D&D 5E The Case for a Magic Item Shop?

[Tazawa]

Can't re-roll. I'm 7th level.

1. Take Magic Initiate as your 8th level feat.
2. Select wizard as your spell casting class and select Find Familiar as your 1st level spell.
3. Get a familiar with darkvision (owl) or blindsight (bat).
4. Perch your familiar on your shoulder and use your action to see through its eyes.

Problem solved.

Happy gaming!

 

[The_Gneech]

1. Take Magic Initiate as your 8th level feat.
2. Select wizard as your spell casting class and select Find Familiar as your 1st level spell.
3. Get a familiar with darkvision (owl) or blindsight (bat).
4. Perch your familiar on your shoulder and use your action to see through its eyes.

Problem solved.

Happy gaming!

Nice!

-The Gneech

 

[BASHMAN]

1. Take Magic Initiate as your 8th level feat.
2. Select wizard as your spell casting class and select Find Familiar as your 1st level spell.
3. Get a familiar with darkvision (owl) or blindsight (bat).
4. Perch your familiar on your shoulder and use your action to see through its eyes.

Problem solved.

Happy gaming!

That's pretty good, but using stealth also takes an action.

 

[Tazawa]

You're right of course. You can still have the owl scout ahead (it's pretty stealthy itself) and watch through its eyes. An owl familiar also has many other uses for a stealth-oriented character.

But really I think the best thing you can do is go back to the nearby city and see if your thousands of gold coins can purchase a scroll of darkvision or two (or five). If you have a wizard in the party, pay for the cost of writing it in her spellbook and then pay her to cast it on you every day. You've got the money, use it.

Happy gaming!

 

[DracoSuave]

You could take the time to research how people used to scout and see at night in times before IR goggles and such. A sufficiently low-tech solution should work for you. I mean... people did get around our lack of darkvision back in the day.

If 'make a deal with the demons' isn't an option, then 'make a deal with some power opposed to the demons.' Or hell, even 'Kill demons and steal the bits needed to make potions that give that power.'

Your character has a challenge--what are you doing to overcome it other than simply wishing to throw money at it? Is your character asking questions, persuing knowledge to overcome it? Stories having a sense of urgency still often have the characters make preparations to overcome their obstacles. This is good plot development. Sidequests are NOT bad things.

And lastly.. there's always 'deal with it' and find imaginative ways to scout without relying on vision. Overcoming a handicap makes for a good story--what is a more compelling character... the character who spent time underground and learned ways of using her other senses to find enemies, or the character who spent time underground, bought some magic contact lenses, and then carried on as if nothing happened.

It's not like Darkvision has a good range anyways.

 

[Scorpio616]

My character is a human, very adept in stealth, re-skinned as a ninja. Sneaking and scouting for the party is her role in the group. But recently we've been in the underdark and it looks like we're going to be there for quite some time. My main role, sneaking ahead and scouting, is now useless because I:
A. Cannot see in the dark and
B. If I use a light-source, I am automatically not stealthed, making me the worst ninja ever.

So what did you do in dungeons and overland at night? Game is Dungeons and Dragons, not Wilderness & Wyverns. Going underground is kinda a big focus of the ruleset so concepts that don't work with that are kinda in trouble out the gate.

This would likely entail some sort of magic item (some sort of goggles, I guess) that would let me do that. At present, there is a 0% chance that I will get such an item (what are the odds of that being in a drow's random treasure pile)?

Considering Drow often need an advantage against other Drow, it isn't that unlikely.

(seriously I've played in a party before where the dwarf would INSIST on taking goggles of darkvision and had some sort of logic-gymnastics spectacle as to why that would be appropriate just to grief other players).

That's a table issue if you are being griefed by other players. That said, understanding the value of being able to vision zone other foes with darkvision isn't logic-gymnastics.

 

[Thank Dog]

This thread is the reason why I stopped playing 3.x, Pathfinder & 4e.

 

[Paraxis]

This thread is the reason why I stopped playing 3.x, Pathfinder & 4e.

You don't see an issue when one of the players in a campaign is saying his enjoyment is being diminished? Isn't the point of getting together and playing these games to have fun?

The OP feels his character is useless in the role he is supposed to shine in because of a situation the DM has placed them in, not just for one encounter or two, not just one session even, but for an extended period of time covering multiple game sessions. His character tried to overcome the handicap but was told he couldn't.

 

[ranger69]

Being at a disadvantage because your skill set doesn't match the current environment for a session or two is fine and challenging. Feeling that you have a redundant character for an extended period is not good.
The DM should have thought of the problems before using the scenario. However, DM's are human and can't think of everything.
I would take the DM to one side and calmly explain my frustration, and see if we could not come up with a reasonable role-playing answer to the problem that suits all party's. there are plenty of good suggestions in the thread, not all of them suitable to your situation of course. Bring this thread to your DM's attention if possible.

 

[ranger69]

One other thought is that you somehow befriend an intelligent creature that has dark vision and can communicate with you, and is also stealthy. Maybe a imp that has been badly mistreated by it's demon master and is grateful that you have rescued it. It then attaches itself to you despite it's normal evil inclinations.
There should then be no need to deviate from the current storyline, and gives a roleplaying reason for you to be able to scout in the dark. As you are a good guy gradually converting an imp to the side of good gives plenty of good role-playing. a lot of people will be suspicious of you with an imp "familiar".