Demons and Devils - resting question

[HoboKnight]

Hey guys,

I have two PCs in my campaign, one is a succubus, the other an imp. I was thinking about short/long rests for them. Devils/demons should not need to eat, sleep and breathe. This is sort of general lore, I did not notice it in 5e books anywhere, it's just sort of ... canon. Sort of.

I'm wondering how to apply short/long rests to these two PCs? Mainly for balance purposes.

thanks

[BloodSnake'sCha]

No need to sleep does not equal to not needing to rest(some features require resting).

And those races are not PC races and 5e don't have a system for playing a non PC race.

What exactly do you want to balance?

[JackPhoenix]

Unless a creature says in its description it doesn't need certain biological functions, it does. The only fiend that does that is the shadow demon with its "Shadowy Nature. A shadow demon doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep." Every other fiend, succubi and imps included, do need to do all of that.

[Unoriginal]

Hey guys,

I have two PCs in my campaign, one is a succubus, the other an imp. I was thinking about short/long rests for them. Devils/demons should not need to eat, sleep and breathe. This is sort of general lore, I did not notice it in 5e books anywhere, it's just sort of ... canon. Sort of.

I'm wondering how to apply short/long rests to these two PCs? Mainly for balance purposes.

thanks

I think that was the lore in some previous editions, but as JackPhoenix pointed out, it isn't the case anymore for most.

[Silly Name]

Assuming you want to keep the benefit of not having to sleep, eat and breathe, your two fiendish NPCs still need to rest to regain their spell slots and various powers, as dictated by the rules. This is how it worked in previous editions, too - e.g., a 3.5 succubus sorceress still needed her eight hours of rest to get her spell slots back, and her demonic spell-like abilities had limited daily uses.

Also note that not having to do something doesn't mean they can't. While being able to rest without having to sleep certainly makes for excellent guards, they can still decide to sleep or enjoy a nice meal.

[rlc]

And those races are not PC races and 5e don't have a system for playing a non PC race.

Homebrew? Refluffed something? Sidekick class for the imp? That one's definitely in a book, bu the way.
This is probably the weirdest thing to nitpick.

[ff7hero]

Unless a creature says in its description it doesn't need certain biological functions, it does. The only fiend that does that is the shadow demon with its "Shadowy Nature. A shadow demon doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep." Every other fiend, succubi and imps included, do need to do all of that.

Huh, time to add on to my house rule document then...

[Greywander]

Huh, time to add on to my house rule document then...
I had a similar experience when someone pointed out that undead aren't actually immune to disease.

But yes, not needing to sleep doesn't prevent a creature from taking short or long rests, which is a great way for things like undead and constructs to heal, since most healing spells don't affect them. Not needing to sleep simply means they don't get any penalties if they forgo sleep, and may or may not including being able to do light activity for an entire long rest (I would assume this to be the case, but I can see an argument for a creature that doesn't require regular sleep, but needs to sleep to rest). Also, as pointed out, not needing to eat or sleep doesn't prevent you from eating or sleeping, you just don't need to. IIRC, even elves can sleep, but most find dreaming to be rather disturbing and prefer to trance instead.

[Aussiehams]

Where this seems to come up most often is familiars and find steed. The creature you summon is celestial/fiend/fey.
If you rule that those outsiders don't need to eat/sleep etc., it is a small power bump for those already strong spells.

[JackPhoenix]

I had a similar experience when someone pointed out that undead aren't actually immune to disease.

I believe that was me too :smallcool:

[Segev]

Personally, since fiends are of the planes where matter is literally made of evil, I tend to assume that at least part of a fiend’s food needs (if not all) come from actively doing, encouraging, inspiring, or feasting on the ambient presence of evil.

An imp is actively nourished by his master engaging in malevolent trickery. A night hag is literally feeding off of your nightmares (and the suffering they inflict). Mammon literally grows fat off of the tribute of stolen lucre his worshippers sacrifice to him.