Short Rest: spend recovery dice after completing the hour
A Short Rest takes an hour and has specific interruption rules. Its recovery dice can be spent one at a time after the rest is completed, with a minimum recovery per die.
Use it at the table
- Begin with at least 1 Hit Point and spend one hour in permitted light activity.
- On completion, spend a Hit Point Die, add Constitution modifier, and regain at least 1 Hit Point for that die.
- Decide after each roll whether to spend another; Initiative, non-cantrip casting or any damage interrupts the rest and removes its benefits.
Make the call
A resting character spends a Hit Point Die and rolls 1 while having Constitution modifier −2. Under the rest’s minimum, how many Hit Points does that die restore?
The ruling
One, because each spent die restores at least one.
The arithmetic total would be negative, but the entry sets a minimum of 1 Hit Point. After this roll, the player can decide whether another die is worth spending. The rest must first be completed; an interrupted Short Rest confers no benefits, so its expected dice recovery should not be credited early.
Watch for this mistake
A Short Rest does not automatically restore all Hit Points or spent Hit Point Dice. Read the benefits here and any class feature that recharges on a Short Rest.
Ask the table
Has the hour completed, and does the next recovery die need to be spent?
The source rule
SRD 5.2.1, page 187. Read the official PDF.
A Short Rest is a 1-hour period of downtime, during which a creature does nothing more strenuous than reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. To start a Short Rest, you must have at least 1 Hit Point. Benefits of the Rest. When you finish the rest, you gain the following benefits: Spend Hit Point Dice. You can spend one or more of your Hit Point Dice to regain Hit Points. For each Hit Point Die you spend in this way, roll the die and add your Constitution modifier to it. You regain Hit Points equal to the total (minimum of 1 Hit Point). You can decide to spend an additional Hit Point Die after each roll. Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Short Rest. If you have such a feature, it recharges in the way specified in its description. Interrupting the Rest. A Short Rest is stopped by the following interruptions: • Rolling Initiative • Casting a spell other than a cantrip • Taking any damage An interrupted Short Rest confers no benefits.
Source and reuse
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
The explanation, example and table prompt are Table Ready adaptations; source text has been reflowed. This guide and its printable card are available under the same CC BY 4.0 license. Independent reference; no official affiliation. These rules are optional for our system-neutral adventures.