[4E; Any Edition] Light Sources?

[cjais]

Originally Posted by malraux

When exploring an evil tomb, why not have an effect that cuts the radius of all light sources in half, almost as if the darkness were alive and closing in on the party. Going from a 5 square burst to 2 square burst will make a huge difference.

Also, IIRC there's an item in AV that kills all light sources.

Thanks for the suggestions, all! I particularily like this one, and am considering using it (at least in some rooms).

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the dungeon will be filled to the brim with darkvision-using undead (primarily lots of melee ones), and the only one in the party that uses ranged attacks is the wizard, and occasionally the rogue.

[Korgoth]

The Underworld is supposed to be dark and scary! I think light source rules are a must... they add a lot to the game.

[Rabbitbait]

When the gametable eventuates (hopefully), I'm looking forward to a real graphic representation of how light effects a battle. I'm guessing it will change some peoples tabletop games when they see how it adds to the tactics needed.

[Ed_Laprade]

I tend to be pretty lax about it. Just keeping in mind about where the light radius ends. As others have mentioned, keeping track of number of torches, amount of oil, etc. is just a pain.

One thing, though, keep in mind that although the party can't see very far the other guys can see them from forever! (LOS)

[Baumi]

I think the sunrods huge range is important since battles are much larger now and no player race has darkvision. So they have to give the players something to fight this huge disadvantage (monsters see them but not the other way around), especially for the ranged characters since they cannot see most of their targets in a non-lit dungeon.

[Moniker]

Players should not only be pitted against foes, but against their enviroment. This is a fundamental conceit of any successful roleplaying game.

Light usage in-game adds a lot to tension and setting the atmosphere, whether it's above ground or below. My players don't use Sunrods or spells, since we run a low magic game. However, they keep meticulous notes on how many torches and vials of oil they've used. Oftentimes, it can mean the difference between life and death.

[Lanefan]

At very low level, light tracking is almost essential. Once they get to the level required to cast "Continual Light" (or whatever it's called now - it used to be Cleric-3 and MU-2 in 1e) all I care about is who is carrying the light source(s), as light rocks or light coins become trivially easy to generate during downtime.

Of course, one well-placed area "Dispel Magic" can ruin their whole day, unless someone brought a lantern along...

Lanefan