Level Up (A5E) Blind Oracles and the DDG

[xiphumor]

The DDG includes rules for a blind character, which include the following passage:

Blind. You are permanently blind and can’t see beyond the range of your blindsight. You can’t benefit from any ability or magical effect that would grant you visual sight or darkvision.

One of the tropes that works best with being blind is to be an Oracle (Cleric), but unfortunately, the mechanics don’t work very well together because many of the Oracle’s abilities rely on sight. E.g.:

Channel Divinity: All-Seeing Oracle Beginning at 2nd level, you may use your Channel Divinity to briefly look through the eyes of another. While doing so, you are blind to your own surroundings and see through the eyes of a creature you name. As long as the creature is alive and on the same plane of existence, you recall a still image of its surroundings exactly as it saw them in a single moment. If the creature is dead, blinded, unconscious, or protected from divination magic this feature has no effect.

and also

Channel Divinity: Aural Oracle At 6th level, you are able to use your Channel Divinity to see and hear through the eyes of another for 1 minute. When using this feature, you become blinded and deafened to your surroundings and sense through a creature you name. As long as the creature is alive and on the same plane of existence, it makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, you can see what it sees and hear what it hears. An unconscious creature automatically fails its save, but only hears (it sees nothing). You cannot see through the eyes of a blinded creature, or hear through the ears of a deafened creature. If the creature is dead or protected from divination magic this feature has no effect. On a successful save, a creature is immune to this feature for 24 hours.

Unless I’m misreading the rules, I would love some thoughts on how to make this work.

 

[VenerableBede]

I don’t know if you are running this already, but as a Narrator I would allow any ability that relies on sight to be used with any version of sight, including blindsight. As a result, the range for some things might be decreased to match the range of the blindsight (provided this DDG feature you’re talking about provides blindsight, or another feature does), but the trade-off would be that you ignore many illusions and darkness.

 

[VenerableBede]

I don’t know if that’s the intent of the rules, but it makes sense to me.
As for the abilities you quoted, they let the Oracle use the other creature’s senses, while the ability you quoted doesn’t allow the oracle herself to gain sight through magic or whatever. By my reading, these don’t conflict - the oracle isn’t gaining sight, she’s borrowing someone else’s sight from their perspective and their body. I would rule the feature works normally.

 

[xiphumor]

I don’t know if that’s the intent of the rules, but it makes sense to me.
As for the abilities you quoted, they let the Oracle use the other creature’s senses, while the ability you quoted doesn’t allow the oracle herself to gain sight through magic or whatever. By my reading, these don’t conflict - the oracle isn’t gaining sight, she’s borrowing someone else’s sight from their perspective and their body. I would rule the feature works normally.

This particular point was what I was wondering about. I was also considering the implications of using the senses of a familiar.

 

[VenerableBede]

Like, for pact of the chain warlock, or in general?
You’re still using the senses of another creature, not your own, so I would rule it the same way.
No conflict.
But it’s also your table. If your player chooses to play a blind character and then to use class features to allow herself to “see” (something all other characters starts with as a default), I don’t see the harm in just letting it happen. People have fun in unique ways.

 

[WarDriveWorley]

I would allow them to work since they're limited use and I would allow the character to share senses with a familiar if they have access, because both are thematic as heck. I would impose disadvantage on any attack rolls made while viewing through a familiar or someone else's senses though for a few reasons. 1. the change of perspective can make exact targeting difficult and 2. it allows the player to benefit from the thematic alteration without removing one of the major hindrances by being blind.

 

[Morrus]

I don’t know if that’s the intent of the rules, but it makes sense to me.
As for the abilities you quoted, they let the Oracle use the other creature’s senses, while the ability you quoted doesn’t allow the oracle herself to gain sight through magic or whatever. By my reading, these don’t conflict - the oracle isn’t gaining sight, she’s borrowing someone else’s sight from their perspective and their body. I would rule the feature works normally.

That's my reading of it too.

 

[xiphumor]

I would allow them to work since they're limited use and I would allow the character to share senses with a familiar if they have access, because both are thematic as heck. I would impose disadvantage on any attack rolls made while viewing through a familiar or someone else's senses though for a few reasons. 1. the change of perspective can make exact targeting difficult and 2. it allows the player to benefit from the thematic alteration without removing one of the major hindrances by being blind.

You get blindsight if you take the DDG blindness rules as part of your character build, so that’s not an issue.

 

[WarDriveWorley]

You get blindsight if you take the DDG blindness rules as part of your character build, so that’s not an issue.

ooooo.. well disregard