Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Magic Item granting Thermal Vision
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Sir Brennen" data-source="post: 2093419" data-attributes="member: 553"><p><strong>Don't go there</strong></p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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...) </p><p></p><p>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...</p><p></p><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sir Brennen, post: 2093419, member: 553"] [b]Don't go there[/b] 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. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Magic Item granting Thermal Vision
Top