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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Xetheral" data-source="post: 8262945" data-attributes="member: 6802765">The gaps created by the non-comprehensive vision/light/obscurement rules are myriad:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Can an observer see anything on the far side of something opaque? To use a previous example, can a dog see a bunny when the two are on opposite sides of opaque heavy obscurement? Does the answer change depending on whether the opaque heavy obscurement is a solid object, like a wall?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">If light is obstructed by something opaque within its light radius, is there a shadow? Can that shadow affect the light level beyond the obstruction? Does the answer change depending on whether there exists a clear path around the obstruction that stays within the light radius of the light source? Example: there is an opaque, striaght wall 20' from a torch that completely intersects the torch's light radii other than a 1' square opening where the wall is nearest the torch. Assuming no other sources of illumination, which squares are brightly and dimly light on the far side of the wall from the torch? Is the answer different if the opening in the wall is moved 5' to one side?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Related to #2 (and highly pertinent to this thread), if an observer "effectively suffers from the blinded condition" with regards to an opaque object, but does not effectively suffer from the blinded condition with respect to something that would normally be occulted by the opaque object, what does the observer see? Does the answer change if the opaque object is instead a creature or non-solid opaque heavy obscurement? (For numerous examples, see the rest of this thread.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Also related to #2, when, if ever, does full cover affect the lighting levels created by a light source? For example, a creature within the bright light radius of the only light source has full cover from that light source. Is the creature necessarily in bright light? Necessarily in darkness? Or does the light level of the creature's square depend on the geometry of the cover, the light source, and/or other nearby surfaces?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Does the word "illuminate" in the PHB have its ordinary dictionary definition, or is it a technical term that refers only to increasing the defined level of light in a square to a brighter level of the game's three levels of lighting?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">How does a visual illusion of an opaque object/creature interact with local lighting levels? (For an idea of the range of complications, try substituting an illusory opaque object into examples ## 1-4.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Can the boundaries of an area of transparent heavy obscurement be seen by those outside the obscured area? If so, what does the area look like?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Can the boundaries of an area of bright or dim light be seen by those outside the lit area? If so, what does the area look like? Example: an exceptionally large torch with double the normal bright and dim light radii is located 500' in mid-air, on a moonless night. There are no objects within 120' of the torch. Can an observer on the ground visually discern the light radii of this unusual torch? If so, what does the lit area look like?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Every light source in D&D produces light spherically, except for the Bullseye Lantern, which produces light in a cone. Related to #2, can other light sources be made to produce light in a cone by completely obstructing them except in one dimension? Or will the light from light sources other than a bullseye lantern return to behaving spherically outside of the obstructed area? Example: a torch is recessed in a 10' deep niche in a stone wall. Does this torch cast a cone of light beyond the niche? Or a sphere of light?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">(And presumably many more, but this is enough of a wall of text as it is.)</li> </ol>The text does not explicitly say how to resolve any of these questions. It's up to individual DMs to try to draw inferences from what the text does say to resolve these questions when they come up. Necessarily, different DMs are going to have different ideas of how much realism should affect the inferences drawn from the text, which means that different DMs will reach different inferences. There is no way to objectively determine whether the inferences drawn by a particular DM are "RAW" or "not RAW" or to objectively determine which inferences are "more-RAW" or "less-RAW". (We can, of course, all have our own subjective opinions on which inferences are best supported by the text and our own notions of what elements of reality are sufficiently obvious to affect how we read the text.)Thanks for the additional detail. I appreciate it. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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