D&D 5E Revisiting RAW Darkness Spell

[FrogReaver]

It is a sphere of magical darkness that cannot be illuminated. It is dark. Characters cannot see through it.

Please describe your interpretation.

Not being able to be illuminated has nothing to do with whether you can see through it....

 

[Iry]

Only in a whiteroom without any other variables present.

No. Imagine Jane and Evil Bob. Jane is 30' away and doesn't want to get nuked by Evil Bob's spells. She casts Darkness on Evil Bob!

Now, Jane has every reasonable expectation that the Darkness will prevent Evil Bob from casting spells that require line of sight on her.
But Evil Bob can see her since she's 30' away and not within the darkness. He starts nuking Jane.

Without warning Jane of your interpretation, how many players are going to assume Bob can nuke her through the Darkness?

 

[BookTenTiger]

Not being able to be illuminated has nothing to do with whether you can see through it....

So your interpretation of Darkness is that it is a sphere of darkness that cannot be illuminated, and that characters without Darkvision can see through?

Not being able to be illuminated has absolutely to do with whether you can see through it. If light cannot travel through it, you cannot see through it.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Bunny has casted a dakness spell around herself. What can the dog see?

@FrogReaver is your interpretation that Rules as Written says the dog could not see the Bunny, but could see the flowers and trees? What about the mushroom?

And if the dog has Darkvision, it can't see the flowers or mushroom?

I'm honestly trying to understand your interpretation here.

 

[Hriston]

Darkness creates a heavily obscured area.

A heavily obscured area blocks vision entirely.

So if you are in a heavily obscured area, your vision is entirely blocked.

Regular darkness blocks vision entirely unless you have Darkvision. Even if the only special effect of the darkness created by the spell is that it cancels Darkvision and nonmagical light can’t illuminate it... The effect is still that it blocks vision entirely.

How do you square this interpretation with the errata on heavily obscured areas?

 

[el-remmen]

This is the funniest thread I've read in a while.

 

[prabe]

How do you square this interpretation with the errata on heavily obscured areas?

How do you stand in an area where visibility is entirely blocked, and see out?

 

[BookTenTiger]

This is the funniest thread I've read in a while.

Join in! It's like throwing someone a football but they catch it as a basketball.

 

[BookTenTiger]

How do you stand in an area where visibility is entirely blocked, and see out?

This is why I have my character put a bag over their head. Since they are now heavily obscured, nobody can see in but I can see out!

 

[prabe]

This is why I have my character put a bag over their head. Since they are now heavily obscured, nobody can see in but I can see out!

That'll work against the Horrendous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, but I hear it works better with a towel.