Ok, let's assume that you're playing a character without darkvision or any other fancy gifts.
You're doing a little tomb exploration with your chums, who are also equally not night-sighted or possessed of any particular perceptive gifts.
You're holding a torch or lantern or other similar glowy hand-held device and have your sword out just in case.
Suddenly, an Animated Statue grinds to life and starts swinging it's lithic sword!
You raise your shield to take the blow and...wait...you don't have your shield out. That hand is holding your glowy thing.
Uh oh. Ouch.
Maybe next time, assuming there's a next time, you could use some other method of seeing in the dark so that your hands are free.
But, what options might those be? Sure, if you know a magic-user they might cast Light or something for you. That's always handy. Plus, they might do it on something that you're not obligated to hold in your hand.
Or, if you're really lucky (or wealthy) you might have a Driftglobe! Those are nice.
Barring something like that, what other options have you run across or seen others use?
Darkvision in 5e is color blind or at least color muted. So presumably even some of the dark vision enabled beings able that build the various dungeons would want regular spectrum light to appreciate their treasure or make art or what have you. So in some of these subterranean vaults you could expect or hope for torch holders at doors and along walls. Sure sometimes a party is rampaging through a dungeon, but if they're moving at a pace where they're actually searching an unknown area for loot and traps, I'll presuming their not so much as charging as taking their time to safely enter a room, set a torch somewhere and go about their exploratory actions. It can't be relied on, but can be asked for by the PCs or offered by the DM as they make their way/search.
Lanterns are even easier to ground. Of course they and torches and be knocked over.
I don't know if I'd want my shield or weapon illuminated. While I've always presumed the light, being magical is somehow "harmless" to vision (that's why it can't be used offensively to blind, unless you want to over commit to being a tank putting the rooms light source on your armor seems to be saying you've abandoned any opportunity to withdraw from a fight into obscurity. Literally "have at me" in the fight and "catch me if you can, I"ll even light the path for you" in retreat (though I guess that's moot if the party member is running in the dark and needs to see where they're going). I've even toyed with it being sort of voluntary faerie fire.
An "experienced" NPC taught my parties that you can just cast light on a rock, and toss or roll it into a room before you enter to take a look from outside the door way. There are IRL "tactical light balls" (Brite-Strike is one brand) marketed for this purpose (though they also have a strobe feature to function as a less harmful distraction device than a flash-bang). I think most folks in that market stick with handheld or weapon mounted flashlights, but they're usually not in that paradoxical want to use light and be stealthy at the same time conundrum dungeon delvers find themselves in.
EDIT: the "light stone or ball" can also be easily concealed when they don't want illumination.
Goggles, clearly. I know they're expensive, but walking around with a bright source of light in your hand is like having a permanent signal flare over your head to announce your presence.
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Yeah, if you are alone w/o darkvision, it's torch + shield with no weapon or torch + weapon with no shield. And you aren't going to be firing that bow and arrow.
Them's the breaks. That is how it works in the real world too.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
No one yet has mentioned hirelings? Sure they cost a few gold a day, but they just stand there and hold the torches for you so you can find all the loots. During combat they usually hide behind a rock holding the torch up in the air so you can kill the whatever is there.
No one yet has mentioned hirelings? Sure they cost a few gold a day, but they just stand there and hold the torches for you so you can find all the loots. During combat they usually hide behind a rock holding the torch up in the air so you can kill the whatever is there.
And when the enemy decide that dousing the light will blind their opponents?
Magic weapons often glow, and the Moon-Touched Sword(common) sheds light in a 15/30 radius.
Relatively cheap, solves darkness issues, and counts as magic for overcoming damage resistance. If you don't want to draw so much attention, then just sheath it and draw something else.
No one yet has mentioned hirelings? Sure they cost a few gold a day, but they just stand there and hold the torches for you so you can find all the loots. During combat they usually hide behind a rock holding the torch up in the air so you can kill the whatever is there.
And when the enemy decide that dousing the light will blind their opponents?
Well, they are called hirelings, if they live they might want a raise.
I’d go to a tinkerer and ask for a cheeky helmet with a light source on top. Could just be a tiny metal box on top of a pot helmet, with a pellet that has light cast on it and you can close the little door to it whenever you don’t need it.
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Ok, let's assume that you're playing a character without darkvision or any other fancy gifts.
You're doing a little tomb exploration with your chums, who are also equally not night-sighted or possessed of any particular perceptive gifts.
You're holding a torch or lantern or other similar glowy hand-held device and have your sword out just in case.
Suddenly, an Animated Statue grinds to life and starts swinging it's lithic sword!
You raise your shield to take the blow and...wait...you don't have your shield out. That hand is holding your glowy thing.
Uh oh. Ouch.
Maybe next time, assuming there's a next time, you could use some other method of seeing in the dark so that your hands are free.
But, what options might those be?
Sure, if you know a magic-user they might cast Light or something for you. That's always handy. Plus, they might do it on something that you're not obligated to hold in your hand.
Or, if you're really lucky (or wealthy) you might have a Driftglobe! Those are nice.
Barring something like that, what other options have you run across or seen others use?
The wizard or other non-melee character carries the torch/lantern/whatever.
The magic-user casts Light on some object, such as your shield.
Darkvision in 5e is color blind or at least color muted. So presumably even some of the dark vision enabled beings able that build the various dungeons would want regular spectrum light to appreciate their treasure or make art or what have you. So in some of these subterranean vaults you could expect or hope for torch holders at doors and along walls. Sure sometimes a party is rampaging through a dungeon, but if they're moving at a pace where they're actually searching an unknown area for loot and traps, I'll presuming their not so much as charging as taking their time to safely enter a room, set a torch somewhere and go about their exploratory actions. It can't be relied on, but can be asked for by the PCs or offered by the DM as they make their way/search.
Lanterns are even easier to ground. Of course they and torches and be knocked over.
I don't know if I'd want my shield or weapon illuminated. While I've always presumed the light, being magical is somehow "harmless" to vision (that's why it can't be used offensively to blind, unless you want to over commit to being a tank putting the rooms light source on your armor seems to be saying you've abandoned any opportunity to withdraw from a fight into obscurity. Literally "have at me" in the fight and "catch me if you can, I"ll even light the path for you" in retreat (though I guess that's moot if the party member is running in the dark and needs to see where they're going). I've even toyed with it being sort of voluntary faerie fire.
An "experienced" NPC taught my parties that you can just cast light on a rock, and toss or roll it into a room before you enter to take a look from outside the door way. There are IRL "tactical light balls" (Brite-Strike is one brand) marketed for this purpose (though they also have a strobe feature to function as a less harmful distraction device than a flash-bang). I think most folks in that market stick with handheld or weapon mounted flashlights, but they're usually not in that paradoxical want to use light and be stealthy at the same time conundrum dungeon delvers find themselves in.
EDIT: the "light stone or ball" can also be easily concealed when they don't want illumination.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I cast continual flame on a cloak pin for the paladin in my group to help with their weak human eyes.
Goggles, clearly. I know they're expensive, but walking around with a bright source of light in your hand is like having a permanent signal flare over your head to announce your presence.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Yeah, if you are alone w/o darkvision, it's torch + shield with no weapon or torch + weapon with no shield. And you aren't going to be firing that bow and arrow.
Them's the breaks. That is how it works in the real world too.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
No one yet has mentioned hirelings? Sure they cost a few gold a day, but they just stand there and hold the torches for you so you can find all the loots. During combat they usually hide behind a rock holding the torch up in the air so you can kill the whatever is there.
And when the enemy decide that dousing the light will blind their opponents?
Magic weapons often glow, and the Moon-Touched Sword(common) sheds light in a 15/30 radius.
Relatively cheap, solves darkness issues, and counts as magic for overcoming damage resistance. If you don't want to draw so much attention, then just sheath it and draw something else.
Yup one of my players has an equivalent called the Gladius of Diana (who is, of course, goddess of the moon).
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Well, they are called hirelings, if they live they might want a raise.
There is also the dark vision spell if you want to be sneaky and not tell the world you are there.
I’d go to a tinkerer and ask for a cheeky helmet with a light source on top. Could just be a tiny metal box on top of a pot helmet, with a pellet that has light cast on it and you can close the little door to it whenever you don’t need it.