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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Laurefindel" data-source="post: 8263577" data-attributes="member: 67296">My difficulties with 5e visibility have been twofold:1) The rules do not differentiate between lack of light and opacity.2) "Blinded" does not always mean "unable to percieve"Once I allowed myself (as DM) to adjudicate on those depending of the situation, things got better.In the scenario of [brightly lit area] - (dim light) - [heavily obscured area] - (dim light) - [brightly lit area] brought earlier in the discussion, I will treat things differently based on the situation.Heavily obscured area = natural darkness? Two people in each brightly lit area can see each other fine, but would be blind to someone in the dark area. The person in the dark area will not be blind to either people however. That's pretty much RAW.Heavily obscured = dense fog/sleet, curtain of water, dense foliage? Everyone is blind to everyone. This departs from RAW, but brings a more relatable simulation IMO. I tend to treat the darkness spell in this category due to the "cannot see through" clause.Then, I accept that "Blinded" simply means disadvantage on attack / advantage to be attacked, but not necessarily "unable to see" (even if it sometimes does). Dragon flies over the PC during a full-moon night? They all see the dragon, but attacks against it are made with disadvantage (they would also make their perception with disadvantage if a check was in order). Thick fog prevents PC to see more than 30 feet ahead? The dragon will never be seen by anyone and no attack will be allowed (for what it's worth, the dragon will not see them either). Other senses might come into effect, as I adjudicate as DM.Also, as a theatre technician and lighting designer, lighting and visibility (and the tricks and psychological phenomenons that go with them) is well-known territory. There is a lot more to it, but that the gist of it.</blockquote>

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