No I think that's the misconception, probably due to the fact that 'hide in shadows ' is an iconic Rogue ability. Darkness provides concealment. Dim light doesn't otherwise there would be no point allowing those with the skulker feat to be able to hide in dim light if everyone could do it (I appreciate that you can still move silently). So yeah, darkvision is great for not allowing monsters to hide in the dark and torchlight is visible, so it increases the range at which encounters can occur, but it otherwise does little to make the group more stealthy when balanced against missing all those traps due to disadvantage on sight.
D&D 5E Is 5e Darkvision A Good Design?
Perhaps you are conflating stealth generally with hiding in particular? Hiding certainly has a set of parameters under which it is allowed, but stealth is about more than just hide checks. Moving silently is a big part as well, and that part is indeed made significantly less effective by a 60' pool of torchlight in a dark environment. Light in the darkness is a beacon that announces your presence out much farther than just the reach of the light. Moving in complete silence isn't helpful when you're carrying a big light up sign that says Here I am, come eat me.
Yes that's true. That's why there is a balance I guess. Darkvision only, you are less likely to spot stuff, including enemies hidden behind cover, vs a light source where you can see further but enemies are able to spot you and prepare that bit earlier. Pros and cons for both.
Istbor
Dances with Gnolls
I know this will ruffle a good deal of petticoats, but... I don't think player races should get darkvision at all.
There! I said it! Whew... feels good.
I don't want to hate on races that get it, just... it always bugs me thematically. They hold the potential for changing the dynamic of certain campaign themes and it creates this need in some groups to have at least one character with it, or all with it.
And I don't like that. People should be able to play what races they want, without the need to have one person be able to see in the dark, or to expel all that do not, so there are no torches.
There are certainly good cool stories for things like that. Just... It isn't my cup of tea. What is more, unless you have a great understanding of how it looks, note, Humans just naturally do not, (we don't have the ability so the concept isn't as natural) then you have some players who think it is near infinite, or as good as eye-sight in daylight.
I am glad they got rid of the varying degrees like low-light. I hope they remove darkvision altogether one day. At least for player races.
There! I said it! Whew... feels good.
I don't want to hate on races that get it, just... it always bugs me thematically. They hold the potential for changing the dynamic of certain campaign themes and it creates this need in some groups to have at least one character with it, or all with it.
And I don't like that. People should be able to play what races they want, without the need to have one person be able to see in the dark, or to expel all that do not, so there are no torches.
There are certainly good cool stories for things like that. Just... It isn't my cup of tea. What is more, unless you have a great understanding of how it looks, note, Humans just naturally do not, (we don't have the ability so the concept isn't as natural) then you have some players who think it is near infinite, or as good as eye-sight in daylight.
I am glad they got rid of the varying degrees like low-light. I hope they remove darkvision altogether one day. At least for player races.
RoyalDragon69
Villager
As long as the goal is accomplished thats all that matters. If the goal wasn't accomplished then it would be poorly designed. If it ain't broke don't fix it. The only thing they could have added was upgrades to darkvision. Aka goggles of night upgrades.
doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
I find that mindset very odd.
Campbell
Relaxed Intensity
The upgrades are the worst part. I can deal with limits on darkvision, but it really becomes a pain to manage when different player characters have different darkvision amounts. Races with more than 60' Darkvision meant for PCs like the Drow and subclasses that improve darkvision like the gloomstalker and shadow sorcerer are really annoying to deal with at the table.
If I had my way Darkvision would just extend out to the range of your vision, but if we must have limits please make them consistent.
Lucas Blackstone
Explorer
I actually prefer that there are darkvision options and not all just one static range. There can be more interesting tactics deployed with varying ranges.
MostlyHarmless42
Adventurer
This is indeed the problem. I remind them constantly of the penalty and typically turn off all the lights in a room except for a single candle or background like to remind them "THIS is what your darkvision is like, except black and white." It works surprisingly well as a visual aid, especially if a couple of them have trouble reading their character sheet in dim lighting.
Nebulous
Legend
Yeah, good point, I forget about the reading stuff. Like, dwarven runes in a dim, black and white cave, you'd really need a light source to see them well.
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