Is short rest healing of exhaustion for a race OP?

[Boci]

I designed a race for a game, they're the primary antagonists. Since they weren't a playable race I didn't bother with balance too much, but after the event the events of this campaign they might become playable, assuming there's any left. I have some notes on how to tone back their ability and they seem to have come together identity wise, they have a bonus to constitution, fire resistance, perception proficiency, and then a subrace option based on their society's caste system, which grants a second stat bonus and skill proficiency, plus a short rest bonus action thing they can do, granting themselves and allies temporary hitpoints or poisoning enemies in a small area, stuff like that, there's 5 in total. I know this might sounds a little overtuned, so I did also give them disadvantage on saving throws vs. thunder spells and abilities.

Finally, I gave them the ability to recover exhaustion during a short rest rather than along rest. Should I drop this altogether, or would it be a cool addition to their kit? This isn't something most races get, so it could be exciting, but I'm weary it could also be very powerful, since you usually need some pretty good stuff to shed exhaustion. Any particular combos I should watch out for? I know there's berserker, but frankly buffing a core archetype sounds like a bonus. Anything else?

[FrancisBean]

Finally, I gave them the ability to recover exhaustion during a short rest rather than along rest. Should I drop this altogether, or would it be a cool addition to their kit? This isn't something most races get, so it could be exciting, but I'm wary it could also be very powerful, since you usually need some pretty good stuff to shed exhaustion. Any particular combos I should watch out for? I know there's berserker, but frankly buffing a core archetype sounds like a bonus. Anything else?

I love it, but I still see your concern. The problem is that I don't think it's answerable. (:smalleek:) Berserker is the obvious one: a subclass which was "balanced" (OK, unbalanced badly against) via exhaustion. I could easily see future references coming out which use exhaustion more functionally to balance features. In other words, your race becomes one of those potential future interactions which could be fine now, but might cause horrific problems at any time.

Truth be told, I suspect it's perfectly fine with the publications out right now, so long as you have rules to manage starvation, thirst, and other environmental issues. Otherwise you've got a race which literally can't starve to death because they can short rest out of the penalties. (Nor die of thirst, etc.)

[ff7hero]

Otherwise you've got a race which literally can't starve to death because they can short rest out of the penalties. (Nor die of thirst, etc.)

I'm pretty sure that when you're hungry, thirsty or tired enough to get Exhausted, you can't remove those Exhaustion levels without meeting the need.

Overall I think this is probably fine. Just keep in mind the first rule of home brew, if it gets too bad, change it.

[FrancisBean]

I'm pretty sure that when you're hungry, thirsty or tired enough to get Exhausted, you can't remove those Exhaustion levels without meeting the need.

The exact rules are in PHB 185, "Exhaustion caused by lack of food or water can't be removed until the character eats and drinks the full required amount." Which should cover almost any phrasings of the racial rule, so I think you're right that it isn't an issue here. OP, is that compatible with what you've got?

Forced marches (PHB 181), on the other hand, contain no such caveat. But then, I think this is exactly the sort of thing where this race can and should shine.

[meandean]

Yeah, the main way you get exhausted normally is... when you don't rest. So unless you have no way to consistently get eight uninterrupted hours a night, which kind of has to be untrue of a standard 5E campaign by definition, it can't be all that big a deal.

Sickening radiance is another way to inflict exhaustion. But if we're talking about that, Berserker, and "harsh environment" effects.... these aren't gamechangers. (At least in 5E, where "harsh environment" effects usually aren't a thing because Rangers/spellcasters can work around the issues and it's not the prevailing playstyle just in general.)

I suppose you could have an off-day/on-day sleep schedule. e.g., short rest Day 1, long rest Day 2, short rest Day 3, etc. and never suffer a penalty. This could be nice, especially for a short-rest class like a warlock, but I don't know that it particularly accomplishes much that you can sometimes be awake while the rest of your party is asleep. You'd be a good choice to guard your camp, as Elves and Warforged are currently.

(EDIT: This is assuming that the exhaustion penalties pile up if you continue to go without a long rest, as I think is intended. If you can go 24 hours, suffer one level of exhaustion, get rid of that level by short resting, and keep doing so continually, then you've created the same issues as with coffeelocks.)

[Lord Vukodlak]

Rather then removing exhaustion how about they temporarily ignore its effects.

[Angelalex242]

Exhaustion doesn't come up enough for this to be a big deal. At least it never does in my games.

[FrancisBean]

Exhaustion doesn't come up enough for this to be a big deal. At least it never does in my games.

I'm not sure whether that counts as Selection Bias or Survivorship Bias, but it also never comes up in my games... because it's so overly punitive that my players will go miles out of the way to avoid it. I'm no different. I won't play a build which has serious chance of chronic exhaustion. Related, the last time I was seriously upset with a 5e DM was one who decided to apply a level of exhaustion to my Mobile rogue for taking his full movement rate on a large battlefield. (And I wouldn't have taken the longer-distance move if I'd known he was going to pull that on me!)

[Damon_Tor]

Go for it OP. You might actually have a player build a berserker! Wouldn't that be a strange and wonderful experience!

[Boci]

The exact rules are in PHB 185, "Exhaustion caused by lack of food or water can't be removed until the character eats and drinks the full required amount." Which should cover almost any phrasings of the racial rule, so I think you're right that it isn't an issue here. OP, is that compatible with what you've got?

Yeah, the phrasing was "A dagothan may recover a level of exhaustion as part of a short rest instead of a long one", so all other restrictions and requirements apply.


Rather then removing exhaustion how about they temporarily ignore its effects.

So like 1/short rest bonus action to ignore all exhaustion 1 round - 1 minute? Or an action and removes it for an hour?

Also unrelated, they also have darkvision, but I didn't mention that since I'm pretty sure any new race needs to have darkvision in order to be legally recognised as a race.

[Mastikator]

It's not OP. Not even on a berserker barbarian.

[Leon]

It's not OP. Not even on a berserker barbarian.

Berserks, only class to be penalized for using its class feature...
Seems a reasonable race as it is. Unless there is an over abundance of things causing Exhaustion its a neat option for further adventures (or reincarnation)

[stoutstien]

Berserks, only class to be penalized for using its class feature...
Seems a reasonable race as it is. Unless there is an over abundance of things causing Exhaustion its a neat option for further adventures (or reincarnation)
Well to be fair there is the wild magic sorcerer that is gambling at low lvs with the party's lives.

[Bohandas]

Unless exhaustion is much more significant in 5e than it was in 3.5e it should be ok. The 3.5e warforged were outright immune to it.

[Leon]

Well to be fair there is the wild magic sorcerer that is gambling at low lvs with the party's lives.

Tiny chance of a pointblank Fireball isn't on par with a subclass crippling its self with its class feature.

[Sigreid]

It's basically a what free limited lesser restoration of limited effect on short rest? Sure. go for it.