Characters who don't eat or drink suffer the effects of exhaustion. Exhaustion caused by lack of food or water can't be removed until the character eats and drinks the full required amount.
A character needs one pound of food per day, and can make food last longer by subsisting on half rations. Eating half a pound of food in a day counts as half a day without food.
A character that goes a day eating less than half a pound of food must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of Exhaustion.
A character can survive a number of days without food equal to 3 + his or her Constitution modifier (minimum 1). If a character would suffer a 6th level of exhaustion from lack of food before they have reached this number of days, they instead remain at 5 levels of Exhaustion, but
automatically suffer the 6th as soon as they reach their last day.
Each day of normal eating allows a character to remove one level of Exhaustion at the end of a Long Rest as normal.
A character needs one gallon of water per day, or two gallons per day if the weather is hot, typically above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A character who drinks only half that much water must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of Exhaustion at the end of the day. A character with access to even less water automatically suffers one level of Exhaustion at the end of the day.
A character must split their water consumption into at least two watches; that is, they cannot drink an entire gallon at one time and nothing else.
Each day of normal drinking allows a character to remove one level of Exhaustion at the end of a Long Rest as normal.
Adventurers willing to travel out into the wilderness are hardy folk certainly, but even still, consuming food or water found in the wilds can be dangerous. Hunted game can carry plague or maggots, fruits and vegetables may be rotted through, and water can carry foul disease. If counteractive measures are not taken, these can lay even the mightiest of adventurers low.
Water encountered in the wilderness sometimes has diseases or impurities running through it, or is otherwise unsuitable for drinking. Well-water, rainwater, water from streams or rivers, and lake water are all safe to drink.
All other sources, such as stagnant swamp water, water found in puddles or in plants, pooled water underground, or other, less savory sources, is unclean. Water can be purified through the purify food and drink spell or similar, or by being boiled for 1 minute.
If a character drinks water that has not been purified, they must make a Constitution saving throw one hour after ingestion. The DC of the saving throw is determined by the source of the water: the purer the source, the higher the likelihood that the water is clean.
| Water Cleanliness | |
| Water Source | DC |
| Puddle or Plant | 10 |
| Swamp or Brackish | 20 |
| Salt Water | 30 |
On a failure, the character immediately suffers one level of Exhaustion. If a character fails the saving throw by 5 or more, they suffer two levels of Exhaustion instead.
While rations are the classic sustenance of adventurers, many prefer a break for something less bland, or else don’t wish to be bother carrying the rations. Ordinary food, however, will eventually rot, increasing the risk of disease. Similarly, consuming certain uncooked foods also carries a chance of disease.
Generally speaking, most food rots after one week; foods like grains, tropical fruit, most vegetables, and most cooked dishes. Raw meat of all varieties rots after 24 hours, as do most dairy products. Spells such as purify food and drink will remove any spoiling and potential diseases from rotten food, but it will not restore food matter that has rotted away.
Some foods can go longer without rotting, and a few rare types of foodstuffs, like certain cheeses, do not rot at all. Furthermore, many foodstuffs can be preserved, typically either through airtight storage or heavy salting, which extends the amount of time before the food spoils. These items and effects are determined at the DM’s discretion.
If a character consumes food that is unclean, they must make a Constitution saving throw one hour after ingestion. The DC of the save is determined by the source of food: the more rotten the food is, the higher the likelihood of disease.
Creatures that have natural adaptations against food sources that would normally carry the risk of illness, such as Lizardfolk eating raw meat, automatically succeed on appropriate Constitution saving throws from eating unclean food.
| Food Cleanliness | |
| Food Source | DC |
| Raw Meat | 10 |
| Rotten Meat or Dairy | 20 |
| Rotten Food (Grains, fruits, vegetables, etc | 30 |
On a failure, the character immediately suffers one level of Exhaustion. If a character fails the saving throw by 5 or more, they suffer two levels of Exhaustion instead.
Just as in the real world, D&D characters spend many hours sleeping, most often as part of a long rest. Most monsters also need to sleep. While a creature sleeps, it is subjected to the unconscious condition. Here are a few rules that expand on that basic fact.
In order to avoid ill effects while resting, characters must satisfy three conditions: they must stay warm, they must stay dry, and they must stay sheltered.
Over the course of a long rest, if a character does not satisfy any of the above conditions, they must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw at the end of their rest or suffer a level of Exhaustion. For each additional condition a character does not satisfy, the DC increases by 5. Creatures with resistance to cold damage
have advantage on these saving throws; creatures within immunity to cold damage automatically succeed.
With the exception of temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit (commonly experienced only in arid climates or the hottest summer months), some additional source of warmth is required at night beyond basic adventuring clothing.
If a character sleeps with a blanket or bedroll, they suffer no ill effects; if a character sleeps next to an open campfire or other large source of heat, they will similarly suffer no ill effects. These two are the most common means of maintaining warmth at night, but there might be other ways to do so.
While it is quite common for adventurers to swim in lakes, wade through rivers, and dive into dungeon pools—and thus become thoroughly soaked—it can be quite dangerous to go to sleep while still wet. Characters might also become wet from traveling in the rain, interacting with exceptionally watery creatures, bathing, or other activities.
A wet creature will dry off over the course of one hour, so long as they stay dry the entire time. If that creature is near a significant source of heat, such as a campfire or stove, that time is cut in half. Likewise, there may be additional means to quickly dry off.
Beyond simple rain and snow, other forms of exposure, typically wind, can sap away at a character’s strength. The simplest way to avoid exposure is through shelter, which shields a party from the outdoors.
Shelter is any structure or formation that has at least three walls and a roof. The most common sources of shelter in the wilderness are tents, caves, and ruins, but there may be others.
The Details of Sleeping Conditions
In short, to defeat these three conditions, adventurers need to have a tent and a bedroll—not a high ask, in the grand scheme of things. There’s an argument that these rules could be simplified, into a simple “if you don’t have a saving throw, make a Constitution saving throw or suffer exhaustion.”
The reason we have these rules with this level of nuance, of complexity, is because in the times when the adventurers don’t have a tent or bedroll, the details suddenly matter. If their equipment gets stolen, or if they drop their tents to carry more loot, or if they just plain forget their gear—suddenly, the details of how exposed, wet, and cold they are matter very much.
For much of play, all three of these conditions can be treated as one large entity, but when dire situations call, the details are ready.
A creature that is naturally sleeping, as opposed to being in a magically or chemically induced sleep, wakes up if it takes any damage or if someone else uses an action to shake or slap the creature awake. A sudden loud noise—such as yelling, thunder, or a ringing bell also awakens someone that is sleeping naturally.
Whispers don't disturb sleep, unless a sleeper’s passive Wisdom (Perception) score is 20 or higher and the whispers are within 10 feet of the sleeper. Speech at a normal volume awakens a sleeper if the environment is otherwise silent (no wind, birdsong, crickets, street sounds, or the like) and the sleeper has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or higher.
Sleeping in light armor has no adverse effect on the wearer, but sleeping in medium or heavy armor makes it difficult to recover fully during a long rest.
When you finish a long rest during which you slept in medium or heavy armor, you regain only one quarter of your spent Hit Dice (minimum of one die). If you have any levels of exhaustion, the rest doesn’t reduce your exhaustion level.
A long rest is never mandatory, but going without sleep does have its consequences. If you want to account for the effects of sleep deprivation on characters and creatures, use these rules.
Whenever you end a 24-hour period without finishing a long rest, you must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion.
It becomes harder to fight off exhaustion if you stay awake for multiple days. After the first 24 hours, the DC increases by 5 for each consecutive 24-hour period without a long rest. The DC resets to 10 when you finish a long rest.