How dark to constitute concealment?

[DM2]

My DM and I were scouring books last weekend for guidelines on how dark it should be to constitute concealment, hence making sneak attacks impossible.

Is a moonlit night dark enough?

A moonlit night with a campfire nearby?

A dark night with a campfire or torch nearby?

I thought there was a table in the DMG that spoke to encounter distance planning and included rules for different light levels as well, but found nothing. Perhaps it was removed in 3.5?

Thanks,

DM2

 

[Staffan]

A moonlit night would constitute "shadowy illumination" and thus give concealment. A moonlit night near a campfire would be "bright" inside the illumination radius of a campfire (which is not specified in the rules - I'd rule it to be something like 40 ft bright, which is a little more than a lantern), and shadowy outside it. A dark night would be like a moonlit night, except the shadowy illumination would stop at 80 ft (twice the radius of bright light).

 

[Sejs]

I would personally say the 'too dark to make sneak attacks' cutoff would be around the point where it's too dark to be able to make out details on the person you're seeing.

Basically if it's dark to the point that you see a person standing nearby as just a silhouette, then it's too dark to make sneak attacks against 'em, because you can't be sure of just where you're stabbing - the best you can do is approximate.

 

[Thanee]

Click and scroll down to Exploration

The same should be in the Adventuring section in the PHB 3.5.

Bye
Thanee