[RPG] Does Beacon of Hope cast during the last minute of a short rest maximize the healing received from rolling hit dice

dnd-5ehealinghit-dicerestsspells

The spell Beacon of Hope lasts for one minute and states:

For the duration, each target […] regains the maximum number of hit points possible from any healing.

If a party takes a short rest, can the party's Cleric cast this spell during the last minute of the rest to ensure that the party regains the maximum possible hit points on their hit dice rolls?

If casting the spell interrupts the rest for the Cleric, can they still use Beacon of Hope to maximize the hit dice healing for the rest of the party?

Best Answer

It can be used to maximise healing from resting, if your characters can coordinate it.

Hit Points (PHB 196, bolded for emphasis):

Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck.[...] This number changes frequently as a creature takes damage or receives healing.

Receiving hit points is healing.

Resting (PHB 186):

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

[..] The character regains hit points equal to the total.

So resting is healing, and Beacon of Hope does not interrupt the long resting of the party.

For the duration, each target [..] regains the maximum number of hit points possible from any healing.

So Beacon of Hope can be used to maximize the hit dice healing for the resting of the party during a long rest for all members.

For the Short Rest only the other party members can benefit from the maximised healing. As the cleric would be casting a spell, and a single spell is strenuous enough (compare to the 1-hour leeway of Long Rests):

a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds.

Confirmed in the SAC V. 2.5 P. 10:

Does casting a spell while taking a short rest in-terrupt the rest? Yes. Spellcasting is more strenuous than the activities listed on page 186 of the Player’s Handbook: “eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds.”

Do mind, though, that this takes a form of coordination of time that not every DM would rule as feasible or plausible due to the necessarily required understanding from a character point of view and their knowledge about the (mechanics of the) world.

Related Topic