Darkvision Ruins Dungeon-Crawling

[R_J_K75]

If its less than a D8 you're back to every mage being a crossbowman.

Spell casters still have the option to cast leveled spells that deal damage too and don't need to rely strictly on cantrips.

 

[Corinnguard]

Does Darkvision Ruin Dungeon-Crawling? I think the answer to this question is pretty situational. There are going to be times where it will and where it won't ruin the experience of crawling through a dungeon. One good example of the latter is when you are playing a Gloom Stalker Ranger using Umbral Sight and relying on your Stealth skill.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Spell casters still have the option to cast leveled spells that deal damage too and don't need to rely strictly on cantrips.

How many spells do they have? How long do you want your dungeon runs to last?

In the old days it wasn't hard to run yourself out of spells pretty quickly; that's why the throwing darts and crossbows became a thing in the first place--to conserve spell slots.

 

[Micah Sweet]

If its less than a D8 you're back to every mage being a crossbowman.

Crossbows are cool. If I were a wizard without unlimited super-beams I'd definitely carry one.

 

[Micah Sweet]

That doesn't save you unless you draw a really hard line between playable species and opponent species.

Sometimes I do. Depends on the game.

 

[Micah Sweet]

How many spells do they have? How long do you want your dungeon runs to last?

In the old days it wasn't hard to run yourself out of spells pretty quickly; that's why the throwing darts and crossbows became a thing in the first place--to conserve spell slots.

Is that supposed to be a bad thing?

 

[Reynard]

A dungeon is a play environment that can support a whole bunch of playstyles.
One of those playstyles is dungeon crawling, and that requires things like limited resources, light scarcity and choices and consequence for pushing "one more room."

 

[R_J_K75]

How many spells do they have?

That all depends on their class and level, but why does that matter?

How long do you want your dungeon runs to last?

However long it takes the party to complete their objective, for them to turn back or die. If I'm DMing I'm sure not going to create an adventure/dungeon based on the parties' resources let alone the number of spells they have at their disposal. Resources are up to them to decide where, how and when they are used.

In the old days it wasn't hard to run yourself out of spells pretty quickly; that's why the throwing darts and crossbows became a thing in the first place--to conserve spell slots.

Why should it be any different now?

 

[aco175]

Handwaved because half have it and half don’t?

I think I would work with it more if all the PCs had DV and I would describe things differently if they were using it. I do not explain things twice and think the players will not know what's going on. I might place a map on the table and the room might be 60 ft long, leaving the far end in darkness for some of the PCs. I do not cover it for them and then show the others what is down there. I would not cover part of the room from description or wait until some went halfway down, unless there was a reason like a trap.

I always thought that one day we would play like in the movie Ready Player One with AI suits and googles and such. Then, the computer could show one PC with DV the room one way and the other PC another way. One player would be look out for that troll, and the other not knowing what he is talking about since it is out of torch range.

I guess I do not take that part too seriously.

 

[Autumnal]

No. Dungeon design doesn’t have to depend on darkness in any way. You can light the whole thing as brightly as your living room and get plenty of suspense and horror out of the layout and interior decorating (to put it flippantly). And since we are ourselves a visually oriented species, that means more to show via artwork and description. Unusual angles, use of the third dimension, alcoves and niches, misdirection and perspective tricks, horrible objects and art, and so on - this stuff is all right there.