How Do Your Characters Sleep (And What Does That Say About Them)?

Ergoni woke with a sudden start, her eyes shooting open and her muscles tensing. The smell of wood smoke filled her nostrils, and the quiet breathing of her companions mixed with the sound of crickets rang in her ears. She uncurled her fingers from the hilt of her sword, and let her jaw relax.

"There is nothing in those woods that means you harm," a soft, gravelly voice whispered. "Go back to sleep. I will wake you at dawn."

Ergoni rolled over, squinting against the firelight. The hulking figure silhouetted against the flames had blued-steel skin, with hair the color of soiled snow. The naked blade across his thighs glimmered dully. She'd never once seen the sword sharpened, nor seen its owner rest his eyes.

"I could watch," she said.

"No need," Cithaugua said. "Though if you wish to keep me company for a time, I could make tea."

It does get lonely, some nights.

How Do Your Characters Sleep?

Sleeping is one of those universal experiences we all have out-of-game, and it's something we often hand-wave in game. After all, as long as a character receives their 8 hours of rest for the purpose of regaining all their abilities, healing, etc., most of us don't really think that sleep is all that interesting. But like a lot of other elements, as I mentioned in What Do Your Characters Eat? as well as Why Does He Do That ? (Thinking About Your Character's Habits), those little mundane things are often where you find some of the most memorable impacts.

Just one more cup... I want to finish transcribing this scroll before dawn.

The most obvious place to begin with is to ask whether your character has some ability that renders their sleep schedule completely unique, and thus makes them unusual in the world (or at least in the party). In Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, for example, elves didn't truly sleep; they simply meditated in a trance for four hours or so to refresh themselves. In Pathfinder there is an alternative tiefling trait that says the character never has to sleep, though they may sleep if they wish to, or can be forced to through magical means. Pathfinder also has traits like Awakened From Stasis that state a character was kept in a kind of cryo-stasis for years, and one of the effects on their system is that they only sleep for 2 hours a night with no ill effects. I even wrote a trait for the game in Bastards of Golarion, Rest For The Wicked, that allows a character to heal rapidly from ability damage while they sleep.

Once you know the mechanics of how your character sleeps (or doesn't), the next question to ask is what kind of sleep they get, and how it affects their lives.

For example, is your character used to roughing it in the outdoors, able to curl up on roots or in a cave and awaken refreshed and ready to go the next day? Or are they the sort of character who at least needs a bedroll and a pillow made from their folded cloak in order to get any real rest? Alternatively, is your character so inured to the trail that a bed is just too soft for them, and even at an inn they have to curl up on the floor, or sleep out on the balcony in order to have a familiar-enough environment to nod off? Or do they travel with a cart or wagon, allowing them to bring a little bit of civilization out into the wilds with them?

I swear, I don't know how those lords in their castles ever manage real rest.

The last thing you should ask is what kind of sleep routine your character has, and what sleep means to them.

For example, does this character pray before sleep, or conduct any other sort of ritual? Are they an early-to-bed, early-to-rise sort, or are they used to standing the third watch so they only get really sleepy around the time the first gray light of dawn peeks through the trees? Do they drink a particular blend of tea to help make sure they get good rest? Lastly, is this character's sleep quiet and restful, or challenging and full of terrors?

Night terrors are surely common among adventurers (especially those with the all-too-common backstory of seeing their parents murdered before their eyes when they were children by ogres, trolls, and other monsters), but it's far from the only sleep-related condition a character might find themselves dealing with. Characters who've come into contact with potent magic items, or who have a grand destiny before them, might have recurring dreams on the subject. Those with mysterious magic, or inscrutable patrons, might receive visions and commands in their dreams to provide guidance to their actions (and you might find 100 Random Oracular Pronouncements quite useful if you're looking for phrases for someone to remember upon waking).

You might even have something as simple as a tendency to sleepwalk, necessitating precautions before you turn in for the night.

Explore, and See Where It Takes You

The oddest details crop up in the most mundane places, and sleep preferences can say all kinds of things about a character. For example, the career mercenary who sleeps in her armor and just rolls herself up in her cloak might just be doing that out of habit, or it could be a metaphor for how even when she's unconscious she's not leaving herself vulnerable. The wolf druid might have trouble sleeping alone, always trying to curl up to others for a sense of community and protection, reassuring themselves that they're safe so they can fall deeply asleep. And the former bandit might come awake at the slightest change in the ebb and flow of the natural world around them, on their feet and ready to fight before even those on watch know they're being attacked.

There's a lot of potential in this area... so poke around, and see what comes out as a result!

Also, if you're looking for more nocturnal inspiration, check out 100 Dreams and see if anything in it speaks to you.

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4 Ways to Reduce The Amount of Sleep Your Pathfinder Characters Need

Sleep is one of those things we rarely think about in Pathfinder. Most of the time it's just a way to get back spells, repair ability damage, and put a tic in a box that another day on the road has ended. However, if you've ever been ambushed in the middle of the night by angry monsters, there's a good chance you started looking for ways to keep your characters functioning with less shut-eye.

Here are 4 methods that will reduce your need to sleep. While there are others, these common methods are open to a wide variety of characters, and don't require playing a particular race or template, or taking a particular class or prestige class. Also, while there are spells that reduce or delay your need for sleep, and purchasing them in wand or scroll form is fairly simple, this article will be focusing on more permanent methods.

Now, without further ado...

Method #1: The Ring of Sustenance

Actual appearance may vary.

Probably the most common method of reducing your sleep is to buy a ring of sustenance (Core Rulebook 483). For a mere 2,500 gold, and a week to attune the ring to the wearer, you no longer have to eat or drink, and you only need to sleep for 2 hours a night. If you ever take the ring off, have it stolen, or one may assume wander through an anti-magic field, it will take an additional week to re-attune to your body.

Still, it's a great way to make sure you don't end up in the middle of the desert without enough water.

Method #2: The Verdant Bloodline

Never be afraid to branch out to other solutions.

The verdant sorcerer bloodline (Advanced Player's Guide 141) grants you photosynthesis at level 3. This ability lets you snack on sunlight, reducing your need to eat, sleep, and drink as if you were wearing a ring of sustenance (and, one presumes, if you are in a place where you're getting plenty of light). The ability also gives you a +2 on saves against poison and sleep effects.

Before you start pointing out that I said I wouldn't be covering class abilities, I'd like to show you how you can get this power without being a sorcerer. All you need to do is take Eldritch Heritage and Improved Eldritch Heritage (Ultimate Magic 149 and 152), and select the verdant bloodline. This method requires a middling-to-high charisma score, and eats up a lot of feats, but it can work for those who are willing to pursue it.

For other useful things you can do with this feat tree, check out Powering Up Your Pathfinder Characters With Eldritch Heritage Feats.

Method #3: The Light Sleeper Trait

I think I heard the rogue. Down the hall, behind a locked door.

A trait I recommended in my Unsullied character build, Light Sleeper allows any character to gain the benefits of a full night's rest after sleeping for only 4 hours. While you could just play an elf with the elven trancing trait from Elves of Golarion, this trait allows you to gain the same, short-sleep benefits while expanding on the reasons for them. Is the wizard's consciousness attuned to the motion of the spheres, energizing her and setting her rhythms? Is the half-orc used to the brutal life of kill or be killed, and as such has learned to function on less sleep to remain less vulnerable? Or did the alchemist simply invent red bull, and it's altered the way his circadian rhythm works?

Method #4: The Awakened From Stasis Trait

WHAT YEAR IS IT!?

Most players are going to get a louder-than-average "No!" for this option (something you're going to hear a lot whenever you try to take something out of People of The Stars), but this one is my personal favorite. Awakened From Stasis states that you woke up recently from slumber in a glass egg. You were in a cavern surrounded by other beings who were still asleep, and watched over by strange, silent automatons shaped like massive crabs. You gain a full night's sleep after only 2 hours due to your time in stasis, but you still have no idea where you came from. Are you from another plane? Another planet? Were you from the time of the Azlant Empire? And why were you chosen to be put in this bizarre bubble?

Perhaps if you go adventuring, you'll find out!

Bonus 5th Method! Restful Armor

Found on page 210 of the Advanced Class Guide, restful armor gives you the benefits of 8 hours of sleep in 2, and it allows you to comfortably sleep in whatever kind of armor you're wearing. It may be the only way to make a suit of plate armor as comfortable as a down bed. You can only gain this effect once per day, though, and you gain no additional benefits from further rest.

No Rest For The Wicked

That concludes this week's Crunch topic, but I've got a question for my readers. Do you prefer this listicle setup, or do you prefer broader topic coverage as with previous guides? Also, if you have alternative methods for shortening the amount of rest a character needs, feel free to leave them below in the comments. If there are methods I overlooked, but which are still generally available (not restricted by class or race), I'd be happy to revise the list to include them.

It's a big game, I'm sure I left something out.

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