How do you all get past the sunlight issues? As a Kobold Rogue in my group I end up with no advantages on my attacks as I have the Disadvantage due to the sunlight . With that in mind my DM and players all have suggested that in the light I will never be able to use my sneak attacks due to the disadvantage from the sunlight. They say that even with my Pack Tactics the disadvantage from the sunlight keeps me from having advantage. Are we missing something that allows it or am I just out of luck? Please help!
You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Of course this states that you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll. So anything that will give you advantage will cancel out your disadvantage and be a normal roll.
The easiest way I see it is buy using the swashbuckler rogue and find familiar spell and have your familiar use help action for advantage.
Or use hide action, also good with stalker feat and steady aim class ability for ranged rogue.
So yes you can still use sneak attack but it is harder to do as you will always need advantage to do so, even though you don't get the bonus of rolling twice.
It's worth noting that the rule specifically says "direct sunlight", so it's not enough for it to just be sunny weather, you (or your target) have to be standing out in the sunlight when you attack in order to suffer disadvantage.
However, unless we're talking a high noon sun with no cloud cover or other obstructions then sunlight also means shadows, so always, always fish for those. Whenever you get into a fight, ask your DM for details about the surroundings; are there trees or buildings? If so, are any of the enemies in an area of shadow or shade? If there are, then focus on those and get someone in your party to position so they trigger pack tactics (so you can get your advantage as well) while some take care of enemies out in the sun. You're also small, so technically Medium members of your party might cast enough shadow to help in a pinch? That one might be a bit cheap though so I wouldn't overuse it.
If you've got a warlock in your party, tell them to get Shadow of Moil as soon as possible. A lower level alternative is to have someone grab Fog Cloud (or take it yourself as one of your free choices if you're an Arcane Trickster?) then take Fighting Initiate - Blind Fighting, that way you could blanket the area and fight enemies inside it.
Whenever you've got a choice of quests, always take the one where you can go underground or indoors; sewers, tunnels, anything enclosed is ideal.
Play in Rime of the Frostmaiden! (Currently playing a kobold rogue in RotF and it's almost OP because sunlight sensitivity never comes up and pack tactics does very often thanks to my party having 2 front liners.)
Thank you all for the awesome answers! Just to clarify I am playing a Kobold Assassin. Maybe I will take mage imitate feat asap and take something that provides shade for me!
You could also ask your DM for reverse Goggles of Night. D&D has the tech for colored glass and certainly has the magic for making light dimmer. A magic item that lets you deal with your sensitivity is well within the scope of most settings.
You could also ask your DM for reverse Goggles of Night. D&D has the tech for colored glass and certainly has the magic for making light dimmer. A magic item that lets you deal with your sensitivity is well within the scope of most settings.
there was an item that basically lowered light levels to make them within the Darkvision spectrum that took care of the light sensitivity issue but i have not been able to find them lately. They were made of some kind of smoke or shadow crystal.
I remember them because I was goign to take them for an above ground Drow before things happened that the game didn't end up happening and I don't have my notes for that character anymore.
I managed to find Knave's Eye Patch from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist; one of it's effects is to specifically counteract sunlight sensitivity when worn. It's rare, but that's probably about right as sunlight sensitivity seems specifically intended to balance how strong Pack Tactics and Grovel can be when used well, as you'd essentially be gaining advantage during most rounds of combat when played right.
I too could have sworn that there were goggles as well, but Chris Perkins has suggested sunlight sensitivity isn't intended to just mean "has light sensitive eyes", he describes it here as being like an "allergic" reaction, though it might be easier to think of it as like being a vampire but not as severe? Although, in that case you could still argue that full hooded robes and goggles should be enough, but that'd be up to your DM and whether they think there should be some kind of drawback, like a penalty when you go indoors/underground (as your eyes adjust back to normal)?
I managed to find Knave's Eye Patch from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist; one of it's effects is to specifically counteract sunlight sensitivity when worn. It's rare, but that's probably about right as sunlight sensitivity seems specifically intended to balance how strong Pack Tactics and Grovel can be when used well, as you'd essentially be gaining advantage during most rounds of combat when played right.
I too could have sworn that there were goggles as well, but Chris Perkins has suggested sunlight sensitivity isn't intended to just mean "has light sensitive eyes", he describes it here as being like an "allergic" reaction, though it might be easier to think of it as like being a vampire but not as severe? Although, in that case you could still argue that full hooded robes and goggles should be enough, but that'd be up to your DM and whether they think there should be some kind of drawback, like a penalty when you go indoors/underground (as your eyes adjust back to normal)?
He may describe it that way. But he also may not be fully aware of what it's like to actually have light sensitive eyes. It can effect things about perception. Make details harder to be clear about and such. It's something that I suffer from. Direct Sunlight is practically blinding at times, just for looking in it's direction. Certain Lighting systems can kind of mimic it with modern lighting but it can make some noticable difference in just being more in shadows or in buildings and being directly outside and such. I'll just say Thank God for Sunglasses. They really do help.
Vampire but not as severe might help some people to understand a little bit better though. Appreciate light level differences and what they mean for your characters and such. Since they can be useful for knowing places where light sensitivity is in effect and places where it isn't.
He may describe it that way. But he also may not be fully aware of what it's like to actually have light sensitive eyes. It can effect things about perception. Make details harder to be clear about and such. It's something that I suffer from. Direct Sunlight is practically blinding at times, just for looking in it's direction.
I think his point is supposed to be that Sunlight Sensitivity (the rule) isn't intended to only represent eyesight; his tweet was in response to a question about whether wearing a mask or similar can counteract the rule or not, though he sadly doesn't go into whether something more substantial would be enough (wearing fully enclosed armour/clothing etc. with only shaded goggles to see through).
Of course the rule itself doesn't make that clear, as it doesn't mention whether it's exposed skin that is the problem, or if purely practical solutions (an dark umbrella, shading your eyes, a slitted visor) definitely can't work, you or your target are just either in direct sunlight or not which makes it seem like normal gear may not help (i.e- it could be that it's not simply that the light might blind you, it's that you don't want to be in it or near it at all, which could be fear instead). Since the only magic item that can counteract it is an eye patch (rather than full goggles, a helmet or a mask or such) then that seems to suggest that it's the magic that is counteracting the effect, and it being eyewear is just an aesthetic choice, but we don't know if that's just because Jarlaxle doesn't want to wear goggles instead because it would ruin his pirate theme.
I've seen some homebrew items proposed to counteract it, but interestingly some of the common generic "sun goggles" ideas often don't actually help at all; they usually cause your character to perceive bright light as dim and dim as shadow, but it's not the brightness that's the issue in the Sunlight Sensitivity rule, it's whether it's direct sunlight or not (which it still will be, regardless of goggles). Only items explicitly stating that they cancel Sunlight Sensitivity, or block sunlight, would actually counteract it.
Ultimately though I think it probably wouldn't be balanced to give a player a counter to a racial disadvantage too early into a campaign; being able to get advantage nearly all the time is huge, and makes Kobold Rogues extremely dangerous indoors/underground etc., I played one in the past and made them intentionally weak (-1 Constitution) because I expected to be indoors a lot and wanted to keep them vulnerable and skittish, as advantage doesn't just mean you get to sneak attack, it basically doubles your chance of a crit as well.
He may describe it that way. But he also may not be fully aware of what it's like to actually have light sensitive eyes. It can effect things about perception. Make details harder to be clear about and such. It's something that I suffer from. Direct Sunlight is practically blinding at times, just for looking in it's direction.
I think his point is supposed to be that Sunlight Sensitivity (the rule) isn't intended to only represent eyesight; his tweet was in response to a question about whether wearing a mask or similar can counteract the rule or not, though he sadly doesn't go into whether something more substantial would be enough (wearing fully enclosed armour/clothing etc. with only shaded goggles to see through).
Of course the rule itself doesn't make that clear, as it doesn't mention whether it's exposed skin that is the problem, or if purely practical solutions (an dark umbrella, shading your eyes, a slitted visor) definitely can't work, you or your target are just either in direct sunlight or not which makes it seem like normal gear may not help (i.e- it could be that it's not simply that the light might blind you, it's that you don't want to be in it or near it at all, which could be fear instead). Since the only magic item that can counteract it is an eye patch (rather than full goggles, a helmet or a mask or such) then that seems to suggest that it's the magic that is counteracting the effect, and it being eyewear is just an aesthetic choice, but we don't know if that's just because Jarlaxle doesn't want to wear goggles instead because it would ruin his pirate theme.
I've seen some homebrew items proposed to counteract it, but interestingly some of the common generic "sun goggles" ideas often don't actually help at all; they usually cause your character to perceive bright light as dim and dim as shadow, but it's not the brightness that's the issue in the Sunlight Sensitivity rule, it's whether it's direct sunlight or not (which it still will be, regardless of goggles). Only items explicitly stating that they cancel Sunlight Sensitivity, or block sunlight, would actually counteract it.
Ultimately though I think it probably wouldn't be balanced to give a player a counter to a racial disadvantage too early into a campaign; being able to get advantage nearly all the time is huge, and makes Kobold Rogues extremely dangerous indoors/underground etc., I played one in the past and made them intentionally weak (-1 Constitution) because I expected to be indoors a lot and wanted to keep them vulnerable and skittish, as advantage doesn't just mean you get to sneak attack, it basically doubles your chance of a crit as well.
The Problem with that reading is that it is sight based.
And here's the problem with a mask. Either your seeing thorugh a mask and thus your seeing the normal levels of light, including sunlight. Or your blinded by the mask and then your suffereing a bigger penalty than Light Sensitivity. And Light Sensitivity specifically calls out Visual conditions and visual rolls. It does not in any way affect your hearing. Or your Touch or anything like that. this idea that it is somehow fear based doesn't actually make sense. Fear actually often heightens ones senses to danger. Not diminishes them. But them being harder to see because the brightness around them is effectively obscuring them would fit the disadvantage issues that are gotten from light sensitivity. As would pain in the eyes. which is a true issue of having Light Sensitive eyes. Bright Light Can cause pain for some. Pain can be distracting. And this is what I meant by Vampire but less severe. The aspect of pain being distracting. Even the Effect of "either you or the target" being in bright light is a visual thing. It is basically visually percieving into or through a visual medium, It's effectively describing a lesser form of blindness. you aren't completely blind but your vision is reduced.
And Changing light levels does actually address the issue. Though ironically imposes a different kind of sight based issue due to light levels potentially. The eye patch that you listed is basically functioning because it's a visual affecting item and it's affecting a visual based drawback. And that is an official item. The other one I saw came from somewhere official and I wish I could find it again because it was useful. Though it was still a magical item which means your not guaranteed to get it. And rarity makes that a bit of an issue as well.
Direct Sunlight believe it or not. Only Exists in a visual and light level based way in 5e. It is only found in things like Light Sensitivity which have visual perception based penalties, As a Natural Environmental thing when you are above ground and outside where many people don't think about it or it's implications, and in certain spells that are all entirely light and visual perception based.
The Problem with that reading is that it is sight based.
I didn't say sight isn't still affected, neither does Crawford, but what he's saying seems to suggest that sight isn't the only factor, which is why something affecting sight alone doesn't appear to be enough to counteract sunlight sensitivity; you need both yourself and your target to no longer be in (or count as being in) direct sunlight, your eyes being shielded doesn't achieve that except unless an effect specifically states otherwise.
And here's the problem with a mask. Either your seeing thorugh a mask and thus your seeing the normal levels of light, including sunlight. Or your blinded by the mask and then your suffereing a bigger penalty than Light Sensitivity.
Masks aren't binary on sight, they don't either allow all light or block all light; they can have slitted visors, mesh, or the same crystal/glass filters that could be included in goggles to reduce the intensity of light for the wearer.
And Light Sensitivity specifically calls out Visual conditions and visual rolls.
Except the rule doesn't function based on line of sight; if you're standing under an awning, and your target is under a tree, then there can be 300 feet of the most intense, noon day desert sunlight between you and them and the rule doesn't apply, but the moment one of you steps out it does.
It's a bit of weird rule; if they wanted it to be unambiguously visual (and they've had years to errata it now) it would need to be more like "You have disadvantage on attack rolls and Perception checks if you can only see your target within or through an area of intense bright light, such as direct daylight", but that's not how it works, so we're left guessing.
And Changing light levels does actually address the issue.
Only if you're affecting the actual light in the area (i.e- shrouding the area in darkness as Shadow of Moil does, which I mentioned).
The reason goggles letting you see bright light as dim and dim as shadow won't work is because if you or your target are standing in direct sunlight then it doesn't matter how you perceive it, it's still direct sunlight for the purposes of the rule, just as the bright light from a lantern is still an area of bright light even if you shut your eyes.
Even the Effect of "either you or the target" being in bright light is a visual thing. It is basically visually percieving into or through a visual medium, It's effectively describing a lesser form of blindness. you aren't completely blind but your vision is reduced.
The rule isn't actually perceiving into or through; while you will be when your opponent is in daylight but you are not, consider the case where they are in a dark tunnel, you are standing right at the entrance (in the sunlight) but looking into the tunnel. Why should that affect you? Take it even further; you're trying to look at something inside the dark interior of a house and it's sunny outside, you're peering through a crack in the wall, eye pressed to the gap, hands covering around your face, so your eyes are completed shielded from the sun but the rest of you is not.
As far as the rule is concerned you still suffer disadvantage, because as far as the Sunlight Sensitivity rule is concerned you're still in direct sunlight, so you still suffer the penalty no matter what. It could just be a case of the rules being too simplistic, but it could easily be written differently, and they've had a long time to correct it, meanwhile Crawford's comment makes it seem like it's working the way it's intended to.
The eye patch that you listed is basically functioning because it's a visual affecting item and it's affecting a visual based drawback.
An eye-patch only covers one eye, and it's not the act of wearing it that cancels sunlight sensitivity; you must be magically attuned to it for it to work, i.e- wearing any old eye patch will not help. Technically even wearing two eye patches won't help, it's just that being completely blinded imposes basically the same penalties and they don't stack, but technically you can still be affected by both Sunlight Sensitivity and being blind simultaneously. Only a Knave's Eye Patch to which you are attuned will fully cancel sunlight sensitivity, and it's the only item I can find that does so.
Anyway, this isn't really helping the OP as none of this points to ways to avoid the sunlight sensitivity penalty, as the Knave's Eye Patch is still the only item I've found that counters it, but it's not something you can just decide to go out and buy. I still haven't managed to find any goggles that can achieve the same result (actually cancel sensitivity).
Even the Effect of "either you or the target" being in bright light is a visual thing. It is basically visually percieving into or through a visual medium, It's effectively describing a lesser form of blindness. you aren't completely blind but your vision is reduced.
The rule isn't actually perceiving into or through; while you will be when your opponent is in daylight but you are not, consider the case where they are in a dark tunnel, you are standing right at the entrance (in the sunlight) but looking into the tunnel. Why should that affect you? Take it even further; you're trying to look at something inside the dark interior of a house and it's sunny outside, you're peering through a crack in the wall, eye pressed to the gap, hands covering around your face, so your eyes are completed shielded from the sun but the rest of you is not.
As far as the rule is concerned you still suffer disadvantage, because as far as the Sunlight Sensitivity rule is concerned you're still in direct sunlight, so you still suffer the penalty no matter what. It could just be a case of the rules being too simplistic, but it could easily be written differently, and they've had a long time to correct it, meanwhile Crawford's comment makes it seem like it's working the way it's intended to.).
I'm gonna stop you right here. Because your argument mostly hinges around this. Your wrong that it doesn't involve percieving into or through sunlight.
Why? Because if you aren't doing those things. You don't suffer from sunlight sensitivity. You suffer from other rules if any at all. Closing your eyes is effectively putting blindness on yourself. Sunlight sensitivity relies on sight. It Even Says so. Mechanically it is written as an entirely site based issue.
Sunlight SensitivityVGtM
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Perception checks that rely on sight when you, your target, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
It's right here in black and white for you. Attack rolls and Perception Checks that Rely on Sight. This is immeidately followed by when you, your target, or WHATEVer you are trying to PERCIEVE is in DIRECT SUNLIGHT.
What this breaks down to. is things that you are doing with your eyes where Direct Sunlight is also involved.
It's all sight based. I am not wrong. If you happen to have tremor sense or something. It is not affected in any way by Sunlight Sensitivity.
It's right here in black and white for you. Attack rolls and Perception Checks that Rely on Sight. This is immeidately followed by when you, your target, or WHATEVer you are trying to PERCIEVE is in DIRECT SUNLIGHT.
I have literally never said that sight isn't involved, and have said the opposite several times now. I'm getting sick of this in threads where you argue with me, or rather you don't argue with me, because more often than not you seem to prefer to invent some straw-man argument that I haven't made, and then argue against that.
Of course you need to be able to see your target in order to attack it and perceive, as that's just how the rules normally work with very few exceptions, so of course you still need to be able to see in order to do things that require you to be able to see. I have literally never said anything to the contrary; but that does not mean that sight is the only factor in why sunlight sensitivity works the way that it does, which is the part that you seem utterly determined to either ignore or refuse to believe exists (despite it coming from one of the rules writers). But ignoring something doesn't mean that it isn't still written right there in the rule:
Sunlight Sensitivity
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you,the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
I've highlighted the critical parts here; because unless your non-existent goggles prevent the target from being in direct sunlight, then they will not do anything to help with this rule. Perceiving the target differently doesn't solve it, because the rule isn't based on how you perceive something, only that you can (or could) and whether it is in direct sunlight or not, period. That's the part you need to overcome to avoid the the disadvantage, and what goggles or other items need to solve in order to be useful.
The only basic ways such an item can work is if it either explicitly nullifies Sunlight Sensitivity (as the Knave's Eye Patch does) or explicitly nullifies part of it (e.g- "You treat creatures in direct sunlight as if they were in dim light" or "You ignore the effects of direct sunlight on your vision" or something along those lines, but to my knowledge no such official item exists; I've shared the one, and only one, that I could find. Even if your goggles blinded you, your DM will probably still agree that attacking at range, spotting a marking on a wall etc. are all reliant on sight (and would qualify for Sunlight Sensitivity), you just can't see them.
But again, none of this is helpful to the OP, who is probably sick of both us, so this is the last I'll be saying about this, and in this thread, as I'm unsubscribing. Sorry to Mouse1514 and others for triggering notifications for this waste of time; hope you have fun with your Kobold Rogue, they're a lot of fun, and IMO the penalty is part of what makes them fun, so I hope you have a blast with it!
Dude. You just told me that wasn't the rule and went on to tell me how it was other things and that the Visual part didn't matter but the fact that they were in direct sunlight did. I even quoted where you told me it wasn't visual in my post that your responding to.
Now your trying to tell me when I prove that it is entirely a visual issue that I'm ignoring what you said and I'm not reading your words correctly.
And no. The DM cannot decide that a visual Detriment still applies when you can't see at all as you are when blind. And your actually suffering from a worse detriment than sunlight sensitivity and they can't stack. You do realize they can't stack right? It's pointless to have disadvantage on top of disadvantage. You can't target a spot if you can't see the spot. The light that the spot is in does not matter if you cannot see the light. It could be Sunlight, It could Be Darkness. It could be Heavy Fog. it would not matter. You are blind. You would not be able to tell. it could be a permanent Dazzling Lights Effect. It would not matter. You cannot see it. None of these things apply if you cannot see them. They are Visual. If you have no visual ability visual conditions do not matter.
Now your trying to tell me when I prove that it is entirely a visual issue that I'm ignoring what you said and I'm not reading your words correctly.
And no. The DM cannot decide that a visual Detriment still applies when you can't see at all as you are when blind. And your actually suffering from a worse detriment than sunlight sensitivity and they can't stack. You do realize they can't stack right? It's pointless to have disadvantage on top of disadvantage. You can't target a spot if you can't see the spot. The light that the spot is in does not matter if you cannot see the light. It could be Sunlight, It could Be Darkness. It could be Heavy Fog. it would not matter. You are blind. You would not be able to tell. it could be a permanent Dazzling Lights Effect. It would not matter. You cannot see it. None of these things apply if you cannot see them. They are Visual. If you have no visual ability visual conditions do not matter.
It's a visual detriment that's because of a non-visual effect. That's not difficult to imagine.
Let's replace Sunlight Sensitivity effect with a forcefield, absolutely zero change to the RAW wording.
[Forcefield]
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct [Forcefield]
It's the exact same wording, exact same mechanics as written. Even the exact same penalties.
With that in mind, would putting a blindfold on suddenly remove the disadvantage? No it wouldn't because that didn't change the fact that the person is still in a forcefield.
The comparison to this arbitrary forcefield and sunlight isn't even that far off since both are barriers, in both cases the target is in the barrier, you can still see them and walk through it and everything. There's functionary zero difference other than what creates a forcefield and what creates sunlight (which doesn't matter for the purposes of the feature).
The DM cannot decide that a visual Detriment still applies when you can't see at all as you are when blind.
If I had changed the above Sunlight Sensitivity/Forcefield to auto-fail instead of disadvantage, then no blindness would not help.
Dropping the forcefield nickname, and adding the same emphasis as Haravikk,
Sunlight Sensitivity
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you,the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
See that? If what your trying to see is physically standing in sunlight then that is a physical thing that is physically blocking your vision, putting on a blindfold might cancel it because of disadvantage but that's not because the sunlight stopped blocking your vision that's just because of limited game mechanics.
And I say standing in sunlight is a physical thing, because it's not the visual effect of sunlight, it's the physical act of someone standing directly in it that causes the disadvantage.
(I use the term "standing directly" in sunlight but technically it just says "is in direct sunlight" so they could also be sitting or whatever I'm just doing it for emphasis)
So no, a blindfold wouldn't help unless it was enchanted with a ton of magic that allows it to ignore d&d physics like the above eyepatch. Or you could just shove the guy out of the sunlight and be perfectly fine, I mean the sunlight is still there it's just now nobody is physically touching it.
You can stare at sunlight all day long but as long as your target isn't physically touching it your good. And yeah I know that sounds super weird but that's how it works as written.
Edit: I think we're getting a bit off topic, but I don't mind too much since the person's question was already answered. The answer being magic fixes all your problems, in this case magic items.
Now your trying to tell me when I prove that it is entirely a visual issue that I'm ignoring what you said and I'm not reading your words correctly.
And no. The DM cannot decide that a visual Detriment still applies when you can't see at all as you are when blind. And your actually suffering from a worse detriment than sunlight sensitivity and they can't stack. You do realize they can't stack right? It's pointless to have disadvantage on top of disadvantage. You can't target a spot if you can't see the spot. The light that the spot is in does not matter if you cannot see the light. It could be Sunlight, It could Be Darkness. It could be Heavy Fog. it would not matter. You are blind. You would not be able to tell. it could be a permanent Dazzling Lights Effect. It would not matter. You cannot see it. None of these things apply if you cannot see them. They are Visual. If you have no visual ability visual conditions do not matter.
It's a visual detriment that's because of a non-visual effect. That's not difficult to imagine.
Let's replace Sunlight Sensitivity effect with a forcefield, absolutely zero change to the RAW wording.
[Forcefield]
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct [Forcefield]
It's the exact same wording, exact same mechanics as written. Even the exact same penalties.
With that in mind, would putting a blindfold on suddenly remove the disadvantage? No it wouldn't because that didn't change the fact that the person is still in a forcefield.
The comparison to this arbitrary forcefield and sunlight isn't even that far off since both are barriers, in both cases the target is in the barrier, you can still see them and walk through it and everything. There's functionary zero difference other than what creates a forcefield and what creates sunlight (which doesn't matter for the purposes of the feature).
The DM cannot decide that a visual Detriment still applies when you can't see at all as you are when blind.
If I had changed the above Sunlight Sensitivity/Forcefield to auto-fail instead of disadvantage, then no blindness would not help.
Dropping the forcefield nickname, and adding the same emphasis as Haravikk,
Sunlight Sensitivity
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you,the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
See that? If what your trying to see is physically standing in sunlight then that is a physical thing that is physically blocking your vision, putting on a blindfold might cancel it because of disadvantage but that's not because the sunlight stopped blocking your vision that's just because of limited game mechanics.
And I say standing in sunlight is a physical thing, because it's not the visual effect of sunlight, it's the physical act of someone standing directly in it that causes the disadvantage.
(I use the term "standing directly" in sunlight but technically it just says "is in direct sunlight" so they could also be sitting or whatever I'm just doing it for emphasis)
So no, a blindfold wouldn't help unless it was enchanted with a ton of magic that allows it to ignore d&d physics like the above eyepatch. Or you could just shove the guy out of the sunlight and be perfectly fine, I mean the sunlight is still there it's just now nobody is physically touching it.
You can stare at sunlight all day long but as long as your target isn't physically touching it your good. And yeah I know that sounds super weird but that's how it works as written.
Edit: I think we're getting a bit off topic, but I don't mind too much since the person's question was already answered. The answer being magic fixes all your problems, in this case magic items.
It is not the same wording just because you decide to jam a different word in there that means something else and call it the same wording.
Sunlight unless your getting scientific is a visual effect. Your Forcefield analogy does not work. This is because Forcefields don't disappear just because you walk into a shadow or cover your eyes. yet Sunlight Sensitivity does. Sunlight Sensitivity is a lesser version of blindness. There is a reason why they say if you are in that visual effect, your enemy is, or you are seeing through it.
A forcefield does not just make htings harder. It stops things out right. It's equivalents are things like Shield and Wall of Force. They aren't visual. They are physical. They stop things from getting through. Sunlight when talking about Sunlight Sensitivity does not stop anything at all in any physical way from passing through it. It only obscures your vision and vision capabilities.
It does have an effect an effect if you sit there and stare through sunlight all day Even without a target. RaW states outright that your suffering from Disadvantage on Visual Perception Checks that entire time your staring into, through, or out of that sunlight. This applies even if you aren't staring at anythign in particular. It can stop you from actually seeing the target because it is causing disadvantage to all your perception rolls. It can stop you from noticing the kids throwing a ball around casually in the background. Fail to notice animals grazing near the tree line. And everything else like that.
The Way Sunlight Sensitivity is written. Even if you are in Shadow and Your Target is in Shadow. If your shooting through Sunlight it still matters. Because there is that area that you have to look through to shoot them. Just as if you were trying to look through a light fog or a spell that was distorting vision. But when you take away sight. Or you alter sight so that area your looking through doesn't it matter or it isn't being obscuring anymore it suddenly doesn't have any effect anymore. Anything that would just Take away a light level from that area would suddenly make Sunlight Sensitivity irrelevant. Your forcefield analogy doesn't do that. Forcefields don't magically vanish because you bath an area in dim light. Direct Sunlight does. This is one of the ways that something like a Twilight Cleric can be very powerful in conjunction with Sunlight Sensitive Races. Twilight Clerics can provide an area where Sunlight Sensitivity suddenly works a lot less within. And that LIght Level Change. It's purely a visual effect. It has no physical nature to it at all.
However you can stand there blind in sunlight all day long and never actually suffer from Sunlight Sensitivity at all. Why is this? Because it doesn't do anything to anything but your eyes. It doesn't burn you, it doesn't make you uncomfortable, it doesn't make your skin green. You can't see the sunlight and so it's not doing anything. It doesn't matter whether your Enemy is within sunlight or not. You cannot see them. Your suffering from the issues of Blindness. Your attacks are reduced from that blindness and mechanically Anything that Sunlight Sensivity does at that point doesn't matter because it is either redundant... Or it is a lesser effect being over-ridden by a Greater Effect. when it comes to like effects they do not stack. Only the worse one takes precidence. Mechanically speaking blindness and Sunlight Sensitivity have similar effects but Blindness is the greater effect placed upon you. Instead of disadvantage on visual based rolls that Sunlight Sensitivity would apply. You instead auto fail visual based rolls.
Sunlight unless your getting scientific is a visual effect.
And I say standing in sunlight is a physical thing, because it's not the visual effect of sunlight, it's the physical act of someone standing directly in it that causes the disadvantage.
Besides I'm talking RAW here, nowhere does it say sunlight is a purely visual effect, and nowhere does it say it cares if it is or not see above quote.
I could replace forcefield with a illusion and it would be the exact same result. Again, the only thing I changed was your preconditioned assumption that if it mentions sunlight then it 100% has to be a visual problem regardless of any of the other text.
Again,
You can stare at sunlight all day long but as long as your target isn't physically touching it your good. And yeah I know that sounds super weird but that's how it works as written.
Edit:
Even if you are in Shadow and Your Target is in Shadow. If your shooting through Sunlight it still matters.
this is false, if I have darkvision and I'm in shadow and so is the target, I can shoot them without penalty regardless of what's in-between. All it states is that you have to be able to see the target, and the target cannot be inside of sunlight. That is it.
also removed the first sentence cause it was kinda irrelevant
Sunlight unless your getting scientific is a visual effect.
And I say standing in sunlight is a physical thing, because it's not the visual effect of sunlight, it's the physical act of someone standing directly in it that causes the disadvantage.
Besides I'm talking RAW here, nowhere does it say sunlight is a purely visual effect, and nowhere does it say it cares if it is or not see above quote.
I could replace forcefield with a illusion and it would be the exact same result. Again, the only thing I changed was your preconditioned assumption that if it mentions sunlight then it 100% has to be a visual problem regardless of any of the other text.
Again,
You can stare at sunlight all day long but as long as your target isn't physically touching it your good. And yeah I know that sounds super weird but that's how it works as written.
Edit:
Even if you are in Shadow and Your Target is in Shadow. If your shooting through Sunlight it still matters.
this is false, if I have darkvision and I'm in shadow and so is the target, I can shoot them without penalty regardless of what's in-between. All it states is that you have to be able to see the target, and the target cannot be inside of sunlight. That is it.
First. You can claim sunlight is a physical thing all you want. It's not. Nowhere in the rules is it made out to be physical. Nothing about it's usage anywhere makes it physical. The only thing making it physical is you. And your doing so with the excuse of "Well the rules don't say it isn't" while at the same time telling me that it's not purely visible under just as flimsy of a justification. I have said before. All uses of Sunlight in the Game are Light Based issues. Light being an entirely a visibility effect and issue in 5e.
Second. The shadow issue is not false. Your ignoring words in the Sunlight Sensitivity effect. You are the one that is making false statements.
Sunlight Sensitivity specifically lists looking through Sunlight. Your Darkvision would remove negative perception issues for dim light but it would not remove the Sunlight Sensitivity penalties if between those two pieces of Shadow is Sunlight. I even gave you the exact wording for this ability in a previous post if you wish to go back and check.
You do not get to shoot a person in shadow without penalty if sunlight is even between you and the person you are shooting. So I was not wrong in my statement. You are wrong in your claim thta sunlight has no effect if it is between you and a target if you both are not in direct sunlight.
First. You can claim sunlight is a physical thing all you want. It's not. Nowhere in the rules is it made out to be physical. Nothing about it's usage anywhere makes it physical. The only thing making it physical is you. And your doing so with the excuse of "Well the rules don't say it isn't" while at the same time telling me that it's not purely visible under just as flimsy of a justification. I have said before. All uses of Sunlight in the Game are Light Based issues. Light being an entirely a visibility effect and issue in 5e.
Second. The shadow issue is not false. Your ignoring words in the Sunlight Sensitivity effect. You are the one that is making false statements.
Sunlight Sensitivity specifically lists looking through Sunlight. Your Darkvision would remove negative perception issues for dim light but it would not remove the Sunlight Sensitivity penalties if between those two pieces of Shadow is Sunlight. I even gave you the exact wording for this ability in a previous post if you wish to go back and check.
You do not get to shoot a person in shadow without penalty if sunlight is even between you and the person you are shooting. So I was not wrong in my statement. You are wrong in your claim thta sunlight has no effect if it is between you and a target if you both are not in direct sunlight.
Again, read the actual thing
You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Perception checks that rely on sight when you, your target, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Let's read it but very slowly
- Disadvantage on attack rolls and on Perception checks that rely on sight
- when, you, your target, or whatever you are trying to perceive
- is in direct sunlight
You get disadvantage if the target you are looking at is in direct sunlight. That is it. If the target is standing right next to sunlight but not directy insdie of it, then by defination they are not in direct sunlight.
The word "is in" is extremely important here. I deleted the lines about sunlight being physical because it wasn't relevant and mostly a one-off that you shouldn't assume it's visual or physical because arguments for both exist. It wasn't relevant because nowhere in Sunlight Sensitivity does it care. Even if Sunlight was visual, same effect. if it was physical, same effect.
Getting a bit-off topic though, what there is no argument about, is in order for you to get disadvantage the statement that "you, your target, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight" has to be true.
If there is sunlight between you and the target, but neither of you are standing directly inside of it, then by definition of "neither of you are standing directly inside of it" the statement is in direct sunlight is false, and therefore you don't get disadvantage regardless of the sunlight between the two of you.
My point isn't that sunlight is physical, its' that, again "You can stare at sunlight all day long but as long as your target isn't physically touching it your good. "
How do you all get past the sunlight issues? As a Kobold Rogue in my group I end up with no advantages on my attacks as I have the Disadvantage due to the sunlight . With that in mind my DM and players all have suggested that in the light I will never be able to use my sneak attacks due to the disadvantage from the sunlight. They say that even with my Pack Tactics the disadvantage from the sunlight keeps me from having advantage. Are we missing something that allows it or am I just out of luck? Please help!
You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Of course this states that you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll. So anything that will give you advantage will cancel out your disadvantage and be a normal roll.
The easiest way I see it is buy using the swashbuckler rogue and find familiar spell and have your familiar use help action for advantage.
Or use hide action, also good with stalker feat and steady aim class ability for ranged rogue.
So yes you can still use sneak attack but it is harder to do as you will always need advantage to do so, even though you don't get the bonus of rolling twice.
It's worth noting that the rule specifically says "direct sunlight", so it's not enough for it to just be sunny weather, you (or your target) have to be standing out in the sunlight when you attack in order to suffer disadvantage.
However, unless we're talking a high noon sun with no cloud cover or other obstructions then sunlight also means shadows, so always, always fish for those. Whenever you get into a fight, ask your DM for details about the surroundings; are there trees or buildings? If so, are any of the enemies in an area of shadow or shade? If there are, then focus on those and get someone in your party to position so they trigger pack tactics (so you can get your advantage as well) while some take care of enemies out in the sun. You're also small, so technically Medium members of your party might cast enough shadow to help in a pinch? That one might be a bit cheap though so I wouldn't overuse it.
If you've got a warlock in your party, tell them to get Shadow of Moil as soon as possible. A lower level alternative is to have someone grab Fog Cloud (or take it yourself as one of your free choices if you're an Arcane Trickster?) then take Fighting Initiate - Blind Fighting, that way you could blanket the area and fight enemies inside it.
Whenever you've got a choice of quests, always take the one where you can go underground or indoors; sewers, tunnels, anything enclosed is ideal.
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Play in Rime of the Frostmaiden! (Currently playing a kobold rogue in RotF and it's almost OP because sunlight sensitivity never comes up and pack tactics does very often thanks to my party having 2 front liners.)
Thank you all for the awesome answers! Just to clarify I am playing a Kobold Assassin. Maybe I will take mage imitate feat asap and take something that provides shade for me!
You could also ask your DM for reverse Goggles of Night. D&D has the tech for colored glass and certainly has the magic for making light dimmer. A magic item that lets you deal with your sensitivity is well within the scope of most settings.
there was an item that basically lowered light levels to make them within the Darkvision spectrum that took care of the light sensitivity issue but i have not been able to find them lately. They were made of some kind of smoke or shadow crystal.
I remember them because I was goign to take them for an above ground Drow before things happened that the game didn't end up happening and I don't have my notes for that character anymore.
I managed to find Knave's Eye Patch from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist; one of it's effects is to specifically counteract sunlight sensitivity when worn. It's rare, but that's probably about right as sunlight sensitivity seems specifically intended to balance how strong Pack Tactics and Grovel can be when used well, as you'd essentially be gaining advantage during most rounds of combat when played right.
I too could have sworn that there were goggles as well, but Chris Perkins has suggested sunlight sensitivity isn't intended to just mean "has light sensitive eyes", he describes it here as being like an "allergic" reaction, though it might be easier to think of it as like being a vampire but not as severe? Although, in that case you could still argue that full hooded robes and goggles should be enough, but that'd be up to your DM and whether they think there should be some kind of drawback, like a penalty when you go indoors/underground (as your eyes adjust back to normal)?
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He may describe it that way. But he also may not be fully aware of what it's like to actually have light sensitive eyes. It can effect things about perception. Make details harder to be clear about and such. It's something that I suffer from. Direct Sunlight is practically blinding at times, just for looking in it's direction. Certain Lighting systems can kind of mimic it with modern lighting but it can make some noticable difference in just being more in shadows or in buildings and being directly outside and such. I'll just say Thank God for Sunglasses. They really do help.
Vampire but not as severe might help some people to understand a little bit better though. Appreciate light level differences and what they mean for your characters and such. Since they can be useful for knowing places where light sensitivity is in effect and places where it isn't.
I think his point is supposed to be that Sunlight Sensitivity (the rule) isn't intended to only represent eyesight; his tweet was in response to a question about whether wearing a mask or similar can counteract the rule or not, though he sadly doesn't go into whether something more substantial would be enough (wearing fully enclosed armour/clothing etc. with only shaded goggles to see through).
Of course the rule itself doesn't make that clear, as it doesn't mention whether it's exposed skin that is the problem, or if purely practical solutions (an dark umbrella, shading your eyes, a slitted visor) definitely can't work, you or your target are just either in direct sunlight or not which makes it seem like normal gear may not help (i.e- it could be that it's not simply that the light might blind you, it's that you don't want to be in it or near it at all, which could be fear instead). Since the only magic item that can counteract it is an eye patch (rather than full goggles, a helmet or a mask or such) then that seems to suggest that it's the magic that is counteracting the effect, and it being eyewear is just an aesthetic choice, but we don't know if that's just because Jarlaxle doesn't want to wear goggles instead because it would ruin his pirate theme.
I've seen some homebrew items proposed to counteract it, but interestingly some of the common generic "sun goggles" ideas often don't actually help at all; they usually cause your character to perceive bright light as dim and dim as shadow, but it's not the brightness that's the issue in the Sunlight Sensitivity rule, it's whether it's direct sunlight or not (which it still will be, regardless of goggles). Only items explicitly stating that they cancel Sunlight Sensitivity, or block sunlight, would actually counteract it.
Ultimately though I think it probably wouldn't be balanced to give a player a counter to a racial disadvantage too early into a campaign; being able to get advantage nearly all the time is huge, and makes Kobold Rogues extremely dangerous indoors/underground etc., I played one in the past and made them intentionally weak (-1 Constitution) because I expected to be indoors a lot and wanted to keep them vulnerable and skittish, as advantage doesn't just mean you get to sneak attack, it basically doubles your chance of a crit as well.
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The Problem with that reading is that it is sight based.
And here's the problem with a mask. Either your seeing thorugh a mask and thus your seeing the normal levels of light, including sunlight. Or your blinded by the mask and then your suffereing a bigger penalty than Light Sensitivity. And Light Sensitivity specifically calls out Visual conditions and visual rolls. It does not in any way affect your hearing. Or your Touch or anything like that. this idea that it is somehow fear based doesn't actually make sense. Fear actually often heightens ones senses to danger. Not diminishes them. But them being harder to see because the brightness around them is effectively obscuring them would fit the disadvantage issues that are gotten from light sensitivity. As would pain in the eyes. which is a true issue of having Light Sensitive eyes. Bright Light Can cause pain for some. Pain can be distracting. And this is what I meant by Vampire but less severe. The aspect of pain being distracting. Even the Effect of "either you or the target" being in bright light is a visual thing. It is basically visually percieving into or through a visual medium, It's effectively describing a lesser form of blindness. you aren't completely blind but your vision is reduced.
And Changing light levels does actually address the issue. Though ironically imposes a different kind of sight based issue due to light levels potentially. The eye patch that you listed is basically functioning because it's a visual affecting item and it's affecting a visual based drawback. And that is an official item. The other one I saw came from somewhere official and I wish I could find it again because it was useful. Though it was still a magical item which means your not guaranteed to get it. And rarity makes that a bit of an issue as well.
Direct Sunlight believe it or not. Only Exists in a visual and light level based way in 5e. It is only found in things like Light Sensitivity which have visual perception based penalties, As a Natural Environmental thing when you are above ground and outside where many people don't think about it or it's implications, and in certain spells that are all entirely light and visual perception based.
Masks aren't binary on sight, they don't either allow all light or block all light; they can have slitted visors, mesh, or the same crystal/glass filters that could be included in goggles to reduce the intensity of light for the wearer.
Except the rule doesn't function based on line of sight; if you're standing under an awning, and your target is under a tree, then there can be 300 feet of the most intense, noon day desert sunlight between you and them and the rule doesn't apply, but the moment one of you steps out it does.
It's a bit of weird rule; if they wanted it to be unambiguously visual (and they've had years to errata it now) it would need to be more like "You have disadvantage on attack rolls and Perception checks if you can only see your target within or through an area of intense bright light, such as direct daylight", but that's not how it works, so we're left guessing.
Only if you're affecting the actual light in the area (i.e- shrouding the area in darkness as Shadow of Moil does, which I mentioned).
The reason goggles letting you see bright light as dim and dim as shadow won't work is because if you or your target are standing in direct sunlight then it doesn't matter how you perceive it, it's still direct sunlight for the purposes of the rule, just as the bright light from a lantern is still an area of bright light even if you shut your eyes.
The rule isn't actually perceiving into or through; while you will be when your opponent is in daylight but you are not, consider the case where they are in a dark tunnel, you are standing right at the entrance (in the sunlight) but looking into the tunnel. Why should that affect you? Take it even further; you're trying to look at something inside the dark interior of a house and it's sunny outside, you're peering through a crack in the wall, eye pressed to the gap, hands covering around your face, so your eyes are completed shielded from the sun but the rest of you is not.
As far as the rule is concerned you still suffer disadvantage, because as far as the Sunlight Sensitivity rule is concerned you're still in direct sunlight, so you still suffer the penalty no matter what. It could just be a case of the rules being too simplistic, but it could easily be written differently, and they've had a long time to correct it, meanwhile Crawford's comment makes it seem like it's working the way it's intended to.
An eye-patch only covers one eye, and it's not the act of wearing it that cancels sunlight sensitivity; you must be magically attuned to it for it to work, i.e- wearing any old eye patch will not help. Technically even wearing two eye patches won't help, it's just that being completely blinded imposes basically the same penalties and they don't stack, but technically you can still be affected by both Sunlight Sensitivity and being blind simultaneously. Only a Knave's Eye Patch to which you are attuned will fully cancel sunlight sensitivity, and it's the only item I can find that does so.
Anyway, this isn't really helping the OP as none of this points to ways to avoid the sunlight sensitivity penalty, as the Knave's Eye Patch is still the only item I've found that counters it, but it's not something you can just decide to go out and buy. I still haven't managed to find any goggles that can achieve the same result (actually cancel sensitivity).
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I'm gonna stop you right here. Because your argument mostly hinges around this. Your wrong that it doesn't involve percieving into or through sunlight.
Why? Because if you aren't doing those things. You don't suffer from sunlight sensitivity. You suffer from other rules if any at all. Closing your eyes is effectively putting blindness on yourself. Sunlight sensitivity relies on sight. It Even Says so. Mechanically it is written as an entirely site based issue.
It's right here in black and white for you. Attack rolls and Perception Checks that Rely on Sight. This is immeidately followed by when you, your target, or WHATEVer you are trying to PERCIEVE is in DIRECT SUNLIGHT.
What this breaks down to. is things that you are doing with your eyes where Direct Sunlight is also involved.
It's all sight based. I am not wrong. If you happen to have tremor sense or something. It is not affected in any way by Sunlight Sensitivity.
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Dude. You just told me that wasn't the rule and went on to tell me how it was other things and that the Visual part didn't matter but the fact that they were in direct sunlight did. I even quoted where you told me it wasn't visual in my post that your responding to.
Now your trying to tell me when I prove that it is entirely a visual issue that I'm ignoring what you said and I'm not reading your words correctly.
And no. The DM cannot decide that a visual Detriment still applies when you can't see at all as you are when blind. And your actually suffering from a worse detriment than sunlight sensitivity and they can't stack. You do realize they can't stack right? It's pointless to have disadvantage on top of disadvantage. You can't target a spot if you can't see the spot. The light that the spot is in does not matter if you cannot see the light. It could be Sunlight, It could Be Darkness. It could be Heavy Fog. it would not matter. You are blind. You would not be able to tell. it could be a permanent Dazzling Lights Effect. It would not matter. You cannot see it. None of these things apply if you cannot see them. They are Visual. If you have no visual ability visual conditions do not matter.
It's a visual detriment that's because of a non-visual effect. That's not difficult to imagine.
Let's replace Sunlight Sensitivity effect with a forcefield, absolutely zero change to the RAW wording.
It's the exact same wording, exact same mechanics as written. Even the exact same penalties.
With that in mind, would putting a blindfold on suddenly remove the disadvantage? No it wouldn't because that didn't change the fact that the person is still in a forcefield.
The comparison to this arbitrary forcefield and sunlight isn't even that far off since both are barriers, in both cases the target is in the barrier, you can still see them and walk through it and everything. There's functionary zero difference other than what creates a forcefield and what creates sunlight (which doesn't matter for the purposes of the feature).
If I had changed the above Sunlight Sensitivity/Forcefield to auto-fail instead of disadvantage, then no blindness would not help.
Dropping the forcefield nickname, and adding the same emphasis as Haravikk,
See that? If what your trying to see is physically standing in sunlight then that is a physical thing that is physically blocking your vision, putting on a blindfold might cancel it because of disadvantage but that's not because the sunlight stopped blocking your vision that's just because of limited game mechanics.
And I say standing in sunlight is a physical thing, because it's not the visual effect of sunlight, it's the physical act of someone standing directly in it that causes the disadvantage.
(I use the term "standing directly" in sunlight but technically it just says "is in direct sunlight" so they could also be sitting or whatever I'm just doing it for emphasis)
So no, a blindfold wouldn't help unless it was enchanted with a ton of magic that allows it to ignore d&d physics like the above eyepatch. Or you could just shove the guy out of the sunlight and be perfectly fine, I mean the sunlight is still there it's just now nobody is physically touching it.
You can stare at sunlight all day long but as long as your target isn't physically touching it your good. And yeah I know that sounds super weird but that's how it works as written.
Edit: I think we're getting a bit off topic, but I don't mind too much since the person's question was already answered. The answer being magic fixes all your problems, in this case magic items.
if I edit a message, most of the time it's because of grammar. The rest of the time I'll put "Edit:" at the bottom.
It is not the same wording just because you decide to jam a different word in there that means something else and call it the same wording.
Sunlight unless your getting scientific is a visual effect. Your Forcefield analogy does not work. This is because Forcefields don't disappear just because you walk into a shadow or cover your eyes. yet Sunlight Sensitivity does. Sunlight Sensitivity is a lesser version of blindness. There is a reason why they say if you are in that visual effect, your enemy is, or you are seeing through it.
A forcefield does not just make htings harder. It stops things out right. It's equivalents are things like Shield and Wall of Force. They aren't visual. They are physical. They stop things from getting through. Sunlight when talking about Sunlight Sensitivity does not stop anything at all in any physical way from passing through it. It only obscures your vision and vision capabilities.
It does have an effect an effect if you sit there and stare through sunlight all day Even without a target. RaW states outright that your suffering from Disadvantage on Visual Perception Checks that entire time your staring into, through, or out of that sunlight. This applies even if you aren't staring at anythign in particular. It can stop you from actually seeing the target because it is causing disadvantage to all your perception rolls. It can stop you from noticing the kids throwing a ball around casually in the background. Fail to notice animals grazing near the tree line. And everything else like that.
The Way Sunlight Sensitivity is written. Even if you are in Shadow and Your Target is in Shadow. If your shooting through Sunlight it still matters. Because there is that area that you have to look through to shoot them. Just as if you were trying to look through a light fog or a spell that was distorting vision. But when you take away sight. Or you alter sight so that area your looking through doesn't it matter or it isn't being obscuring anymore it suddenly doesn't have any effect anymore. Anything that would just Take away a light level from that area would suddenly make Sunlight Sensitivity irrelevant. Your forcefield analogy doesn't do that. Forcefields don't magically vanish because you bath an area in dim light. Direct Sunlight does. This is one of the ways that something like a Twilight Cleric can be very powerful in conjunction with Sunlight Sensitive Races. Twilight Clerics can provide an area where Sunlight Sensitivity suddenly works a lot less within. And that LIght Level Change. It's purely a visual effect. It has no physical nature to it at all.
However you can stand there blind in sunlight all day long and never actually suffer from Sunlight Sensitivity at all. Why is this? Because it doesn't do anything to anything but your eyes. It doesn't burn you, it doesn't make you uncomfortable, it doesn't make your skin green. You can't see the sunlight and so it's not doing anything. It doesn't matter whether your Enemy is within sunlight or not. You cannot see them. Your suffering from the issues of Blindness. Your attacks are reduced from that blindness and mechanically Anything that Sunlight Sensivity does at that point doesn't matter because it is either redundant... Or it is a lesser effect being over-ridden by a Greater Effect. when it comes to like effects they do not stack. Only the worse one takes precidence. Mechanically speaking blindness and Sunlight Sensitivity have similar effects but Blindness is the greater effect placed upon you. Instead of disadvantage on visual based rolls that Sunlight Sensitivity would apply. You instead auto fail visual based rolls.
Besides I'm talking RAW here, nowhere does it say sunlight is a purely visual effect, and nowhere does it say it cares if it is or not see above quote.
I could replace forcefield with a illusion and it would be the exact same result. Again, the only thing I changed was your preconditioned assumption that if it mentions sunlight then it 100% has to be a visual problem regardless of any of the other text.
Again,
Edit:
this is false, if I have darkvision and I'm in shadow and so is the target, I can shoot them without penalty regardless of what's in-between. All it states is that you have to be able to see the target, and the target cannot be inside of sunlight. That is it.
also removed the first sentence cause it was kinda irrelevant
if I edit a message, most of the time it's because of grammar. The rest of the time I'll put "Edit:" at the bottom.
First. You can claim sunlight is a physical thing all you want. It's not. Nowhere in the rules is it made out to be physical. Nothing about it's usage anywhere makes it physical. The only thing making it physical is you. And your doing so with the excuse of "Well the rules don't say it isn't" while at the same time telling me that it's not purely visible under just as flimsy of a justification. I have said before. All uses of Sunlight in the Game are Light Based issues. Light being an entirely a visibility effect and issue in 5e.
Second. The shadow issue is not false. Your ignoring words in the Sunlight Sensitivity effect. You are the one that is making false statements.
Sunlight Sensitivity specifically lists looking through Sunlight. Your Darkvision would remove negative perception issues for dim light but it would not remove the Sunlight Sensitivity penalties if between those two pieces of Shadow is Sunlight. I even gave you the exact wording for this ability in a previous post if you wish to go back and check.
You do not get to shoot a person in shadow without penalty if sunlight is even between you and the person you are shooting. So I was not wrong in my statement. You are wrong in your claim thta sunlight has no effect if it is between you and a target if you both are not in direct sunlight.
Again, read the actual thing
Let's read it but very slowly
- Disadvantage on attack rolls and on Perception checks that rely on sight
- when, you, your target, or whatever you are trying to perceive
- is in direct sunlight
You get disadvantage if the target you are looking at is in direct sunlight. That is it. If the target is standing right next to sunlight but not directy insdie of it, then by defination they are not in direct sunlight.
The word "is in" is extremely important here. I deleted the lines about sunlight being physical because it wasn't relevant and mostly a one-off that you shouldn't assume it's visual or physical because arguments for both exist. It wasn't relevant because nowhere in Sunlight Sensitivity does it care. Even if Sunlight was visual, same effect. if it was physical, same effect.
Getting a bit-off topic though, what there is no argument about, is in order for you to get disadvantage the statement that "you, your target, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight" has to be true.
If there is sunlight between you and the target, but neither of you are standing directly inside of it, then by definition of "neither of you are standing directly inside of it" the statement is in direct sunlight is false, and therefore you don't get disadvantage regardless of the sunlight between the two of you.
My point isn't that sunlight is physical, its' that, again "You can stare at sunlight all day long but as long as your target isn't physically touching it your good. "
if I edit a message, most of the time it's because of grammar. The rest of the time I'll put "Edit:" at the bottom.