Visibility at night. Variant & request for core rule

[howandwhy99]

Are there any core rules on visibility outdoors during the night? I seem to remember Starlight and Moonlight bonuses, but I can't find anything with a concrete source while searching various boards.

The situation:
My players are fighting it out during the twilight and the sun has finally set to the point where the sky is dark. There is currently one moon visible and conditions are fairly clear.

My current solution is to just make up some house rules for this. Here is what I have so far:

Daylight = any distance with spotting modied by Terrain
Moonlight = 	30'(shadowy) normal,	60' lowlight, 	60' darkvision
Starlight = 	60'(shadowy) normal, 	120' lowlight, 	60' darkvision
overcast = 	0' normal, 		0' lowlight, 	60' darkvision

1-light sources change visibility to the specific source for normal vision
2-lowlight vision can see color per SRD and always see as normal in shadowy darkness
3-distant light sources can be seen at any distance daylight would allow with a variable spotting bonus.


I've heard elves and other lowlight vision creatures can see as well at night as they can during the day. But I'm not sure this pans out in real life for all animals. Owls for instance should see farther, but most other creatures really wouldn't.

Any suggestions? I'm hoping there are either a lot of house rules on this or a Sage Advice/FAQ entry I haven't found.

 

[genshou]

The DMG has rules for spotting distance when you are running an encounter. Starlight/moonlight imposes a penalty to the Spot checks unless certain types of vision negate the effects. Total blackness (overcast at midnight) makes Spot checks impossible except within the range of darkvision.

Edit: As to realism regarding animals, you're right. Some animals might have a ratio of rods to cones similar to that of a human. But remember, not only do owls have low-light vision, they get a bonus to Spot checks at night. Normal animals just get low-light vision to reflect the fact that their eyesight is still a lot better than that of a human at night.

 

[howandwhy99]

The DMG has rules for spotting distance when you are running an encounter. Starlight/moonlight imposes a penalty to the Spot checks unless certain types of vision negate the effects. Total blackness (overcast at midnight) makes Spot checks impossible except within the range of darkvision.

Edit: As to realism regarding animals, you're right. Some animals might have a ratio of rods to cones similar to that of a human. But remember, not only do owls have low-light vision, they get a bonus to Spot checks at night. Normal animals just get low-light vision to reflect the fact that their eyesight is still a lot better than that of a human at night.

Thanks for the help. Being able to see everywhere at night with only Spot penalty makes sense for the owl too.

I found the rules at the SRD supplied by Wizards, but not at either of the 2 hyperlinked SRD sites I use. Neither can I find them in the books anywhere (though they look condensed). Unfortunately, the -5 & -10 I still can't find in the books either. I'm off to post in the D&D Rules forum instead. I appreciate the help.
http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/srd/SRDCarryingMovingSeeing.rtf