D&D 5E Many RL animals can see well in the dark. What else can they do?

[snickersnax]

Today I started by wondering which animals can see in the dark. Looking it up, I came up with an extensive list of animals that probably should be listed as having darkvision because they have a tapetum in their retina to enhance nightvision.

Bears, cats, canines, rodents, whales, cows, sheep, goats, horses, spiders, owls, crocodiles, sharks, many fish, frogs and toads (color nightvision!), lizards, snakes (true infrared darkvision!), crabs and elephants. Rats, badgers, lizards, owls, spiders, quippers and toads are already listed with darkvision in the MM.

Only a few animals don't have nightvision: humans and other primates, squirrels, eagles, hawks, crows , and pigs

Real predatory animals are usually very careful about what fights they take, measuring the strength of their prey carefully, testing their perception and level of fear and employing tactics that maximize success and minimize risk. If the animal isn't facing desperation and the risk looks great, they avoid the fight.
If they are cornered, facing life and death or protecting their young, animals have the capacity to take the fight to another level of ferocity.

Its been my experience that beast encounters in D&D rarely seem to reflect the wisdom, skill and primal fury that animals possess in surviving and killing in the wild.

Anyone else explored boosting beasts tactics and giving beasts and maybe other monsters some missing primal strength?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Today I started by wondering which animals can see in the dark. Looking it up, I came up with an extensive list of animals that probably should be listed as having darkvision because they have a tapetum in their retina to enhance nightvision.

Darkvision is not just somewhat superior nightvision. Its the ability to see with no light at all. If you want to reflect that level of minutiae, you're better off just removing dim light penalties.
Off the top of my head, I can't think of any animals what would have actual darkvision beyond about 10ft. D&D simplifies, because it fits the flow of the game better. - Just as they don't have mechanics to reflect humans' superior day vision.

Real predatory animals are usually very careful about what fights they take, measuring the strength of their prey carefully, testing their perception and level of fear and employing tactics that maximize success and minimize risk. If the animal isn't facing desperation and the risk looks great, they avoid the fight.
If they are cornered, facing life and death or protecting their young, animals have the capacity to take the fight to another level of ferocity.

Its been my experience that beast encounters in D&D rarely seem to reflect the wisdom, skill and primal fury that animals possess in surviving and killing in the wild.

The stats given to animals generally reflect their physical and sensory superiority to the majority of humans. I tend to play actual wild animals fairly realistically: - which means they are very rarely actually in conflict with the PCs.

 

[CapnZapp]

The game needs low-light vision.

Animals generally don't have darkvision.

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[Spookykid]

Super hearing, most animals hear you from so far away its impossible to get close. Thats why things like blinds and tree stands are used for hunting.

 

[Ancalagon]

My dog has advantage on all cuddling checks.

...what?

 

[Celebrim]

No RL creature has darkvision.

Creatures with darkvision emit light from their eyes, and then see using the reflected light. Ancient naturalists believed many creatures saw this way, and so you could have fantasy cats with darkvision, but it is not realistic to give any animal darkvision.

What most animals have is basically "nightvision", which gives you the ability to see well when it is not quite dark. Humans have "dayvision", which is optimized for bright light and gives them full color wide angle vision. Animals with "dayvision" see better than animals with "nightvision", but are nearly blind at night when animals with "nightvision" can otherwise see quite well. A cat for example has "nightvision", but cannot see color as well as humans and can only see sharply what it is focused on.

 

[CapnZapp]

No RL creature has darkvision.

Creatures with darkvision emit light from their eyes, and then see using the reflected light. Ancient naturalists believed many creatures saw this way, and so you could have fantasy cats with darkvision, but it is not realistic to give any animal darkvision.

What most animals have is basically "nightvision", which gives you the ability to see well when it is not quite dark. Humans have "dayvision", which is optimized for bright light and gives them full color wide angle vision. Animals with "dayvision" see better than animals with "nightvision", but are nearly blind at night when animals with "nightvision" can otherwise see quite well. A cat for example has "nightvision", but cannot see color as well as humans and can only see sharply what it is focused on.

A good reply, except by your own words, you're talking about fantasy darkvision exclusively.

And you can't explain fantasy darkvision with physics!

No matter what rationale you choose, I can provide an example that proves it wrong.

In the end, the only explanation that holds up is:

Darkvision works because magic!



Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[MarkB]

No RL creature has darkvision.

Creatures with darkvision emit light from their eyes, and then see using the reflected light.

So, to any creature with darkvision, another creature with darkvision should automatically be clearly visible, as they're essentially continuously shining twin flashlight beams out of their head?

 

[Celebrim]

A good reply, except by your own words, you're talking about fantasy darkvision exclusively.

And you can't explain fantasy darkvision with physics!

Why not? I just as a point of fact did.

I'm curious. If you think that the explanation is so open-ended that only "magic" can explain, how in the world do you think you can prove any example "wrong". If the whole thing is so nebulous, surely the standard of what is correct is equally nebulous?

 

[Celebrim]

So, to any creature with darkvision, another creature with darkvision should automatically be clearly visible, as they're essentially continuously shining twin flashlight beams out of their head?

Well, that would be cool. But I'm not sure that it is essential and necessary to my explanation, as each darkvision creature might use a different frequency (or sort, if light isn't is a wave in your world) of light such that it is invisible to any other creature.

But it would be cool to have creatures with darkvision able to detect other creatures of the same species with darkvision, and you might even have specialized dark vision predators able to sense darkvision using creatures at great distance.

Likewise, it would be cool - and is indeed a common trope of fantasy - that the eyes of creatures with darkvision glow faintly and can be seen in the darkness.