Illumination Rules

[slaughterj]

From looking at the SRD, PHB, DMG, and Conan RPG, there appear to be some missing illumination rules. There are rules for candles, lanterns, and torches, for their bright light and shadowy illumination, as well as rules for those with eyes of the cat (low-light vision) in moonlight (see as well as in daylight). But there seems to be no rules for:

1. Bright and shadowy illumination for a camp bonfire - seems it would be bigger than a torch or lantern, but for now, I'll use the lantern light rules.
2. Moonlight for those without low-light vision - I'm going to give 5' regular vision, 30' shadowy illumination, and concealment further, though I'm willing to consider most anything, including waxing/waning moonlight at a low level and a full moon at a greater amount.

There are probably other areas that are not addressed as well.

 

[quigs]

I'd probably put a campfire at around 30 feet illumination, with another 30 shadowy.

But that's just from my experiences camping

 

[argo]

A good rule of thumb is that you get shadowy illumination out to twice the distance of the bright light.

However there are no rules for campfires, moonlight, etc because those things can vary so much depending on circumstance.

1. Bright and shadowy illumination for a camp bonfire - seems it would be bigger than a torch or lantern, but for now, I'll use the lantern light rules.

That would be OK for a good sized fire with plenty of fuel and that has been stoked up to provide light. For a more average "cookfire" I would probably go with either 20/20 bright/shadow or 15/15. For a fire that has died down to coals I would probably give it 10/10 bright/shadow. Those are just some rough guesses based on my experinces camping.

2. Moonlight for those without low-light vision - I'm going to give 5' regular vision, 30' shadowy illumination, and concealment further, though I'm willing to consider most anything, including waxing/waning moonlight at a low level and a full moon at a greater amount.

Moonlight is tricky becasue it is an enviormental condition as opposed to a light (point) source. 5' of bright light would be exceptional (remember bright light is nearly as good as daylight) so you would only get that under a full moon and clear sky.

Rough estimates would be:
-Full Moon: 5' bright, 100' shadow
-Half Moon: 60' shadow (and players with low-light get 5' of bright, a little protection against sneak-attackers)
-New Moon: 10' shadow (or optionally, no illumination at all if the weather is bad "can't see my hand in front of my face")

On an overcast night (or under leaf-cover) cut those distances in half.


When in doubt, conisder what effect you want the lighting to have.
-30' of shadow has little effect on combat, melee goes on much as normal and ranged attackers get their PBS. However it is possible for someone to sneak right accross the battlefield. Players with low-light get their money's worth as they can call out tactics with immediate results.
-10' or 15' of shadow puts the fear of god in the players. If they bunch up then attackers can spring in and out of the darkness at them. If they seperate to engage the attackers they will quickly loose each other. Neither is an attractive proposition. Players with low-light are near-gods under these circumstances.
-40' to 60' of shadow can have litle effect or it can be a clever trap depending on your players. An enemy who appears 40' away is a lure for the player to charge and close to melee, depending on circumstance this could result in the group becomming scattered and out of range of each other.

Hope that helps.

 

[slaughterj]

You make many good points. I understand these areas vary due to circumstance, but I'm sure you'll agree that some rough guidelines would be good, because otherwise you could get some significant variation, which would be a bad situation.


Note that the rules for low-light vision are that you see as good in moonlight as you do in daylight, though that doesn't seem to work well if you are trying to set up light rules like you do for other light sources, i.e., doubling of ranges.

I think the reason I liked 5' bright for average to good moonlight was because anything less means that average-eyed people are dealing with concealment failure to hit adjacent foes in those conditions, and from my experiences of being outside at night in the moonlight, I didn't see it as being that significant of an effect on combat, but maybe I just have good nightvision?

 

[Foxworthy]

I haven't need illumination rules so far but what I do for moonlight is simple, I double the range penalty to spot. Generaly vision distance doesn' tcome up in my game unless it's for something covered by the spot rules.

I haven't thought about the campfire thing though,it'ssomething I'll have to think about.

 

[slaughterj]

I haven't need illumination rules so far but what I do for moonlight is simple, I double the range penalty to spot. Generaly vision distance doesn' tcome up in my game unless it's for something covered by the spot rules.

But you would agree that in combat in moonlight, that there is likely to be shadowy areas (i.e., areas of concealment) at some distance from people? I'm surprised night-time combat hasn't come up in your game.

 

[Foxworthy]

I haven't need illumination rules so far but what I do for moonlight is simple, I double the range penalty to spot. Generaly vision distance doesn' tcome up in my game unless it's for something covered by the spot rules.

But you would agree that in combat in moonlight, that there is likely to be shadowy areas (i.e., areas of concealment) at some distance from people? I'm surprised night-time combat hasn't come up in your game.

Well night time combat has come up but since I overlooked the concealment from shadowy illumination. I'mgo9ing to have to take some time to figureout ranges of lit sources now. I have a feeling my players won't like the shadowy illumination rules, so much for ranged sneak attacks at night.