Darkvision Ruins Dungeon-Crawling

[GMMichael]

I agree - darkvision is not something that the players have to manage. It's something the DM has to manage in respect to encounter and adventure design. It's one thing when it's an across the board consideration. But when I have to remember than players 2, 4 and 5 have darkvision, but 1 and 3 don't, that's when I want to start handwaving it. Handwave it enough times and you wonder why it's a consideration at all.

Meh. DMs have it bad enough. PCs can help a little. The DM describes everything in normal vision range. On her turn (?) a PC can ask, "I use my darkvision. What do I see?" Or the DM says which enemies are in dim light, and the darkvision PC can go, "I don't have disadvantage due to darkvision."

 

[Distracted DM]

Is darkvision a sacred cow?

I think that's definitely an opinionated thing... Infravision in TSR DnD, going to Darkvision and Low Light Vision in 3e, and 5e just Darkvision... well, some 3e stuff is definitely sacred cow-worthy, but darkvision specifically? Not in my opinion. Creatures having SOME capacity to see in the dark/low light though, yeah.

 

[Thomas Shey]

We usually played that kind of specialty groups.

Someone was bound to. But most people aren't willing to pay the overhead on it.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I wouldn't call it punishing at all, but I agree that it's more work for the DM to remember and apply those limitations.

Given darkvision's usual lack of any real rationale, it can't come across but as punishment/gotcha to a lot of people, because there's no self-evident reason for it to have these flaws; it has no real model to work off of, unlike things like low-light vision or thermal imaging.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I strongly suspect that this overhead (and DMs handwaving it to ignore the overhead) is why Darkvision gets the reputation for being too good and making light sources and darkness in dungeons irrelevant.

Well, part of it is because a lot of players are really determined to have it, either because they really dislike things being concealed or because GMs always use things like darkness as a disadvantage to them, never to their benefit.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Given darkvision's usual lack of any real rationale, it can't come across but as punishment/gotcha to a lot of people, because there's no self-evident reason for it to have these flaws; it has no real model to work off of, unlike things like low-light vision or thermal imaging.

That's always been my issue with it. No setting logic.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Well, part of it is because a lot of players are really determined to have it, either because they really dislike things being concealed or because GMs always use things like darkness as a disadvantage to them, never to their benefit.

What are some benefits to darkness that are in the DM's hands?

 

[Thomas Shey]

That's always been my issue with it. No setting logic.

Welcome to D&D, the game that has had super-extra-special versions of Darkness in various editions you couldn't see through with various dark penetrating powers for "reasons" without ever explaining it. Or frankly, any number of magical effects that don't have any obvious internal logic, they're just pried up from folklore, myth and fiction and plopped down because someone liked them.

 

[Thomas Shey]

What are some benefits to darkness that are in the DM's hands?

You only apply it in situations where the monsters involved don't care about it for one reason or another. I'd think the benefit there would be pretty self-evident.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Welcome to D&D, the game that has had super-extra-special versions of Darkness in various editions you couldn't see through with various dark penetrating powers for "reasons" without ever explaining it. Or frankly, any number of magical effects that don't have any obvious internal logic, they're just pried up from folklore, myth and fiction and plopped down because someone liked them.

I know people hate this, but magic is just different. It doesn't have the same burden of proof, just a general consistency of use IMO. Darkvision is not depicted necessarily as a magical ability, so having it have no basis is a problem for me.