[RPG] Can a simulacrum (of a humanoid that can take a long rest) take a long rest

constructsdnd-5erestssimulacrumsleep

This question is inspired by Dale M's answer to another question. In that answer, Dale M said (bold added):

So if a Simulacrum of a cleric can take a long rest it can change its prepared spells. Maybe you need to ask if they can take a long rest?

Now, at first I wasn't going to ask that question: it seemed unambiguous to me that a simulacrum copy of a humanoid could take a long rest, especially since the rules on resting (post errata) state (PHB, p. 186, bold added):

Adventurers, as well as other creatures, can take short rests in the midst of a day and a long rest to end it.

But Dale M's answer got me wondering. Is there something about the simulacrum copy I'm not considering? For example, post errata, it has been clarified that a simulacrum of a humanoid is a construct (PHB, p. 276). And an errata has also clarified that (PHB, p. 186, bold added):

A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours…

With all these errata available, I found myself suddenly uncertain. I wasn't sure if constructs could sleep (I assume they can, since no rule I've seen has said otherwise, but perhaps I missed a rule somewhere), or if there was some other rule that would stop a simulacrum copy form gaining a long rest.

Now of course, a simulacrum can't gain some of the major benefits of a long rest. It definitely won't regain spell slots, and (at least by “Rules as Intended”), it wouldn't regain hit points from a long rest. But for the purposes of class features other than these which recharge on a long rest, I'm still curious about the answer.

So what does the community think? If the spell Simulacrum copies a humanoid (which was capable of taking a long rest itself), can this construct copy take a long rest?

Best Answer

There is no reason a simulacrum cannot sleep or take a long rest.

The spell description for simulacrum states:

the illusion uses all the statistics of the creature it duplicates, except that it is a construct.

So mechanically, the simulacrum is identical to the original, except its creature type is "construct". Are there any properties inherent to being a construct? No:

The game includes the following monster types, which have no rules of their own.

Being a construct does not by itself imply anything about the simulacrum. It changes how other features interact with the simulacrum, such as certain spells not being able to affect constructs, but creature types have no rules of their own. Do the rules for long rests mention the construct creature type? No:

A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity — at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity — the characters must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it.

At the end of a long rest, a character regains all lost hit points. The character also regains spent Hit Dice, up to a number of dice equal to half of the character's total number of them (minimum of one die). For example, if a character has eight Hit Dice, he or she can regain four spent Hit Dice upon finishing a long rest.

A character can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period, and a character must have at least 1 hit point at the start of the rest to gain its benefits.

There is nothing in the rules that prevents a simulacrum from taking a long rest, so a simulacrum may take a long rest.

There are constructs with abilities and features that interact with long rests.

Consider the bronze scout from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes; it has an ability that recharges on a long rest:

Lightning Flare (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest).

For another example, see the Clockwork Kraken from Lost Laboratory of Kwalish:

A clockwork kraken can regrow any destroyed tentacles at the end of a long rest.

There are numerous other examples of constructs which have features and abilities that depend on taking a long rest. If these constructs could not take long rests, none of these features would make sense.

Alternatively, we can also observe numerous constructs with the Unusual Nature feature:

Unusual Nature. The [construct name] doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep, and it regains no hit points or Hit Dice at the end of a long rest.

This feature clearly assumes that such a construct can take a long rest, but that they do not regain hit points and hit dice when doing so.

From these examples, it is clear that apart from an explicit statement that a particular construct cannot take a long rest, the rules are assuming that constructs can, in general, take a long rest.

Related Topic