Magic Item granting Thermal Vision
Sir Brennen
Legend
Don't go there
Yeah... the endless debates of trying to apply real world physics of things like infravision or ultravision to a fantasy settings got so messy to rule on during a game that they went with the simplier lowlight and darkvision.
Adding such items will just re-introduce those arguments (how much detail of the room can I make out? Can I track someone by the heat of their footprints? Can I see a vampire that's fed recently? How many degrees cooler does this room look than the previoius room? A cold-blooded shark isn't really the exact same temperature as the water, so I should be able to see it...)
Unless you're ready to write a few pages of house rules to handle those things, or prepared to have to make judgement calls on them over and over, just stick with items based on Darkvision, which is essentially the old infravision, but a lot easier, and superior overall in the detail you can see...
Edit: Hmmm... Even d20 modern avoids the infrared-as-thermal situation, despite real-world availability. Nightvision goggles simply give you Darkvision as long as there's a small amount of available light; if not, you can use an infrared flashlight with them, which isn't the same as seeing thermal differences via infrared; it's just a flashlight only you can see. Again, lowlight/darkvision is simply more practical than thermal, even when based on real-world tech.
Yeah... the endless debates of trying to apply real world physics of things like infravision or ultravision to a fantasy settings got so messy to rule on during a game that they went with the simplier lowlight and darkvision.
Adding such items will just re-introduce those arguments (how much detail of the room can I make out? Can I track someone by the heat of their footprints? Can I see a vampire that's fed recently? How many degrees cooler does this room look than the previoius room? A cold-blooded shark isn't really the exact same temperature as the water, so I should be able to see it...)
Unless you're ready to write a few pages of house rules to handle those things, or prepared to have to make judgement calls on them over and over, just stick with items based on Darkvision, which is essentially the old infravision, but a lot easier, and superior overall in the detail you can see...
Edit: Hmmm... Even d20 modern avoids the infrared-as-thermal situation, despite real-world availability. Nightvision goggles simply give you Darkvision as long as there's a small amount of available light; if not, you can use an infrared flashlight with them, which isn't the same as seeing thermal differences via infrared; it's just a flashlight only you can see. Again, lowlight/darkvision is simply more practical than thermal, even when based on real-world tech.
Last edited:
Lord Pendragon
First Post
Taking into account what everyone's said about thermal vision vs. darkvision, you might be interested in:
srd said:
Sir Brennen
Legend
A Designer's opinion
I'd also point to Sean K Reynold's rant on the subject on his site here
The sheer number of spells he points out that you would have to house rule on should be enough to discourage using thermal-sensing vision...
I'd also point to Sean K Reynold's rant on the subject on his site here
The sheer number of spells he points out that you would have to house rule on should be enough to discourage using thermal-sensing vision...
