Darkvision and mirrors?
lukelightning
First Post
No.
Mirrors require light to work. Sure, you can see in the dark, but the mirror can't. It's not receiving any light to reflect.
Mirrors require light to work. Sure, you can see in the dark, but the mirror can't. It's not receiving any light to reflect.
ThirdWizard
First Post
Yes.
You can also read using darkvision.
You can also read using darkvision.
lukelightning
First Post
ThirdWizard said:
We're not saying you can't see the mirror, we're saying that without light a mirror is just a flat piece of glass. What do you see on the surface of the mirror? You see light reflecting off its surface. If no light is reaching the mirror (as the case would be in darkness), then there is no image.
Reading is a whole 'nother issue.
Darkvision isn't defined scientifically. Previous editions used infravision that was basically "heat vision." Beings that had it could see the infra-rays coming off things. Beings that had infravision beyond 60' (Drow) had infra-rays coming out of their eyes to bathe the area and see stuff via the rays bounced back.
If you want to open endless science debates disallow mirror usage with Darkvision b/c no light to reflect.
If you want to keep it simple and play the game allow it to work.
If you want to open endless science debates disallow mirror usage with Darkvision b/c no light to reflect.
If you want to keep it simple and play the game allow it to work.
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The Blow Leprechaun
First Post
I'd be comfortable with it either way, depending on how darkvision works. It seems from the way darkvision is described in the rules that it works sui generis, but if you decide that darkvision operates by perceiving photons of a normally nonvisible wavelength then you can argue that you would see any of those in the mirror as well (technically, mirrors reflect photons not "light"). Since most mirrors aren't designed to reflect these wavelengths, though, probably what you'd see would be badly garbled/unrecognizable and probably not useful in any normal sense... not being able to see nonvisible light means I'm not really sure what it might look like. The mirror might seem "shiny," or something.
So probably no.
So probably no.
Personally I would let the mirror work because it's just easier to adjudicate. When you start getting scientific you're going down the rathole that infravision and ultravision fell in. 
I would definitely remember to count the entire distance against your darkvision, though. If a mirror is 10 feet away and the monster is 55 feet from the mirror, your dwarf can't see it.
I would definitely remember to count the entire distance against your darkvision, though. If a mirror is 10 feet away and the monster is 55 feet from the mirror, your dwarf can't see it.
lukelightning
First Post
I can accept a "yes" answer, if you decide that there is some special "darkvision" wavelength or somesuch that mirrors can reflect.
I'd still limit the overall distance to 60' (or whatever the darkvision range of the viewer is), so if you see a mirror 40 feet away but only have a 60' range you can't actually see yourself. But you could be 30 feet from a mirror that's set up at a 45 degree angle to see 30 more feet perpendicularly (hope that scenario makes sense).
I'd personally prefer that the answer is no, for flavor sake, but perhaps there are special dark mirrors, or perhaps metals such as cold iron reflect darkvision.
I'd still limit the overall distance to 60' (or whatever the darkvision range of the viewer is), so if you see a mirror 40 feet away but only have a 60' range you can't actually see yourself. But you could be 30 feet from a mirror that's set up at a 45 degree angle to see 30 more feet perpendicularly (hope that scenario makes sense).
I'd personally prefer that the answer is no, for flavor sake, but perhaps there are special dark mirrors, or perhaps metals such as cold iron reflect darkvision.
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