hello I started reading and it says that elves don't need sleep and they go through trance and when they do this they do this for 4 hours and they get the benefit of eight hours of sleep so are their long rests shorter or do they just have more down time?
Not necessarily! A long rest is still 8 hours and most of it is usually used sleeping. Elves just have a lot of free time during a long rest due to trance. Its very useful if you're like a wizard or something that has stuff to do with downtime activity!
The general rule for long rests is that characters need to get at least 6 hours of sleep and spend no more than 2 hours doing light activity. So in general a PC can sleep for 6 hours and be awake for 2 as long as they don't do anything strenuous - or just sleep for 8 hours.
An Elf's Trance specifically says they can trance for 4 hours and get the same benefit as a human does with 8 hours sleep. Since 8 hours sleep would constitute a complete long rest for a human - an Elf can get a complete long rest in 4 hours.
The long rests are shorter for elves. Two of them can alternate thier trances, keeping watch while everyone else sleeps for 8 hours, or trance for 4 hours, and then go scouting / gathering food while the party sleeps.
It can make for some roleplaying opportunities in isolated elven communities who aren't used to other races having a 8 hour standard rest at night. The "lazy" humans insist on sleeping in for 4 hours every day, while the elves are hard at work preparing for the demon horde about to pour thru the area. Slackers those other races are, one and all!
It's only going to make your party's long rests shorter if your party is all elves. If not, the only effect is the elf is awake for more of the long rest.
Normally I abstract long rests as 3 watch rotations of 3 hours each. Each player will sleep for two watches and be awake for one. Technically an elf would still need slightly more than one of these rotations to sleep, but since they'd be awake for most of two rotations, I'd let them roll Perception for 2/3 watches.
If you have four watch rotations of 2 hours each, you can finish the long rest in the minimum 8 hours. Then the elf can clearly participate in two. But while that's technically more correct, I just don't want to come up with an extra cool description of how nothing happened during your watch.
If you have four watch rotations of 2 hours each, you can finish the long rest in the minimum 8 hours. Then the elf can clearly participate in two. But while that's technically more correct, I just don't want to come up with an extra cool description of how nothing happened during your watch.
This is what I advocate for. My elf likes to take first and last watch because he likes dawn and dusk. Since"regular sleepers" can stand 2 hours of light activity, that means two others can each cover one of the remaining watches.
hello I started reading and it says that elves don't need sleep and they go through trance and when they do this they do this for 4 hours and they get the benefit of eight hours of sleep so are their long rests shorter or do they just have more down time?
Not necessarily! A long rest is still 8 hours and most of it is usually used sleeping. Elves just have a lot of free time during a long rest due to trance. Its very useful if you're like a wizard or something that has stuff to do with downtime activity!
The general rule for long rests is that characters need to get at least 6 hours of sleep and spend no more than 2 hours doing light activity. So in general a PC can sleep for 6 hours and be awake for 2 as long as they don't do anything strenuous - or just sleep for 8 hours.
An Elf's Trance specifically says they can trance for 4 hours and get the same benefit as a human does with 8 hours sleep. Since 8 hours sleep would constitute a complete long rest for a human - an Elf can get a complete long rest in 4 hours.
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The long rests are shorter for elves. Two of them can alternate thier trances, keeping watch while everyone else sleeps for 8 hours, or trance for 4 hours, and then go scouting / gathering food while the party sleeps.
It can make for some roleplaying opportunities in isolated elven communities who aren't used to other races having a 8 hour standard rest at night. The "lazy" humans insist on sleeping in for 4 hours every day, while the elves are hard at work preparing for the demon horde about to pour thru the area. Slackers those other races are, one and all!
It's only going to make your party's long rests shorter if your party is all elves. If not, the only effect is the elf is awake for more of the long rest.
Normally I abstract long rests as 3 watch rotations of 3 hours each. Each player will sleep for two watches and be awake for one. Technically an elf would still need slightly more than one of these rotations to sleep, but since they'd be awake for most of two rotations, I'd let them roll Perception for 2/3 watches.
If you have four watch rotations of 2 hours each, you can finish the long rest in the minimum 8 hours. Then the elf can clearly participate in two. But while that's technically more correct, I just don't want to come up with an extra cool description of how nothing happened during your watch.
thank you
This is what I advocate for. My elf likes to take first and last watch because he likes dawn and dusk. Since"regular sleepers" can stand 2 hours of light activity, that means two others can each cover one of the remaining watches.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm