Questions tagged [vision-and-light]
For questions about the limits and ranges of visibility. (See also: the [blind] and [special-senses] tags.)
414
questions
11
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Who is affected by Obscured areas?
In a lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog, or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
A heavily obscured area--such as darkness,...
- 303
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Does darkvision work underwater? How?
The rules for underwater combat visibility on page 117 of the DMG seem vague and do not make any mention of the benefits of darkvision. Nor do they specifically mention that the 60 foot encounter ...
- 451
5
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How do you handle plain sight while sneaking?
As I understand it, once a character successfully rolls a Dexterity (Stealth) ability check, they are successfully hidden and moving stealthily. Others will need to succeed on a Wisdom (Perception) ...
- 129k
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Does Shadow Step work in concert with Find Familiar?
Shadow Step, the Way of Shadows Monk's 6th level feature, reads:
At 6th level, you gain the ability to step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, as a bonus action you ...
- 1,207
17
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can a shadow dragon be in both sunlight and dim light at once?
In D&D 5e, Shadow dragons have the following abilities (among others):
resistance to necrotic damage always, and resistance to all other forms of damage except force, psychic and radiant, when in ...
- 273
5
votes
1
answer
164
views
Is there any way to suppress the dim light shed by a manifested mind?
The Order of Scribes wizard subclass has the 6th level feature, Manifest Mind.
Tiny spectral object [...] The spectral mind is intangible and doesn’t occupy its space, and it sheds dim light in a 10-...
- 10.5k
4
votes
2
answers
402
views
Does being in the same space as a swarm reduce the chance of being hit by an attack?
I'm running the Curse of Strahd adventure for DnD 5e.
The party is fighting Baba Lysaga, who already has 3/4 cover, giving her +5 AC as she flies on a skull.
I was thinking about adding Swarms of ...
- 49
4
votes
2
answers
489
views
How does Cloak of Displacement interact with mounted combat?
The Cloak of Displacement says:
While you wear this cloak, it projects an illusion that
makes you appear to be standing in a place near
your actual location, causing any creature to have
disadvantage ...
- 129k
4
votes
1
answer
146
views
Is the Heatvision spell dependent on regular vision?
The 3rd-rank Heatvision spell from Rage of Elements gives a willing creature 60 feet of infrared vision as a precise sense. The spell is called Heatvision, the sense is gives is called infrared vision,...
- 588
2
votes
0
answers
48
views
Does a wood elf's Mask of the Wild feature allow hiding in plain sight in dim light/darkness? [duplicate]
Can a wood elf hide in plain sight in dim light/darkness?
Why I believe this could be the case:
The wood elf Mask of the Wild description says:
You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly ...
- 141
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How do I run combat when an enemy is hidden from the players?
Pretty simple situation. Next week my players are going to be fighting a black abishai. The black abishai has two abilities that concern this. First as an action it can cast darkness, second as a ...
- 169
3
votes
2
answers
259
views
Can the darkness created by Summon Fey (Tricksy) be illuminated?
A tricksy fey from the spell Summon Fey can:
fill a 5-foot cube within 5 feet of it with magical darkness, which lasts until the end of its next turn.
However, unlike the spell Darkness, Summon Fey ...
- 33
3
votes
1
answer
549
views
Can Truesight see through an area that is heavily obscured?
Truesight states:
A monster with truesight can ... see in normal and magical darkness, see invisible creatures and objects, [and] automatically detect visual illusions ...
Heavily obscured is ...
- 11k
2
votes
2
answers
672
views
Magic effects of light and darkness
I have a question about the magic effects inherent in light and darkness in d&d 5.
Within an area subject to Darkness (spell level 2) if I wield a sword that magically emits light, the light is ...
8
votes
1
answer
335
views
What happens when an ancestry with low-light vision is aiurvaran or dromaar heritage?
With the Pathfinder 2e Remaster, all ancestries can be Aiuvarin or Dromaar (mixed elven or orcish heritage).
Aiuvaran says,
You have elves, or possibly other aiuvarins, in your family tree. You have ...
- 8,479
5
votes
3
answers
3k
views
It is night and a wizard cast fireball or sunburst in a well. Should the flash be visible from outside?
It is night and a wizard cast fireball or sunburst in a well. Should the flash be visible from someone far and outside of the well or, because it is a magical effect, it should be visible only ...
- 1,153
2
votes
1
answer
141
views
Casting spells while out of hearing and sight
There are other questions addressing how casting attack spells while hidden blows your cover, but what if you are out of the range of perception for the target?
Some additional background: based on ...
- 982
3
votes
1
answer
137
views
Is Continual Flame affected by the object's size?
A flame, equivalent in brightness to a torch, springs forth from an object that you touch.
If you cast Continual Flame on a Fine-sized object, like a ring, would it cast a very small amount of light ...
- 1,708
9
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Can you use an illusion to trigger the Warlock Invocation "One With Shadow"?
Can you use an illusion to trigger the Warlock Invocation "One With Shadow"?
One with Shadow makes you invisible in dim light or darkness – so if you cast a Silent Image or Minor Image of ...
- 11.2k
8
votes
1
answer
839
views
Will magical light sources that aren't explicitly created by a spell illuminate magical darkness?
Consider magical darkness like that created by the Darkness spell or by the Darkmantle creature's Darkness Aura. Both say that mundane (natural) light can't illuminate its darkness and that their ...
- 5,286
15
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can mundane light penetrate magical darkness to illuminate regions outside the dark space? And can its source remain lit when inside the darkness?
Consider magical darkness like that created by the Darkness spell or by the Darkmantle creature's Darkness Aura. Both say that mundane (natural) light can't illuminate its darkness and that their ...
- 5,286
12
votes
2
answers
802
views
How does light effect interact with Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere?
Let's say a vampire is trapped inside a Resilient Sphere, which says:
Nothing can pass through the sphere, inside or out, though the subject can breathe normally.
And now this vampire (and that ...
- 4,713
1
vote
0
answers
232
views
House ruling Darkness Blindnes and Obscured [closed]
Background
I am DMing Curse Of Stradh - and there is a lot of Fog in Barovia. The party have characters with and without dark-vision. I am not really happy with how light, darkness and obscurement ...
- 355
4
votes
2
answers
416
views
Items with adjustable light radius
I'm looking for official 5E items that shed light that the user can change/adjust/alter/choose the radius/size of the light. It does not have to be bright light or dim light specifically; any type of ...
- 349
5
votes
5
answers
1k
views
How to counter the Open Sea paladin's "Marine Layer" Channel Divinity option?
The Oath of the Open Sea paladin (a third-party subclass from Critical Role) gets the Channel Divinity option "Marine Layer" at level 3:
As an action, you channel the sea to create a thick ...
- 21.4k
10
votes
1
answer
543
views
If a character with darkvision stands inside the magical darkness from a Tricksy Fey Spirit, can they attack faraway enemies with advantage?
The Tricksy Fey spirit can create a cube of magical darkness. Summon Fey (TCoE, p. 112):
Tricksy. The fey can fill a 5-foot cube within 5 feet of it with magical darkness, which lasts until the end ...
- 179
6
votes
2
answers
483
views
Does an invisible container subdue the light from a light source?
Suppose a small object has a light spell on it, causing it to emit bright light in a 20' radius in an otherwise completely dark area.
What happens if a creature under the effects of an invisibility ...
- 1,827
2
votes
0
answers
45
views
Clarification on spells that require the caster to see the target vs those that don't [duplicate]
Some spells like Command specify that you need to see your target:
You speak a one-word command to a creature you can see within range.
Some other spells like Animate Objects don't specify that you ...
- 1,093
8
votes
2
answers
773
views
How easy is it to pinpoint someone's location when you can't see them?
Let's say a Darkness spell is casted on a specific point:
Magical darkness spreads from a point you choose within range to fill a 15-foot-radius sphere for the duration. The darkness spreads around ...
- 21.4k
5
votes
1
answer
609
views
Can a Tricksy fey from the Summon Fey spell place a cube of darkness partially on an enemy, so allies can still target what’s visible at advantage?
The summon fey spell (TCoE, p. 112) summons a fey spirit marked by a chosen mood, which determines the secondary effect of its Fey Step bonus action (after teleporting 30 feet). For the Tricksy mood, ...
- 53
1
vote
0
answers
67
views
Do the rules define the minimum area size for light intensity? [duplicate]
(The title gave me a bit of trouble, so if you have a better idea on how to title this question after reading it, feel free to suggest it or directly edit it.)
Light levels (bright light, dim light ...
- 9,994
8
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Can an immobilized character change their facing?
Some effects, such as that produced by the web spell, can immobilize a character or otherwise reduce its movement to 0. In these cases, are characters able to change their facing normally, or are they ...
- 6,974
7
votes
2
answers
549
views
How would a creature without normal eyes look away (avert its gaze) from an umber hulk?
I'm wondering if a creature with no normal eyes, like a skeleton, who are not immune to petrify or other kinds of gaze attacks, could possibly "avert their gaze." How would a skeleton look ...
- 71
7
votes
2
answers
578
views
How does Detect Magic interact with living bodies?
One player at my table is currently in a pretty specific situation, where he has a magic item inside his body.
I have looked at the Detect Magic spell, and at the internet but I did not find anything ...
- 455
15
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Does the 5e DMG discuss encounter distance?
As a DM, I am frequently unsure exactly where to start an encounter. Especially since most of my players have ranged characters and can often seriously harm an enemy before they get close to them. The ...
- 613
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
A creature inside heavy obscurement attacking one outside
The rules for heavy obscurement state,
A heavily obscured area—such as Darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage—blocks vision entirely. A creature effectively suffers from the Blinded condition (see ...
- 142
14
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Does a creature have to see to be affected by the Fear spell initially since it is an illusion?
Does a creature in the target area of the Fear spell have to be able to see to be affected by the spell when cast, since it is an illusion? It is not worded like Hypnotic Pattern which explicitly says ...
- 645
4
votes
0
answers
137
views
Is there a way to beat Blindsight? [duplicate]
Blindsight allows creatures to see invisible creatures (p. 183 PHB):
A creature with blindsight can perceive its surroundings without relying on sight, within a specific radius.
We are currently ...
- 129k
15
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Does the Fog Cloud spell work in conjunction with the Blind Fighting fighting style the way I think it does?
The description of the Fog Cloud spell says:
You create a 20-foot-radius sphere of fog centered on a point within range. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts ...
- 23.1k
14
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does the Light spell cast by a 5th level caster overcome the Darkness spell?
The Darkness spell says:
This also suppresses magical light of your darkness spell's level or lower.
Assuming it isn't heightened, this means Darkness is a 2nd level spell.
The rules for Cantrips ...
- 1,161
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Can Blindsight bridge magical Darkness?
If you are in an area of magical darkness, and you have limited range blindsight, you will be able to perceive normally within that radius, as per the definition of blindsight:
A monster with ...
- 129k
4
votes
2
answers
606
views
Who/what can see in the dark?
This question is for the first edition since the site tags do not yet differentiate between the two.
I am running a game, and part of it will take place underground. I can only find one reference in ...
- 27.3k
12
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Do either truesight or x-ray vision see through a prismatic wall?
We were fighting Vecna himself, and at one point had a prismatic wall up between us and Vecna. The prismatic wall says it creates "a vertical, opaque wall."
Vecna's powers include truesight, ...
- 8,669
2
votes
0
answers
153
views
Ethereal Vision/Spell casting confusion. Need as written, not opinions [duplicate]
**Need "As Written", as there are many "opinions" out there.
Ethereal confusion: A Night Hag, while in the ethereal plane, sees and touches someone in the material plane with the &...
- 37
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Is it balanced with other races to give Dragonborn short-range blindsight as an additional racial trait?
I use this homebrew rule for darkvision and add a new racial trait called low-light vision in my games:
Darkvision: The following player races have darkvision to a range of 60ft; Drow, Half-Drow, ...
- 328
9
votes
2
answers
804
views
Does the invisible condition nullify the penalty of the Brightsoul feat?
The feat reads as follows:
Brighsoul
The fire inside you asserts itself as beaming, radiant light. Your body is naturally luminescent, glowing with the effects of a primal Light cantrip. A cantrip ...
- 1,283
15
votes
1
answer
885
views
Is there any lore explanation in Forgotten Realms for the change from Infravision to Darkvision?
A long time ago, some races and monsters had the Infravision trait, which allowed them to see in the dark the heat traces of living creatures.
This had very interesting aspects. The drow's sign ...
- 32.2k
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does the genie warlock's Bottled Respite ability let you perceive what happens outside?
I haven't been able to find any information about this, so my understanding is that you are completely oblivious to what's happening outside of the vessel while you're in it.
But thinking about flavor,...
- 63
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What can disrupt the Sympathy effect of the Antipathy/Sympathy spell?
I am hoping the community can offer clarification on this spell. In my game tonight (I am the GM), an object was the target of the sympathy spell. Two PCs failed their saving throw and one succeeded....
- 131
6
votes
2
answers
979
views
Can the Enormous Tentacle see?
My level six moon druid can wild shape into a CR2 beast. I checked the monster finder and discovered there's a monster called an Enormous Tentacle.
I noticed the monster's senses include "...
- 90.5k