The difference between the two rest types drives the pace of the whole adventuring day. Knowing what each one restores tells you when to push on and when to stop, and it decides which abilities you can lean on again. The two mistakes to avoid are expecting spell slots back after a short rest, and forgetting that Hit Dice healing is a limited resource.
What each rest restores
| Resource | Short rest (about 1 hour) | Long rest (about 8 hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Hit points | Only by spending Hit Dice | Fully restored to maximum |
| Hit Dice | Spend them to heal | Regain up to half your total |
| Spell slots (most classes) | No | All spent slots return |
| Warlock Pact Magic slots | Yes | Yes |
| Short-rest class features | Yes | Yes |
| Long-rest class features | No | Yes |
| Exhaustion | No change | Reduced by 1 level |
The short rest
A short rest is roughly an hour of light activity. Its main use is healing: you can spend Hit Dice, rolling each one and adding your Constitution modifier, to recover hit points. You also get back any ability that specifies it recharges on a short rest, and Warlocks stand out here because their Pact Magic slots refresh. Everything else waits for a long rest.
The long rest
A long rest is about 8 hours, mostly sleep or light activity. It is the full reset: all hit points back, every spent spell slot returned, up to half your total Hit Dice recovered, and one level of exhaustion removed. This is why the adventuring day is usually measured between long rests. It is the point where casters recharge and the party starts fresh.
Keeping resets straight
Adventure Codex ties each spell slot and consumable to a rest type. Mark something resetType: short and it refills on either rest; mark it resetType: long and only a long rest brings it back. When you tap short rest or long rest in the app, everything tied to that rest refills at once, so you never have to remember which abilities came back and which are still spent. It is part of the free character tracker on web, iOS, and Android.
Frequently asked questions
Do spell slots come back on a short rest?
For most classes, no. Spell slots return on a long rest. The exception is the Warlock, whose Pact Magic slots recover on a short or long rest.
How much HP do I get back on a long rest?
All of it. A long rest restores your hit points to your maximum. It also returns up to half your total Hit Dice for future short-rest healing.
How many short rests can I take in a day?
There is no hard cap in the core rules, though many DMs limit them for pacing. The bigger limit is that short rests do not restore spell slots, so casters still need a long rest to fully recharge.