Resting is how characters recover from the dangers of the Wasteland. During rest, characters heal wounds, mend injuries, maintain equipment, and prepare for the challenges ahead.
Rest is not free — it requires time, food, water, and safety. Managing these resources is a core part of Wasteland survival.
Types of Rest
There are two types of rest:
| Type | Duration | Frequency | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🏕 Short Rest | 1 hour + longest 🔨 Crafting Time | Once between Long Rests | Eat/drink, medical treatment, crafting. No Recovery. |
| 🏕 Long Rest | ~6 hours | Once per 24 hours | Full rest activities, Recovery, ability resets |
Short Rest
A brief pause to catch your breath, eat, tend to wounds, and get a little work done. You cannot Sleep, Provide Care, Read, or Scavenge during a Short Rest, and you gain no Recovery — but you may use medical items and craft freely. See 🏕 Short Rest for details.
Long Rest
A full rest period with camp setup, activity selection, Recovery, and ability resets. This is the primary recovery mechanic. See 🏕 Long Rest for details.
Recovery
Resting restores HP. Sleeping restores more.
Every biological character who completes a 🏕 Long Rest rolls Recovery = 1d8 + 🏊 END MOD, regardless of which Rest Activity they chose. Choosing the Sleep activity upgrades the die to 1d20, and is the only way to mend your own 🤕 Injuries.
A 🏕 Short Rest grants no Recovery — food is what restores HP there.
Passive healing also restores 💔 Cripple Threshold. Food, drink, and Recovery are divided evenly among all 6 limbs (rounded down) and applied to each limb’s Cripple Threshold. Crippled limbs are ignored and receive nothing — they must be mended. See 💔 Cripple Threshold.
Robots never roll Recovery. They have no regenerative capability and are healed only by the Fix and 🔩 Fix Malfunction actions. See 🏕 Robot Rest Rules.
See 🏕 Long Rest for the full Recovery rules.
Food and Drink
Characters may eat 1 food item and drink 1 drink item per rest period — both Short and Long Rests. This is the maximum, not just the minimum: additional food or drink during the same rest provides no HP and no buffs.
Super Mutants may consume 2 food and 2 drink per rest period. They are enormous and eat accordingly — at the cost of double the carried weight and double the foraging demand.
Since the party may take one Long Rest and one Short Rest per 24 hours, that works out to a daily ration of 2 meals and 2 drinks (4 and 4 for a Super Mutant).
Different foods and drinks provide different effects — some restore HP, some grant temporary buffs, and some may have negative side effects (radiation from irradiated food, sickness from polluted water).
Characters with the 🎯 Wasteland Survivor milestone (Survival +5) can cook food that grants improved recovery and temporary buffs.
Not Eating or Drinking
Characters who do not eat or drink during rest risk gaining 😫 Exhaustion. Even consuming harmful food or drink (irradiated, spoiled, polluted) is enough to avoid Exhaustion — though the side effects may be unpleasant.
See 😫 Exhaustion for full details on the cumulative effects of neglecting basic needs.
Robots and Sustenance
Robots do not eat food or drink water. They are immune to 😫 Exhaustion.
”Once per Long Rest” Abilities
Many abilities, perks, traits, and milestones specify “Once per Long Rest.” These abilities reset and become available again after completing a 🏕 Long Rest.
These abilities do NOT reset after a 🏕 Short Rest.
Ability Resets on Long Rest
The following reset after a Long Rest:
- All “Once per Long Rest” abilities (perks, traits, milestones, Book Perks)
- Luck Points (if the GM decides to replenish them at this milestone)
- Book Perk slots (can reassign Book Perks from 🎖 Comprehension)
- Any other resources or effects that specify Long Rest as their reset condition