Let there be light!

[Aulirophile]

Again, Magical light. It doesn't emit light. It creates a field of light around it within 100 feet. The light doesn't even necessarily come from the Sunrod, it could create a zone of light. No shadows, no problems.

Comparing Magic to real life doesn't work out so well.

 

[Wik]

Again, Magical light. It doesn't emit light. It creates a field of light around it within 100 feet. The light doesn't even necessarily come from the Sunrod, it could create a zone of light. No shadows, no problems.

Comparing Magic to real life doesn't work out so well.

Absolutely correct. But some people get taken out of the game when faced continuously with "A Wizard Did It".

Especially when common sense says that, for a sunrod to shed that much light, it would burn out your eyes to look at it. I do like your method, but our minds just don't work that way. A 2 GP item shouldn't have more power and capability, in our minds, than the most expensive handheld light generator today.

My group is filled with campers and outdoorsy types (it's BC, it's what we do!). So this slaps up right in the face.

A reduction of sunrod's radius was actually the FIRST house rule change we made to 4e, and it was done within about one day of yours truly first opening his preordered PHB. it was unanimously agree upon, and I think it's even transferred to other games.

When something takes the players out of the game that much, you need to change it.

The second house rule was changing the name of "Shuriken" to "Throwing Knives".

 

[mneme]

Darkness. There is no zone of dim light in 4e.

This is a funky ruling.

Funky and, arguably, wrong.

Darkness

Darkness prevails outside on a moonless night or in rooms with no light sources. Characters who have normal vision or low-light vision can’t see creatures or objects in darkness. Characters who have darkvision can see without penalty.

That's darkness -- outside on a moonless night or in rooms with no light sources.


The rules never say what the visibility is in rooms that -have- light sources (eg, the torches, sunrods, etc the party is carrying with them) outside the "bright light" zones of said sources. Now, dim light...

Dim Light

This category includes the light provided by a candle or another dim light source, moonlight, indirect illumination (such as in a cave interior whose entrance is nearby or in a subterranean passageway that has narrow shafts extending to the surface), and the light cast by things such as phosphorescent
fungi. Characters who have normal vision can’t see well in dim light: Creatures in the area have concealment. Characters who have low-light vision or darkvision see normally in dim light.

... Indirect illumination. Like, say, the zone of bright light filling the center of a room.


By strict RAW, a room with a source of bright light has no darkness in it (except for one with only dim light sources with known radiuses, of course). Instead, my best interpretation is that anything that has LoS (or close enough; see indirect light) to a bright light source is filled with dim light.


The rules -don't- do the bright->dim fadeoff of 3rd ed. But nor do they say that areas immediately outside a zone of bright light are pitch black (nor does it make any sense to say so, except -sometimes- with magical light).

 

[MortalPlague]

A reduction of sunrod's radius was actually the FIRST house rule change we made to 4e, and it was done within about one day of yours truly first opening his preordered PHB.

My group has unanimously house ruled that the standard 'adventuring kit' costs a couple gp less and has two torches instead of two sunrods. With sunrods coming by default, nobody ever buys a torch. And what's more iconic for fantasy lighting than a torch?

 

[Legildur]

...A reduction of sunrod's radius was actually the FIRST house rule change we made to 4e, and it was done within about one day of yours truly first opening his preordered PHB. It was unanimously agree upon, and I think it's even transferred to other games.

My group has also commented on the extensive range of the sunrod, but no house rule... yet.

Out of curiosity, what radius did you settle on for a sunrod?

 

[Alasomorph]

My group has decided that using sunrods is a very bad idea. 100' of illumination can attract a lot of unwanted attention. Better to use torches, light spells and lanterns. Break out the sunrods for special situations:
- large rooms
- as distractions (thrown like a grenade behind the goblin barricade!)
- lowered into the pit or chasm on a piece of rope.

I am undecided whether I like the 'bright light just stops' RAW. From a DMing standpoint it makes tracking easier but it doesn't feel right.

The one thing I am sure about is that if you are ignoring lighting in your encounters then you are doing yourself and your players a great disservice.

 

[Mengu]

Out of curiosity, what radius did you settle on for a sunrod?

We house ruled it to be 5 squares. That's actually pretty generous for a glow stick.

I still think when they were writing up the sunrod, somebody asked, "How far does this glow stick throw light?" someone answered "Oh about 20 feet." And they wrote down 20. Squares.

I've been pondering the concept of a quick burn flare that lights up 20 squares. Minor action to use it. It lights the area until the end of your turn. Sort of like a short strip of magnesium. Everyone gets to see the masses of zombies for a brief moment, and then it all goes dark again, and the screaming begins.

 

[Solvarn]

Sunrods

I don't think sunrods actual cast light, I think they just make it like there is sunlight shining but from not particular source. I think it would be pretty cool if it wasn't there.

My swordmage/warlock has armor, I think it's called shadowdance armor, or something, that as a daily makes a zone of dim light. If the light is dim already, it becomes darkness.

 

[Wik]

My group has also commented on the extensive range of the sunrod, but no house rule... yet.

Out of curiosity, what radius did you settle on for a sunrod?

ten squares, which is still a radius of 50 feet (or "DAMN, that's bright!").

When we switch to Dark Sun, there will be no sun rods at all.