Song of Rest 5e

Published on December 5, 2022, Last modified on December 7th, 2022

Are you a bard looking for a way to give your party an extra edge on those long adventuring days? If so, look no further than the bard’s Song of Rest feature. Let’s take a look at what the Song of Rest is, how it works, and how you can make the most out of it.

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What Is The Song Of Rest?

Beginning at 2nd Level, you can use soothing music or oration to help revitalize your wounded allies during a short rest. If you or any friendly creatures who can hear your performance regain hit points by spending hit dice at the end of the short rest, each of those creatures regains an extra 1d6 hit points.

The extra hit points increase when you reach certain levels in this class: to 1d8 at 9th level, to 1d10 at 13th level, and to 1d12 at 17th level.

Player’s Handbook

The Song of Rest feature allows bards to provide the party with additional hit points during a short rest at no cost. This gives the party members some extra healing on long days where hit dice aren’t enough, without having to use up one of their spell slots or other resources.

How Does Song of Rest Work?

For bards to use their Song of Rest, the party must be short resting. Without expending any additional resources, you can choose to play your Song of Rest to help revitalize your party members. Each creature in the party (including yourself) is then able to spend a hit dice. If they choose to do so, they gain additional hit points on top of what was acquired from the hit dice. This healing does not count against any other magical healing that might occur during a short rest; it is simply an added bonus for those who listen closely and appreciate your music!

The amount of hit points restored depends on the level of the bard; at 1st level, they roll and extra 1d6. That number increases as they level up; by 17th level, they can roll an extra 1d12 with each short rest. When it comes time to roll the dice, instead of the bard rolling a d6 for everyone, each creature who heard the song and rolled a hit dice rolls their own d6. Keep in mind rolling hit dice happens at the end of the short rest, so creatures cannot benefit from the Song of Rest until then.

The ability doesn’t specify how much of the song friendly creatures need to hear before they are able to benefit from this ability. This could leave wiggle room if a party member needed to scout or gather supplies during a portion of the short rest but arrived back in time to hear the finale to receive the extra hit points.

When Song of Rest Doesn’t Work 

Out of hit dice: Unfortunately, if you’re strapped for hit dice after a tough day and looking to short rest to regain hit points using Song of Rest, you’ll be disappointed. Song of Rest only causes creatures to regain hit points when they roll at least one hit die during a short rest. So, if you’re all out of hit dice, you’ll have to long rest to regain some hit dice before Song of Rest can be effective again. 

Behind enemy lines: This can also be a tricky ability to use if you’re short resting in a hostile environment. While the rules don’t specify how much noise your Song of Rest will make, DMs could rule that you’ll be more likely to be discovered if you use the ability.

Stacking Songs: Jeremy Crawford has ruled that “Effects from game features with the same name never stack,” which means multiple bards using Song of Rest wouldn’t provoke multiple instances of healing.

Making The Most Out Of  Song of Rest

The bard’s Song of Rest feature is a valuable boost of hit points that can aid your allies in staying alive during long adventuring days. However, you’ll need to make sure everyone in your party knows about it – if they don’t realize they can benefit from your Song of Rest, they won’t be able to make use of it!

The other important thing to note is that all allies within 30 feet must be able to hear the bard’s song in order for them to benefit from it. If any ally is too far away or cannot hear the music thanks to being deafened, then they won’t receive any healing.

You should also think about when it would be best for you to use this ability; if you know there will be an upcoming battle or difficult encounter, then suggesting to short rest can help ensure that everyone starts off at full health and ready for action. Finally, don’t forget to maximize your CHA modifier as soon as possible so you can improve your static bonus and get extra hit points with each short rest.

Unfortunately, Song of Rest doesn’t stack with most other prominent healing features. For example, if you wanted to multiclass into cleric for the Life domain’s Disciple of Life, Blessed Healer, or Supreme Healing, they only work when casting a healing spell. 

Hope You’re All Rested!

Whether you’re new to Dungeons & Dragons 5e or have been playing for years, remembering to utilize features like the Bard’s Song of Rest can make all the difference during an arduous adventuring day! If you’re playing a bard, be sure to remember these tips so that both yourself and your allies can reap all its benefits! Happy gaming!

Mike Bernier

Mike Bernier is the lead content writer and founder of Arcane Eye. He is a Adamantine best-selling author of Strixhaven: A Syllabus of Sorcery on DMs Guild and is a contributing author at D&D Beyond. Follow Mike on Twitter.

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