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Ridding Elves and Half-Elves of Darkvision
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<blockquote data-quote="epithet" data-source="post: 7532085" data-attributes="member: 6796566"><p>Darkvision is, mechanically, very simple indeed. Certainly it is simpler than having infravision, ultravision, and low light vision to keep track of, and using darkvision allows you to do things like have a sign or an underdark trail marker that can only be seen with darkvision.</p><p></p><p>You're almost never going to have an ambush in the dark without darkvision. I don't know why that's even a thing you want to bring up... it won't happen unless you force it. It doesn't matter whether you have some or all of your party without darkvision, they won't be stumbling along in the dark without a light source. To have an ambush in the dark you'll have to cheat, and take away their light; it is just as easy to have mist or fog that blinds those with even darkvision 120. To suggest that you can't ambush a party "as creatively" if their using darkvision is simply the opposite of accurate, since an ambush in the dark without darkvision is pretty much limited to "You don't see them. Surprise!" In the first round, someone will get lights up and then you're just in a vanilla encounter. With darkvision, you can provide misdirection, you can tease glimpses of part of the ambush predator, and most importantly you can provide some very effective horror. Players whose characters are blind in the dark expect horrible things to stalk them through the lightless places, but characters with darkvision tend to fall into the trap of feeling at home there, as if those characters are native and comfortable in the deep places. They're not, and when they are confronted with the realization that they are on the menu as much as the human beside them, it can be more effectively creepy. Take, for example, the deep stalker ranger feature that makes a character invisible to darkvision. Consider how much it would freak out your dwarf or dark elf when you say "You can clearly see the entire chamber, and it seems to be empty. You can't see anything threatening at all... Roll initiative." It isn't quite as good as dropping a retriever into <em>Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion</em>, but it will get someone's attention.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="epithet, post: 7532085, member: 6796566"] Darkvision is, mechanically, very simple indeed. Certainly it is simpler than having infravision, ultravision, and low light vision to keep track of, and using darkvision allows you to do things like have a sign or an underdark trail marker that can only be seen with darkvision. You're almost never going to have an ambush in the dark without darkvision. I don't know why that's even a thing you want to bring up... it won't happen unless you force it. It doesn't matter whether you have some or all of your party without darkvision, they won't be stumbling along in the dark without a light source. To have an ambush in the dark you'll have to cheat, and take away their light; it is just as easy to have mist or fog that blinds those with even darkvision 120. To suggest that you can't ambush a party "as creatively" if their using darkvision is simply the opposite of accurate, since an ambush in the dark without darkvision is pretty much limited to "You don't see them. Surprise!" In the first round, someone will get lights up and then you're just in a vanilla encounter. With darkvision, you can provide misdirection, you can tease glimpses of part of the ambush predator, and most importantly you can provide some very effective horror. Players whose characters are blind in the dark expect horrible things to stalk them through the lightless places, but characters with darkvision tend to fall into the trap of feeling at home there, as if those characters are native and comfortable in the deep places. They're not, and when they are confronted with the realization that they are on the menu as much as the human beside them, it can be more effectively creepy. Take, for example, the deep stalker ranger feature that makes a character invisible to darkvision. Consider how much it would freak out your dwarf or dark elf when you say "You can clearly see the entire chamber, and it seems to be empty. You can't see anything threatening at all... Roll initiative." It isn't quite as good as dropping a retriever into [I]Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion[/I], but it will get someone's attention. [/QUOTE]
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