5e feat or background to beat sleep for humans

[Drache64]

I am currently playing an investigator type character who's got a shady past and is always pushing himself too hard.

I barely get 6 hours of sleep in real life, I want my character to feel like Batman, staying awake for multiple days, burning the candle at both ends.

Is there any logistical way to accomplish this? Elves with their 4 hour meditation is cool, but my character is human. I could take a dip into warlock and choose the evocation that lets you skip sleep but that's a pretty big hit to my wizard class.

[HappyDaze]

Alchemical energy drinks? I'm sure they must exist in a setting like Eberron...

[djreynolds]

It's perfect. If you don't get a long rest... you suffer from exhaustion... not pseudo exhaustion.

And this why Batman is like this.
Just imagine what he could've accomplished if his parents lived?
Or what he wouldn't have?
Same with Tony Stark.
Their parents deaths simultaneously push them to excel, yet destroys them... their pace is a killer.

So Batman and iron man are secretly driven to the point of constant exhaustion. In 5E their skills and attributes and money and technology and superior abilities hide the fact they have to roll all the time with disadvantage.

So what I'm saying is. Buff up your skills with expertise from rogue and bard so disadvantage does not matter.

Also check out backgrounds from CoS like haunted

[Drache64]

It's perfect. If you don't get a long rest... you suffer from exhaustion... not pseudo exhaustion.

And this why Batman is like this.
Just imagine what he could've accomplished if his parents lived?
Or what he wouldn't have?
Same with Tony Stark.
Their parents deaths simultaneously push them to excel, yet destroys them... their pace is a killer.

So Batman and iron man are secretly driven to the point of constant exhaustion. In 5E their skills and attributes and money and technology and superior abilities hide the fact they have to roll all the time with disadvantage.

So what I'm saying is. Buff up your skills with expertise from rogue and bard so disadvantage does not matter.

Also check out backgrounds from CoS like haunted

But it just seems lame that mundane normal blue collar me gets 5 hours of sleep on average and my super cool adventurer can hardly perform without his beauty sleep.

[Greywander]

I am currently playing an investigator type character who's got a shady past and is always pushing himself too hard.

I barely get 6 hours of sleep in real life, I want my character to feel like Batman, staying awake for multiple days, burning the candle at both ends.

Is there any logistical way to accomplish this? Elves with their 4 hour meditation is cool, but my character is human. I could take a dip into warlock and choose the evocation that lets you skip sleep but that's a pretty big hit to my wizard class.
Step 1, play a short rest class. Something like a rogue would fit well with your investigator concept.

Step 2, beef up your CON, get resilient CON. As per XGtE p. 78, going without a long rest is a DC 10 CON save, which increases by 5 every 24 hours (i.e. every time you roll the save again). Note that 3 levels of exhaustion will give you disadvantage on saving throws.

Step 3, only long rest when either (a) you have some down time and thus nothing better to do other than recuperate, or (b) you become so exhausted that you must long rest. Long resting reduces your exhaustion level by 1, and resets the DC of the saving throw back to 10.

The Greater Restoration spell also reduces your exhaustion level by 1, but won't reset the save DC for going without sleep.

Alternate Step 1, become undead.

Alternate Step 2, there is no step 2. Enjoy being freed from the biological constraints of the living.


But it just seems lame that mundane normal blue collar me gets 5 hours of sleep on average and my super cool adventurer can hardly perform without his beauty sleep.
Rebuttal: Most people can't operate on 6 hours of sleep without taking exhaustion penalties IRL. Your super cool adventurer can. If you're only getting 5 hours, you're probably waking up exhausted each morning, or getting burned out halfway through the day. For your own health, you should probably look into reworking your schedule so you can get at least 7 hours of sleep, but eh, I know it's not always that easy.

[djreynolds]

But it just seems lame that mundane normal blue collar me gets 5 hours of sleep on average and my super cool adventurer can hardly perform without his beauty sleep.

True. But in 5E we walk uphill to kill the dragon and then... back uphill.

I don't think a long rest means 8 hours of sleep. You can be on fireguard for an hour in there.

IMO I think long rest and short rests are for adventuring days. If you're a private eye in a town... You're not hoofing it in the woods.

But if you're tracking a lead down. It might be considered an adventure.

[Mr Adventurer]

Cool, what's your build?

[AdAstra]

I will point out that a Long Rest can include up to 2 hours of light activity, "reading, talking, eating, or standing watch". So that means that an 8 hour Long Rest only needs to include 6 hours of actual sleep, which realistically is the least most people can get away with IRL without serious short and long-term issues. Especially for an adventurer who's regularly being injured and performing strenuous physical and mental activity.

[Drache64]

Cool, what's your build?

Wujen Mystic banned from taking any discipline outside of Wujen Disciplines. (So I cannot take adaptive body for the psionic focus of not needing to eat, sleep, breathe, etc) and will be mutliclassing into an Artificer Artillerist. (Weird mix, I know. Going narrative build not synergy).


I will point out that a Long Rest can include up to 2 hours of light activity, "reading, talking, eating, or standing watch". So that means that an 8 hour Long Rest only needs to include 6 hours of actual sleep, which realistically is the least most people can get away with IRL without serious short and long-term issues. Especially for an adventurer who's regularly being injured and performing strenuous physical and mental activity.

That's a great point!

[Teaguethebean]

Wujen Mystic banned from taking any discipline outside of Wujen Disciplines. (So I cannot take adaptive body for the psionic focus of not needing to eat, sleep, breathe, etc) and will be mutliclassing into an Artificer Artillerist. (Weird mix, I know. Going narrative build not synergy).

I reccomend if you plan on going without sleep to focus on cheap but effective disciplines. Not sure which ones are best but I feel your concept will be a good nerf to the strongest mystic subclass.

[Daithi]

The new UA for Ranger has the ability to remove a level of exhaustion, which I think would be a one level dip. Plus, you would get the new unarmed fighting style that would add to your Batman or hardboiled investigator vibe.

[micahaphone]

Tome warlocks can take the invocation Aspect of the Moon to completely skip the need to sleep (but not the need for long rest! ).

I'm guessing a 3 level dip is too much for you- maybe you could work with your DM to get a feat equivalent, with a promise to take part in some sort of pact with a powerful entity. Doesn't have to mean warlock levels.

[carrdrivesyou]

You might consider liberal use of the Catnap spell. Sure, it takes a slot, but this works well with any non-elf race, and it plays right into the wizard bag of tricks theme. While it is limited to once/long rest, you could effectively use it to replace long rests so long as you have a decent CON. For combat, use save or suck spells rather than attack roll spells, and you shouldn't be affected too much.

It isn't exactly a perfect fit, but I think it works as a suitable substitute for the batman theme. The downside would be the lack of long rests for regaining class features.