D&D 5E Applying and running a game with Darkvision - by RAW

Charlaquin · Jan 21, 2020

Tracking different darkvision radii without digital tools like Roll20’s dynamic lighting is a bit of a crapshoot. I’d recommend abstracting distances, as one might when running combat without a visual aid (aka “TotM”). Just treat things as near, far, or very far. With a light source, near objects are brightly lit, far objects are dimly lit, and very far objects are lit by whatever the ambient condition is. Small light sources like candles and hooded lanterns with the hood down only dimly illuminate near objects, and bullseye lanterns extend bright light to far objects and dim light to very far objects, but only within a cone. Without a light source, characters who lack darkvision have to rely entirely on ambient light, characters with darkvision can see near objects as if they were dimly lit, and characters with superior darkvision can see near or far objects as if they were dimly lit.

iserith · Jan 21, 2020

tommybahama said:
I hate the dynamic lighting on Roll20. Our DM doesn't enforce a marching order and allows people to move their tokens willy nilly around the map until combat starts. This leads to the party being spread out when combat starts and several near TPKs.

If you do use it, try the advanced fog of war feature unless your party has a mapper.

Definitely gotta enforce marching order in my view - all PCs always stay behind Front Rank. If they want to stop and search a wider area other than what's on their travel path, then we go into an exploration phase for a period of 10 minutes (game time) and mark off the area that is being searched (about 1000 sq. ft), declaring specific activities while they stay within the bounds of that area.

Nebulous · Jan 21, 2020

tommybahama said:
I hate the dynamic lighting on Roll20. Our DM doesn't enforce a marching order and allows people to move their tokens willy nilly around the map until combat starts. This leads to the party being spread out when combat starts and several near TPKs.

If you do use it, try the advanced fog of war feature unless your party has a mapper.

Do you mean they move their tokens anywhere they want on a map they can fully see?

uzirath · Jan 21, 2020

Like @Charlaquin, I find it challenging without digital tools. With experienced players, I expect them to keep track of what their character can see. I generally add things to the grid when the characters with the best vision can see them. I expect other players to compartmentalize and they generally step up to the plate. (My adult players are happy to pile on the self-penalties; one of the many things I love about 'em.) With newer players (I play with a lot of younger newcomers to the hobby), I handwave the whole thing. Effectively, the party can see whatever the person with the best vision can see and that's that.

I do like the tradeoffs of light vs. darkvision. Anyone who has walked at night with or without a flashlight has experienced the tradeoff: light allows you to see better at close range, but the rest of the darkness becomes even more impenetrable. And, of course, a light source makes you a beacon that can be seen from almost any distance. To play this up in the game, I like to include occasional large spaces underground where the party's light can't make it to the far wall (or the ceiling). They can then be harried from beyond the circle of light without knowing what they are up against. Thinking ahead of time what the sounds and smells of the area might include will make this even more evocative.

Olrox17 · Jan 21, 2020

iserith said:
I use dynamic lighting on Roll20 which sorts this out. Players see what their characters can see. The only rule I need to enforce is that if the party relies solely on darkvision (no light sources), they have a -5 to their passive Perception in darkness which is lightly obscured for them. That's actually a pretty nasty downside to an all-darkvision party as it means they are less likely to notice traps and hazards as they travel and are more likely to be surprised. Few DMs use that rule in my experience which makes darkvision almost too good in my view.

Yep, the first group I DMed for in 5e made an all-darkvision stealthy party. First trap they met, blew up on their faces HARD. They immediately went back to using torches.

tommybahama · Jan 21, 2020

Nebulous said:
Do you mean they move their tokens anywhere they want on a map they can fully see?

Yep. And as they move, more area is revealed so they keep moving until the DM notices. Soon your party is 100 feet or more apart. People forget that is at least two combat rounds before your allies can get to you.