Has anyone been able to effectively create a blind character (without home brew)? I was inspired by the blink monk from Rogue One and want to create a character who can be an effective character even if they are blind (Monks are fine, but not limited to monks.)
I have seen some other threads discuss this and you are right, it devolves into giving the person abilities that negate the fact they are blind or turns them into daredevil. While something like Tremor sense, handled in the right way, is not too broken, what I was hoping to find was a combination of feats, class abilities, and races that could help make a blind character viable without actually removing the blindness. Thank you for the links though.
The only thing I know of was the UA class feature variant Fighting Style called Blind Fighting. It removes the disadvantage on attacking creatures you can't see (and are not hiding). Since it's a Fighting Style it means losing something else unless you multiclass or go Champion Fighter so it's fairly balanced - and it doesn't completely remove the blinded because creatures still have advantage against you.
Not easily. Spellcasters are for the most part out. Too many spells have "a target you can see" as part of the description.
If I were challenged to make something that was somewhat functional, I'd go with a barbarian. Reckless attack will allow me to cancel out my disadvantage penalty when I attack while raging. The disadvantage from reckless attack is irrelevant because I give up advantage anyway. That said, you're still going to be a drag on the party. Useless is a strong word, but not by very much imo.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Unfortunately, 5e doesn't have a whole lot in the way of practical martial paths for the visually impaired. Find Familiar as a service animal circumvents many out of combat issues, but in combat, you'll really need to either become a "Daredevil"-type character, or focus on casting, to keep up with the average party.
The Blinded condition is a very significant penalty in D&D and the only truly mundane way to overcome it is to be high enough level to compensate for it through skill. {Having disadvantage with a +6 modifier is roughly equivalent to being unhindered.}
In many stories, the reason why blind warriors are so venerated is because just being able to keep up with the average sighted opponent means that they've reached nearly supernatural levels of mastery and dedication to their training. The blind monk of the party is basically a 12th level character (with his arm tied behind his back) hanging around with a group of 3rd level characters. Untie that character's arm, or return their sight, and they would probably very quickly become a one-man army.
Anything official that you could give to a permanently blind character, would probably also be available to a sighted character, which means that you'll always be consuming resources to get to square one while everyone else is on square two.
Interesting idea. I think the beauty of some characters is that they do have disadvantages in some areas advantages in others. That being said, it would be a gargantuan task trying to make it viable. Not to say it couldn’t be done of course. What was that David Carradine character who was blind but a good warrior?
But then the character wouldn't be blind any more.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
As cool as it may seem for a player to want to be a blind whatever, I wouldn't allow it in a D&D game. There just isn't a way to RAW compensate the PC for being blind.
Fantasy HERO yes, D&D no.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
In many stories, the reason why blind warriors are so venerated is because just being able to keep up with the average sighted opponent means that they've reached nearly supernatural levels of mastery and dedication to their training. The blind monk of the party is basically a 12th level character (with his arm tied behind his back) hanging around with a group of 3rd level characters. Untie that character's arm, or return their sight, and they would probably very quickly become a one-man army.
That's a good point. We see Chirrut Imwe being awesome, but we don't see the years he spent getting to that level of skill. We also don't know when he was blinded. Maybe he already had a decade of training before some horrible accident? We also don't see how many other blind Guardians died or quit or were expelled.
I practice a form of Kung Fu called Wing Chun. We practice getting contact with an opponent (arms touching or similar), then reacting to the movement we feel through that.
So, for your blind character, I would suggest the following (may work best as a monk...):
* The character is blinded, as per the conditions
* The character gets advantage (or maybe a bonus) on perception checks using hearing, smell, or touch.
* When in melee combat and not in contact with an opponent, the character may make a perception check (without advantage) every time he is attacked by that opponent. If he fails, the opponent gains advantage as normal for a blinded character. If he passes, he is considered "In contact".
* When in melee combat, if the character makes an attack against an opponent he is not in contact with, he is at disadvantage as normal for blinded. If he hits, he is considered "in contact".
* The rules for the blinded condition do not apply between the character and an opponent who he is "in contact" with (no advantage or disadvantage): He can "see" through feel.
* If an opponent he is "in contact" with moves away, even using disengage, the character may use a reaction to OA or follow up to his movement speed.
* An opponent may attempt to break contact somehow, but it would be difficult (contested dex vs dex, advantage to the blind character maybe?)
In many stories, the reason why blind warriors are so venerated is because just being able to keep up with the average sighted opponent means that they've reached nearly supernatural levels of mastery and dedication to their training. The blind monk of the party is basically a 12th level character (with his arm tied behind his back) hanging around with a group of 3rd level characters. Untie that character's arm, or return their sight, and they would probably very quickly become a one-man army.
Anything official that you could give to a permanently blind character, would probably also be available to a sighted character, which means that you'll always be consuming resources to get to square one while everyone else is on square two.
How about doing exactly that, have the blind character at a higher level than the rest of the party, a 5th blind level fighter would have two attacks at disadvantage instead of one not at disadvantage for his sighted companions and would have more hit points to compensate for attacks on him being at advantage. It would be quite a task to determine how many levels ahead the blind character would need to be and if they would need to level more ofte, it would have to be milestone levelling but there is nothing there outside RAW.
The problem with letting one character be substantially higher level to compensate for blindness is that the impact on balance can be wildly unpredictable depending on how the game progresses.
For example, if the characters end up with a Robe of Eyes, then you end up with a super-player whose only penalty for being blinded is going back to normal for a while. Or if a Druid casts Reincarnate, and now the player can see normally. There are dozens of ways of getting around the Blinded condition with magic, unless the DM locks it into the meta.
One could state that the Blindness was the result of divine intervention, which would allow it to reasonably transcend magical remedies, and could open up a new adventure arc to correct. But really, anything less than that would be a headache.
I did say balance would not be easy, I would actually rule the "retain capabilities" of reincarnated would mean the reincarnated character would still be blind but you would have to rule that things like lesser restoration is ineffective. Regarding magic items the dm decides what magic items the party come across, an artificer can make a gem of seeing which could cause issues if the party get that far.
No one is ever satisfied with this answer, but I'll keep giving it anyway - if you want a blind character that is on the same power level as a normal character, just play a normal character and roleplay the blindness.
You detect enemies, projectiles, etc as well as anyone else through your other senses so you play by the same rules. You just describe what you're doing and how you're doing it differently. The DM can give out magic items in accordance with your concept, granting you darkvision or tremorsense or whatever as you progress to better reflect your condition.
No one else is burdened by rule changes. There's no ongoing balancing act to make sure you're not too strong or too weak. There's just regular D&D where it's up to you to you bring your character to life.
I just would add either tremorsense within 120 feet (able to see through walls so there is a limitation) And then truesight within 30 feet. This would be for a magical character or a monk with absolutely stupid amounts of training.
I just would add either tremorsense within 120 feet (able to see through walls so there is a limitation) And then truesight within 30 feet. This would be for a magical character or a monk with absolutely stupid amounts of training.
That would be so painfully broken, I'm not certain where to start. True Seeing is a 6th level spell and Tremor Sense is low-key x-ray vision. Permanent access to either at any level would be a major problem.
I just would add either tremorsense within 120 feet (able to see through walls so there is a limitation) And then truesight within 30 feet. This would be for a magical character or a monk with absolutely stupid amounts of training.
That would be so painfully broken, I'm not certain where to start. True Seeing is a 6th level spell and Tremor Sense is low-key x-ray vision. Permanent access to either at any level would be a major problem.
Yes, now i look back on it...
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Has anyone been able to effectively create a blind character (without home brew)? I was inspired by the blink monk from Rogue One and want to create a character who can be an effective character even if they are blind (Monks are fine, but not limited to monks.)
I have seen some other threads discuss this and you are right, it devolves into giving the person abilities that negate the fact they are blind or turns them into daredevil. While something like Tremor sense, handled in the right way, is not too broken, what I was hoping to find was a combination of feats, class abilities, and races that could help make a blind character viable without actually removing the blindness. Thank you for the links though.
The only thing I know of was the UA class feature variant Fighting Style called Blind Fighting. It removes the disadvantage on attacking creatures you can't see (and are not hiding). Since it's a Fighting Style it means losing something else unless you multiclass or go Champion Fighter so it's fairly balanced - and it doesn't completely remove the blinded because creatures still have advantage against you.
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Not easily. Spellcasters are for the most part out. Too many spells have "a target you can see" as part of the description.
If I were challenged to make something that was somewhat functional, I'd go with a barbarian. Reckless attack will allow me to cancel out my disadvantage penalty when I attack while raging. The disadvantage from reckless attack is irrelevant because I give up advantage anyway. That said, you're still going to be a drag on the party. Useless is a strong word, but not by very much imo.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Unfortunately, 5e doesn't have a whole lot in the way of practical martial paths for the visually impaired. Find Familiar as a service animal circumvents many out of combat issues, but in combat, you'll really need to either become a "Daredevil"-type character, or focus on casting, to keep up with the average party.
The Blinded condition is a very significant penalty in D&D and the only truly mundane way to overcome it is to be high enough level to compensate for it through skill.
{Having disadvantage with a +6 modifier is roughly equivalent to being unhindered.}
In many stories, the reason why blind warriors are so venerated is because just being able to keep up with the average sighted opponent means that they've reached nearly supernatural levels of mastery and dedication to their training. The blind monk of the party is basically a 12th level character (with his arm tied behind his back) hanging around with a group of 3rd level characters. Untie that character's arm, or return their sight, and they would probably very quickly become a one-man army.
Anything official that you could give to a permanently blind character, would probably also be available to a sighted character, which means that you'll always be consuming resources to get to square one while everyone else is on square two.
Interesting idea. I think the beauty of some characters is that they do have disadvantages in some areas advantages in others. That being said, it would be a gargantuan task trying to make it viable. Not to say it couldn’t be done of course. What was that David Carradine character who was blind but a good warrior?
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
Ersatz eye would work. However, that would take 2 of 3 attunement slots for both eyes, so it’s not perfect, but it work very well.
RIP Tavern.
All hail King Jovan Fluffycloud Prince
Teleporting elf monk supremacy!, but druids are better
[Cactus]Waffles!”I don’t have any good quotes to put in my sig.” -Me
But then the character wouldn't be blind any more.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Good point.
RIP Tavern.
All hail King Jovan Fluffycloud Prince
Teleporting elf monk supremacy!, but druids are better
[Cactus]Waffles!”I don’t have any good quotes to put in my sig.” -Me
Depends on the concept, but I guess that does defeat the purpose of a blind character.
RIP Tavern.
All hail King Jovan Fluffycloud Prince
Teleporting elf monk supremacy!, but druids are better
[Cactus]Waffles!”I don’t have any good quotes to put in my sig.” -Me
As cool as it may seem for a player to want to be a blind whatever, I wouldn't allow it in a D&D game. There just isn't a way to RAW compensate the PC for being blind.
Fantasy HERO yes, D&D no.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
That's a good point. We see Chirrut Imwe being awesome, but we don't see the years he spent getting to that level of skill. We also don't know when he was blinded. Maybe he already had a decade of training before some horrible accident? We also don't see how many other blind Guardians died or quit or were expelled.
How's about this:
I practice a form of Kung Fu called Wing Chun. We practice getting contact with an opponent (arms touching or similar), then reacting to the movement we feel through that.
So, for your blind character, I would suggest the following (may work best as a monk...):
* The character is blinded, as per the conditions
* The character gets advantage (or maybe a bonus) on perception checks using hearing, smell, or touch.
* When in melee combat and not in contact with an opponent, the character may make a perception check (without advantage) every time he is attacked by that opponent. If he fails, the opponent gains advantage as normal for a blinded character. If he passes, he is considered "In contact".
* When in melee combat, if the character makes an attack against an opponent he is not in contact with, he is at disadvantage as normal for blinded. If he hits, he is considered "in contact".
* The rules for the blinded condition do not apply between the character and an opponent who he is "in contact" with (no advantage or disadvantage): He can "see" through feel.
* If an opponent he is "in contact" with moves away, even using disengage, the character may use a reaction to OA or follow up to his movement speed.
* An opponent may attempt to break contact somehow, but it would be difficult (contested dex vs dex, advantage to the blind character maybe?)
How about doing exactly that, have the blind character at a higher level than the rest of the party, a 5th blind level fighter would have two attacks at disadvantage instead of one not at disadvantage for his sighted companions and would have more hit points to compensate for attacks on him being at advantage. It would be quite a task to determine how many levels ahead the blind character would need to be and if they would need to level more ofte, it would have to be milestone levelling but there is nothing there outside RAW.
The problem with letting one character be substantially higher level to compensate for blindness is that the impact on balance can be wildly unpredictable depending on how the game progresses.
For example, if the characters end up with a Robe of Eyes, then you end up with a super-player whose only penalty for being blinded is going back to normal for a while. Or if a Druid casts Reincarnate, and now the player can see normally. There are dozens of ways of getting around the Blinded condition with magic, unless the DM locks it into the meta.
One could state that the Blindness was the result of divine intervention, which would allow it to reasonably transcend magical remedies, and could open up a new adventure arc to correct. But really, anything less than that would be a headache.
I did say balance would not be easy, I would actually rule the "retain capabilities" of reincarnated would mean the reincarnated character would still be blind but you would have to rule that things like lesser restoration is ineffective. Regarding magic items the dm decides what magic items the party come across, an artificer can make a gem of seeing which could cause issues if the party get that far.
No one is ever satisfied with this answer, but I'll keep giving it anyway - if you want a blind character that is on the same power level as a normal character, just play a normal character and roleplay the blindness.
You detect enemies, projectiles, etc as well as anyone else through your other senses so you play by the same rules. You just describe what you're doing and how you're doing it differently. The DM can give out magic items in accordance with your concept, granting you darkvision or tremorsense or whatever as you progress to better reflect your condition.
No one else is burdened by rule changes. There's no ongoing balancing act to make sure you're not too strong or too weak. There's just regular D&D where it's up to you to you bring your character to life.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
I just would add either tremorsense within 120 feet (able to see through walls so there is a limitation) And then truesight within 30 feet. This would be for a magical character or a monk with absolutely stupid amounts of training.
That would be so painfully broken, I'm not certain where to start. True Seeing is a 6th level spell and Tremor Sense is low-key x-ray vision. Permanent access to either at any level would be a major problem.
Yes, now i look back on it...