep”, while the Longrest-Rules say “A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity”, so you can have a long rest of 8 hours of sleep without any light activity, making 4 hours of meditation for an elf a complete long rest.
What does trancing look like? I’ve been searching for an answer rather than just a guess or opinion
In 2024, a normal Long Rest is 6 hours of sleep where you are unconscious and 2 hours of no more than light activity. The Elf Trance completes Long Rest in 4 hours where they do not gain the unconscious condition. After which you can do whatever you want. You can take a traditional Long Rest as normal if you want.
In 2014, the Trance gave the benefit of 8 hours of sleep. This is more than the 6 hours required for a Long Rest so you still need 2 hours of no more than light activity. Sleep is no more than light activity and the trance provides an extra 2 hours of sleep so the Elf completes the Long Rest in 4 hours. During the meditation, the elf is "semi-conscious" but I am not aware of any official mechanics associated with this.
Thus, 2024 and 2014 are mechanically identical, but 2024 is cleaner (and maybe blander).
There are other variations of the baseline Elf Trance. A Warforged's Sentry's Rest behaves similarly but replaces 6 hours of sleep with 6 hours of being apparently inert but with normal awareness. Again, to complete the Long Rest, 2 hours of light activity would be required.
If you literally mean, what does an Elf in a Trance look like, there is no definitive answer. The original description was literally meditation. During the meditation they perform mental exercises. Find any images of meditation, but know that meditation can take many forms. I can meditation on the floor in a Lotus position (well, actually I can't get into that position) or I can do it at my desk. I can do it while standing (but it is more difficult). Essentially, it is a comfortable position that the participant can hold for an extended period of time. Typically, your eyes will be closed and you will be attempting to clear your thoughts or visualize something specific. You could potentially focus on your surroundings or attempt to tune them out.
Im confused as to how Elf Trance should be handled:
1. Elves only take 4 hours to complete a long rest
2. Elves only take 4 hours to sleep, instead of 6 and therefore must still complete 4 more hours of light activity to complete a long rest
Which is the correct reading from the Errata PHB?
A. A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps or performs light activity: reading, talking, eating, or standing watch for no more than 2 hours.
B. long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch.
If the answer is option B, then DNDBeyond is not up to date to the errata. if so, is that a mistake or is none of the material on DNDBeyond updated from the Errata?
The PHB is errata'd.
Aside from few maps, DDB has all the errata updates.
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/rules-answers-september-2015
Does the Trance trait allow an elf to finish a long rest in 4 hours? The intent is no. The Trance trait does let an elf meditate for 4 hours and then feel the way a human does after sleeping for 8 hours, but that isn’t intended to shorten an elf’s long rest. A long rest is a period of relaxation that is at least 8 hours long. It can contain sleep, reading, talking, eating, and other restful activity. Standing watch is even possible during it, but for no more than 2 hours; maintaining heightened vigilance any longer than that isn’t restful. In short, a long rest and sleep aren’t the same thing; you can sleep when you’re not taking a long rest, and you can take a long rest and not sleep.
Here’s what this all means for an elf. An elf can spend 4 hours in a trance during a long rest and then has 4 additional hours of light activity. While an elf’s companions are snoozing, the elf can be awake and engaged in a variety of activities, including carving a lovely trinket, composing a sonnet, reading a tome of ancient lore, attempting to remember something experienced centuries before, and keeping an eye out for danger. The Trance trait is, ultimately, meant to highlight the otherworldly character of elves, not to give them an edge in the game.
That all said, if you’re the DM and you decide to let Trance shorten an elf’s long rest, you’re not going to break the game. You are making a world-building choice if you do so. You’re deciding that elves, on a global scale, are ready to reenter a fight before anyone else, that they heal faster than most humanoids, and that they regain their magical energy faster. Such a choice would make sense in a world where elves are the dominant race, where they not only live longer than others, but also recover faster.
TL;DR: It's just a flavor thing for role playing purposes. The intended mechanics are supposed to work exactly the same way as any other race's long rest. 2 hours maximum light duty (that includes standing watch). Goes without saying DM's can houserule they way they want it to work.
The newest Sage Advice says otherwise.
http://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/SA-Compendium.pdf
So if you search in DNDBeyond for "Long Rest" you'll get the PHB and Basic Rules results and they are different. it is my understanding that the PHB is the correct errata while the basic rules are its original printing and has not been update with the PHB.
that being said the SA contradicts the errata and im not sure which is most recent.
As filcat has pointed out, this is a detail for which the official answer used to be different than it now is.
Somewhere along the line, the man in charge decided to go ahead and let Trance-having characters finish a long rest in less time than other characters even though he had already made a point of saying that they weren't supposed to be able to.
Most of the comments are very old on this topic. Just checking in because DnDBeyond and PHB page 23, absolutely states that an Elf gains the same benefit of a long rest in only 4 hours.
For me it D&D Beyond still says
From Trance: "After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep." (no mention of long rest)
From Long Rest: "A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity,"
Does this means an elf only needs to trance for 3 hours to get the 6 hours of sleep required by everyone else? Does this mean their long rest is 4 hours with 1 hour of light activity or 5 hours with two hours of light activity or 8 hours with 5 hours of light activity?
If an elf is in Trance for 3 hours, nothing happen specifically; it must do so for 4 hours to gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep, such as long rest and then can do any activities after such period.
How conscious do elves remain while trancing for. a long rest? If an elf meditates outside while the rest of the party is asleep, are they able to keep watch and spot any possible ambushers? Or are they too deep in their trance to spot them?
When Elf Trance they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, whatever that may be. This could impose disadvantage to Wisdom (Perception ) checks for example.
I always pictured such semiconcious state has having one’s head in the clouds like when getting lost in it's thoughts . The nickname for such ability way back in 2E Complete Book of Elves was Reverie.
That is just wrong. The elven Trait says “after resting this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep”, while the Longrest-Rules say “A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity”, so you can have a long rest of 8 hours of sleep without any light activity, making 4 hours of meditation for an elf a complete long rest.
What does trancing look like? I’ve been searching for an answer rather than just a guess or opinion
In 2024, a normal Long Rest is 6 hours of sleep where you are unconscious and 2 hours of no more than light activity. The Elf Trance completes Long Rest in 4 hours where they do not gain the unconscious condition. After which you can do whatever you want. You can take a traditional Long Rest as normal if you want.
In 2014, the Trance gave the benefit of 8 hours of sleep. This is more than the 6 hours required for a Long Rest so you still need 2 hours of no more than light activity. Sleep is no more than light activity and the trance provides an extra 2 hours of sleep so the Elf completes the Long Rest in 4 hours. During the meditation, the elf is "semi-conscious" but I am not aware of any official mechanics associated with this.
Thus, 2024 and 2014 are mechanically identical, but 2024 is cleaner (and maybe blander).
There are other variations of the baseline Elf Trance. A Warforged's Sentry's Rest behaves similarly but replaces 6 hours of sleep with 6 hours of being apparently inert but with normal awareness. Again, to complete the Long Rest, 2 hours of light activity would be required.
If you literally mean, what does an Elf in a Trance look like, there is no definitive answer. The original description was literally meditation. During the meditation they perform mental exercises. Find any images of meditation, but know that meditation can take many forms. I can meditation on the floor in a Lotus position (well, actually I can't get into that position) or I can do it at my desk. I can do it while standing (but it is more difficult). Essentially, it is a comfortable position that the participant can hold for an extended period of time. Typically, your eyes will be closed and you will be attempting to clear your thoughts or visualize something specific. You could potentially focus on your surroundings or attempt to tune them out.
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