D&D General Wearing a lantern on your belt?

[Scribe]

Having used a lantern, I don't want it anywhere near my "belt" thank you very much.

 

[Hussar]

To be fair though, in a world where Giant Fire Beetles can provide heatless light for 1-6 days, the idea of a belt lantern gets a lot more plausible.

What I don't understand is why we don't see far, FAR more fire beetles being used in settings and adventures. They're beetles, like, really hard to kill, fantastically easy to maintain, and they live off of scraps and waste. Cultivating fire beetles is pretty much a no-brainer for virtually any inhabited location. Cultivate ones that don't bite.

My next dungeon that I make is going to be absolutely crawling with fire beetles.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Bullseye lanterns, with their distinctive glass frontpiece, did not become items people could generally acquire until about the mid 18th century. What broad category does "mid-18th century" belong to? Because that seems pretty late to be "Renaissance", let alone "Medieval." As noted, it exists in 5e.

Never said it was. My eras cover the ancient world to science fiction. I think I covered the mid 18th century in either the end of Renaissance or early in the next era (industrial in my system). Like I said, it's abstracted but granular enough for my purposes. Sorry if that's not good enough for you.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Never said it was. My eras cover the ancient world to science fiction. I think I covered the mid 18th century in either the end of Renaissance or early in the next era (industrial in my system). Like I said, it's abstracted but granular enough for my purposes. Sorry if that's not good enough for you.

It's not a matter of anyone being good enough for me (or anyone else). It's a matter of people setting out this "medieval" standard--referencing real-world history--and then flagrantly breaking that standard whenever it suits what actually matters, namely, their trope preferences.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's not a matter of anyone being good enough for me (or anyone else). It's a matter of people setting out this "medieval" standard--referencing real-world history--and then flagrantly breaking that standard whenever it suits what actually matters, namely, their trope preferences.

Not a problem for me. Got a solve.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Bullseye lanterns, with their distinctive glass frontpiece, did not become items people could generally acquire until about the mid 18th century. What broad category does "mid-18th century" belong to? Because that seems pretty late to be "Renaissance", let alone "Medieval." As noted, it exists in 5e.

It's generally known as "early modern" these days, and quite a few things on the standard equipment list go in that category, such as the telescope and ball bearings. But whether or not they exist in a setting is a matter for the world builder. Personally, I think the concept of "Tech Level" should be borrowed from certain Other Games(TM) and included on the equipment list, which would make it easier to have societies with different levels in the game world.

But a bullseye lantern is similar to a flashlight, or a sword. You can wear it on your belt, but it's pretty useless unless you take it out and point it at the thing you want to illuminate.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

What I don't understand is why we don't see far, FAR more fire beetles being used in settings and adventures.

That's an interesting point. I remember encountering a lot of them in early D&D, both to fight and as light sources, but you don't seem to see them in modern adventures.

You do see plenty of glowing crystals though, which I sure an enterprising adventurer could harvest, combine with a mirror and a lens, and make a flashlight.

 

[Distracted DM]

Even with the cost of that lantern being easier to destroy than one held in hand?

I do appreciate the consideration of added rules for such things- you'll see I mentioned an offhanded reference to such a thing in my post, where you're now adding a new mechanic (my example was on being crit, save to protect your lantern, fail and get set on fire) to keep track of just so the PC can have their cake and eat it too. I just think that most any sufficient penalty is going to end with the player saying "oh, nevermind it's not worth the risk."

 

[tetrasodium]

I don't see what's so objectionable about lanterns on belts.

Either darkness is a thing to consider plan for and engage with or there is a fairly mundane item that effectively deletes those rules and everything they add to the game even more brazenly than "I've got dark vision [and we both know that the relevant rules are a waste of ink so I'm going to be a brick wall and force you to pull teeth if you expect me to pretend it's not ultravision]". Any in world justification given for why you can't just clip one to your belt is in service to an implied "no [because the gm said so]" and it's bad form for a player to toxically wheedle for loopholes while asking why at the same time all of the purely mechanical reasons provided.

Then you have the fact that Light is a cantrip, but that's okay because magic and yet people complain about the superiority of casters.

It used to be that cantrips needed to be prepared by slot just like leveled spells like light were with good reason. Both of those fell victim to the tyranny of fun alongside meaningful light rules not designed to self nullify.

 

[AlViking]

...

One of the lanterns has belt loops. It's specifically meant to be worn attached to the belt. The text even explicitly says so.

Shown being worn on the belt unlit, shown being held in the hand while lit. It frees up your hands if you don't need the light.