D&D 5E Everyone has Darkvision - too generous?

[Xeviat]

Just give darkvision to everyone; the race calculator that's floating around here says darkvision is worth 0 points ...

Seriously, though, I like the idea of bringing back low-light vision. I never played 2E, so I don't have an attachment to infravision, but it's a pretty cool thing and I'd love to see it on snake and lizard people. Variety in the races is nice, and a few different vision types would be cool to see again. Darkvision on animals is weird to me.

 

[77IM]

I'd make Low-Light Vision a limited form of Darkvision, the way Echolocation is a limited form of Blindsight:

Low-Light Vision. Your darkvision does not function in areas of absolute pitch blackness with no light whatsoever.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I mean Orcs dont live underground they live on the surface normally...

Do they? Well, then our little jaunt through the Mines of Moria should be perfectly safe!

 

[ExploderWizard]

Darkvision still has its limitations. You still need actual light if you want to read anything or if fine detail is important. You can miss all kinds of stuff by exploring with darkvision alone.

 

[CapnZapp]

Huh? I have no idea what you're getting at here. My version of low-light vision is very similar to yours, except that I re-worded it and increased the range multiplier from x2 to x10.

Sorry I misunderstood you.

I am not trying to make lowlight vision as good as darkvision. I consider my version of lowlight vision a fair trade.

 

[CapnZapp]

I'm slightly annoyed that virtually everyone in the party can see without needing a light source. It blows many a cool mental image of exploring ruins, caves, etc via flickering torch light/floating light spells.

Yes, exactly.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I'd be tempted to remove darkvision as a race ability from anything that is not specifically a nocturnal predator. I would make it extremely rare that an intelligent tool-using creature could function properly in the dark.

That stops the problem where, because every single monster and most civilised races can see in the dark, you cannot have a sneaky character without darkvision.

It lets a dark alleyway conceal a mugger, instead of it just being like daylight to ~50% of the people who walk down it.

It makes dark places full of unknown threats, lurking outside your torchlight.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

I'm slightly annoyed that virtually everyone in the party can see without needing a light source. It blows many a cool mental image of exploring ruins, caves, etc via flickering torch light/floating light spells.
(this could happen in earlier editions as well)

I wholeheartedly agree, so many destroyed possibilities for tension, flavor and ambiance. That said, I don't find the 5e version of darkvision to be at all unbalanced. Disadvantage on perception checks (and -5 to passive perception) is a pretty significant penalty.

 

[SailorNash]

I miss LLV. Its a flavor thing to differentiate some of the races. I understand the desire to simplify things, especially when the differences didn't seem to come up all that often, but then they added Skulker that does something similar?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I didn't know that dragonborn had such a bad rep?

Check out any of the "D&D race"-related threads. Count the number of times people specifically single out dragonborn (or "dragonborn and tieflings"--the latter race being grandfathered in by Planescape much of the time). While it might not happen once a page, it's a constant, recurring theme. "No, hell no, and never darken my door again" kind of thing--people who have never so much as seen one suggested by their players, and only opposing it because "it doesn't fit in my campaign world" (nevermind that that's circular logic).