My dwarf fighter died, but was brought back using the "Reincarnate" spell, and was turned into a bronze dragonborn. He has lost his physical attributes (Poison resistance, Constitution bonus) because of course his body is not his old one. But, would he lose his Darkvision? His eyes are not his own, but would his mind still remember how to attune his new eyes to the darkness?
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2\$\begingroup\$ "Would his mind still remember how to attune his new eyes to the darkness?" That interpretation requires that all Dragonborn are physically capable of seeing in the dark, it just requires some knowledge that they all lack. \$\endgroup\$– BenCommented Jun 17, 2018 at 3:58
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1\$\begingroup\$ Agreed. Darkvision isn't a skill you can learn, like language or weapon proficiency. There's a feat to become more perceptive, but you can't learn to see normally in zero light. That's an ability of the dwarf's eyes, not the dwarf's mind. \$\endgroup\$– Quadratic WizardCommented Jun 17, 2018 at 13:04
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1\$\begingroup\$ It would be nice if people could leave a comment in order to improve the question instead of just downvoting. \$\endgroup\$– enkryptorCommented Jun 17, 2018 at 15:11
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1 Answer
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The character would lose their Darkvision if reincarnated as a race without Darkvision.
First, the description of the Reincarnate spell says that the creature's racial traits are changed.
The reincarnated creature recalls its former life and experiences. It retains the capabilities it had in its original form, except it exchanges its original race for the new one and changes its racial traits accordingly.
(italics added by me)
Next, the dwarf loses their Darkvision because it's a racial trait.
If you take a look at the dwarf race description, you will see Darkvision listed under the section "Dwarf Traits". That means the Darkvision ability is a racial trait, and contingent on the dwarf being a dwarf. By being reincarnated as a dragonborn (or some other race without Darkvision), they lose that feature.
It doesn't really matter whether or not they remember being able to see in the dark, because their racial makeup has changed due to the spell's effects.
