An average Dungeons & Dragons campaign takes a lot longer than an in-game day to complete. This means that the party will need to rest at some point, possibly while in dangerous territory, which is why there are different rules for how short rests and long rests work.

Each D&D character has access to a number of abilities or spells, which allow them to perform feats that are far beyond the scope of a normal mortal. There are limits to how often these powers can be used, however, and the character needs to rest in order to replenish their strength. This is easy if the party is dealing with a bandit camp that's a few hours away from a village. It's a lot harder if they're in the middle of the Tomb of Annihilation, where the shadow of death lingers over all. It's a lot riskier to set up a tent and start a campfire when bands of roving monsters are nearby.

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The party will eventually need to rest, even if there is some risk involved. The spellcasters of the party are eventually going to burn through their magic, and the warriors will need some downtime to heal their wounds. There are two types of resting in D&D, and they each have their own benefits, as well as their own risks.

Dungeons & Dragons: Benefits Of Short Rest Vs Long Rest

A short rest in Dungeons & Dragons requires a character to perform no strenuous actions for at least one hour. The benefit of taking a short rest is that each character can heal by rolling their hit dice, which can be done up to a maximum of their current level. This means a level two Rogue can roll up to 2d8 during a short rest in order to heal. The character also adds their Constitution modifier to this roll. They don't have to spend all of their hit dice on one short rest in D&D (assuming they are higher than level one) and they can be spread across multiple rests.

A number of powers are replenished from a short rest, including the Fighter's Second Wind ability. A level two Bard has the Song of Rest ability, which gives everyone an extra 1d6 of healing during a short rest, assuming they spend hit dice. The brief duration of Dungeons & Dragons' short rest makes it preferable for situations where the party is in a dangerous or unknown environment.

A long rest in D&D requires the character to rest for at least eight hours, of which at least six have to involve sleeping. The exception to this is elves, who only require four hours of meditation to gain the benefits of a long rest. Dungeons & Dragons characters can perform some minor activities while taking a long rest, the most important of which is standing watch, but a strenuous activity requires them to start the process again.

Some DMs will allow parties to have an interruption in their long rest, so long as they make up the rest of the time without disruption. If a character completes a long rest, then they regain all of their hit points and refresh their abilities. They also regain half of the total value of their spent hit dice, assuming they spent them in the past. A long rest is far more beneficial to the party, but the extended time means that it's more dangerous for Dungeons & Dragons adventurers that are out in the wild.

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