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Message: <blockquote data-quote="touc" data-source="post: 9821068" data-attributes="member: 19270">Summary if you don't want to watch the full video. In general order:[SPOILER]Theme: The Cheap Torch Is a Weapon (but not in the way you might think)<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Argument: I can convince you the Torch is the most useful non-magical item and more useful than many magic ones<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Players should fear running out of torches more than running out of HP in a dungeon</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Your torch is a timer.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rule: torches burn for 1 hour. Every 1 hr is the timer for a wandering monster encounter roll.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When a torch is about out, it signals a resource question & gamble. Can we go into the next room, keep going further?</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Your torch has a ton of uses beyond light. My caveat, not his: if your DM isn't on board, many of these won't work.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Morale is everything (if triggered, can cause foes to flee, even without a battle).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fire is fear. If you know the morale rules, you can trigger them for intelligent foes by holding the line with a wall of fiery confidence.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Torches skew reaction rolls (a random roll how opponents treat you), tying into the above use of fire to intimidate and show confidence.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fire is uncertainty. Low intelligent foes won't want to willingly charge into fire.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Torches force the dungeon to reveal itself. Ambushes rely on visibility, but your torch eliminates many surprises and is a lure for many monsters (oh, a light?), at which point you can exploit their curiosity and get them into a battlefield of your choice like a choke point.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">More lights = fewer wandering monsters & more treasure (faster exploration, less getting lost). Treasure is primary focus in B/X and wandering monsters are a resource drain. You want to be exploring numbered rooms. Miscellaneous uses like hurt swarms, destroy webs, light gas pockets.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Summary: use the torch to dictate the tactical environment. They're the spine of dungeon exploration.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you're not using your torches, you're playing B/X in hard mode.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">He finishes by asking for your anecdotes about how the lowly torch saved the day.</li> </ul></li> </ul>[/SPOILER]OP Question (can we port the above points to later editions like D&D?):  <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The morale, reaction, and wandering monster roll exploits are no longer set rules but totally discretion of the DM</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There's fewer adventures (in my experience) written in the style of classic, true underground dungeons (wherein the deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fire damage is a lot less scary with D&D's increased HP than in B/X. In real life, very bad things would happen to be if I tried running through a bonfire. In D&D, that's 1d8 damage (create bonfire), not really a great bother, and even less so for a torch. In B/X, 1d8 hit points is a solid enough threat to low level folks.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It's so easy to "see in the dark" in D&D with species vision, limitless cantrip spells, and class abilities that torches may not be a thing for many D&D parties. And, with limitless cantrips, we can create light, fake fire, real fire, loud lure noises, and pretty much all the effects mentioned in the B/X video that torches might help one with, or send familiars to scout, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Despite these limitations, the ideas the video presents are solid "one-shot" arguments for your DM. Player: I wave my torch violently at the giant rats. I'm hoping the sight of fire triggers a primal response in them to flee. Don't count on it working more than once. The DM might reward you for creativity but probably won't create a new "I win" rule with torch exploits. And, as mentioned in the last point, many of these could be done with D&D minor spells and abilities. Unless you're playing a 4-person all-human Fighter party, you've probably got them and don't need that beloved torch.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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