Darkness

[lord_bosco]

h2. Darkness

Several tech devices help overcome darkness: light intensifier goggles, IR sensors, flashlights, flares, enhanced vision augments, and so on. But, curiously, there are also no explicit rules for handling darkness. Vargrs are described as having poor low light vision and are given a -1 penalty to skill checks in darkness (but, wait, don't dogs have better night vision than humans?)

So what is the default darkness penalty? It could be a flat DM penalty, for example smoke grenades impose a -2 DM, while certain weather conditions can cause a -1 DM (CRB 78). Some have suggested applying Bane as a darkness penalty. But what if you already have a Bane due to fatigue or improper tools? Darkness and visibility problems should be cumulative with Bane penalties. So, I'm inclined toward a fixed darkness penalty of -1 to -5 DM, depending on the level of darkness.

Darkness should also have a dramatic effect on encounter distance (CRB 79). Penalties for darkness, smoke, fog, and precipitation might supersede the penalties for forests and urban environments, or they might be cumulative.

 

[Reynard]

Vargrs are a highly modified wolf so many things don't compare. BTW 'Dogs' won't begin until 260,000 - 280,000 years after the Ancient wars.

I'm looking at Central Supply Catalogue and vision enhancement devices list distances. Vehicle Handbook sensor packages have distance properties too. I'd say, for Traveller simplicity, without visual enhancement, total darkness blocks visual while partial darkness imposes a -1 or -2 DM to visual Recon attempts. Recon seems to be Traveller's perception check.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

There are vastly different levels of darkness, from arctic summer night (basically daylight) to pitch black. Any system that tries to model everything will be overly complex.

Let the Referee determine a penalty that seems to fit the situation.

 

[Condottiere]

Parallel evolution, and/or selected breeding, Vargr can still end up as dogs.

Vargr are technologically advanced enough to manufacture sensor equipment to compensate, if they feel this is a disability, and it's worth their time and effort.

Our vision depends on ambient light, and capability to make out details; having my lenses prematurely nuked and replaced makes me appreciate this more, and the world's a lot more colourful without spectacles (though, sadly still a requirement at certain ranges).

Tends to be hard to replicate on the tabletop, easier on the desktop, and even then, it depends on the quality of the screen.

 

[Garran]

Being hidden causes you to count as having cover, plus an armor bonus for whatever you're hiding behind.

It seems reasonable to suppose that being in total darkness is the equivalent of being hidden, so -2 DM on ranged attacks, and I'd extend that across the board for doing things in pitch darkness, at least for tasks where being unable to see is a problem.


IIRC Vargr had +1 rather than -1 in the old/core system and that somehow got flipped around?

 

[Reynard]

"Parallel evolution, and/or selected breeding, Vargr can still end up as dogs."

Yeah. So that means humans are just Ancient domesticated monkeys. Hmmm....

 

[Condottiere]