D&D 5E Sunlight in Barovia vs Sunlight Sensitivity

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Mouseferatu]

That was my first reaction, as well. But, in the original Dracula novel, the eponymous Count does not burst into flame in the sun. It's implied that he's weaker and hates it, but he's still free to roam during the day. I could easily read the text to encourage that sort of play. Prefer the night, but daylight isn't game over.

Yep. I like the whole "weaker in daylight, but it's not lethal" trope. And if that had been the case with Strahd (and other D&D vampires) from the beginning, I'd have no problem with it.

It's specifically the fact that it's a change (and that daylight has no mechanical impact at all) that bugs me. Maybe I'm just being more caught up in D&D and/or prior Ravenloft canon than I ought to be, but there it is.

But I like the fact that Strahd, for all his powers and all his immortality, has this major obstacle that he's absolutely required to work on, that frustrates him because his time is broken up into such tiny chunks. Him "not liking" the daylight just doesn't have the same impact.

All that said, I'm harping on this far more than it's worth, and I still expect to fully enjoy the adventure, and I'm making a serious pain of myself over this issue, so I'll probably stop now.

 

[Savage Wombat]

Ah, but Strahd has this wonderful spell that allows him to give up his vampiric weaknesses in exchange for losing his vampiric powers temporarily. So you can have your blood and drink it too.

 

[RangerWickett]

Rules aside, I don't know that drow are particularly appropriate, thematically, to Ravenloft. I'd discourage (or even prohibit) them, myself. One way to do that without being too heavy-handed about it is to "interpret" the passage about sunlight a particular way. If your group is the sort that wants to play drow, though, don't worry about it. I already prohibit drow, so it's a moot point.

What, you don't think this is a good place for a black-souled hunter, comfortable in darkness, to attempt to unseat the realm's vile lord and establish a new dread domain, where the fog clings to your face like strands of web, and many-legged horrors lurk in shadows?

 

[Staffan]

Drow have from the get go been vulnerable to bright light, which makes sense because it's due to them living in darkness. It's utter nonsense to limit it to sunlight.

The problem is that in D&D (at least since 3e), there is only darkness, dim light, and bright light. Bright light is being within 20 ft of a torch or the source of a light spell - pretty darn common. D&D could use a "normal light" level (like in Pathfinder) - bright enough so you don't get any vision penalties, but not bright enough to hinder things with light sensitivity. Otherwise, drow and other light-sensitive creatures become complete pushovers.

 

[77IM]

Questions for all the peeps:
1. If it's cloudy out, does that count as sunlight for vampires and drow?
2. What if it's cloudy enough to be dim light?
3. Or if it's just dim light of sunset?
4. What about sunlight reflected off a mirror?
5. What if you are in the shade of a tree during the day (the light upon you originated from the sun, but then reflected off the ground, leaves, etc.)?
6. What if the sunlight is refracted through a prism?

 

[77IM]

Here are my answers, btw:
1. No, the light is too diffuse. It must be sunlight of full concentration, or more.
2. No, still.
3. No, because I think the light does not become dim (in D&D terms of granting penalties) until the sun has actually set, so at that point, the light is too diffuse.
4. Yes, unless it's one of those convex mirrors that weakens the light too much. But a flat or concave mirror that preserves the concentration of sunlight or even magnifies it would be OK.
5. No, that sunlight is too diffuse again.
6. Yes, but only because I think it would be awesome to kill a vampire with a rainbow.

 

[Maxperson]

The problem is that in D&D (at least since 3e), there is only darkness, dim light, and bright light. Bright light is being within 20 ft of a torch or the source of a light spell - pretty darn common. D&D could use a "normal light" level (like in Pathfinder) - bright enough so you don't get any vision penalties, but not bright enough to hinder things with light sensitivity. Otherwise, drow and other light-sensitive creatures become complete pushovers.

That's no problem, though. Drow live in darkness and have for many millenia. It doesn't take a whole lot of light to give them penalties. Being close to a torch SHOULD do it. That doesn't make them pushovers at all. It just gives them a small penalty that doesn't really come close to compensating for their increased power.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Well, in breaking the series down, I'd have to say atrocious plots, bad acting, mediocre action sequences, poor CGI ...

yet they were still enjoyable. So, yeah, some killer leather pants.

Why the hell are you badmouthing Ultraviolet? Its still my favorite Vampire TV show even if it was ahead of its time. Vampires sleeping in timelocked Coffins, cant be seen on video recordings (which is how they are hunted), Graphite tipped bullets. Man that show had it all (AND introduced me to Idris Elba).

 

[Sunseeker]

Here are my answers, btw:
1. No, the light is too diffuse. It must be sunlight of full concentration, or more.
2. No, still.
3. No, because I think the light does not become dim (in D&D terms of granting penalties) until the sun has actually set, so at that point, the light is too diffuse.
4. Yes, unless it's one of those convex mirrors that weakens the light too much. But a flat or concave mirror that preserves the concentration of sunlight or even magnifies it would be OK.
5. No, that sunlight is too diffuse again.
6. Yes, but only because I think it would be awesome to kill a vampire with a rainbow.

I think this is largely demonstrative of the science/fantasy divide when it comes to vampires. When you put your questions through a scientific filter, you get different answers then when you put your questions through a religious/mythological filter. Hence why sometimes vampires can walk around in sunlight like it's no big deal, and sometimes they can't even be AWAKE during the day.

Typically I agree that "obscured" sunlight should not trigger penalties and that's how I usually run it for vampires and Drow alike. A lot of people aren't interested in running weather effects though.