Darkness
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Darkness
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Characters who cannot see in the dark {run} serious risks when
participating in
combat
under these conditions. Such characters
suffer a -4 penalty
to all attack rolls, saves, and damage
rolls, as well as
a +4 penalty to AC. Even with this penalty,
a successful attack
cannot cause less than 1 point of damage.
Also, all bonuses
that require a character to see his victim
are forfeited. These
include such abilities as a ranger’s bonuses
against giants,
a thief’s backstab attack, and a vorpal sword’s
beheading function.
Not only do characters
who are unable to see have greatly
reduced chances
for success in combat, but they stand a chance
of wounding an ally
or striking some other obstacle in the darkness,
or encountering
treacherous terrain features such as cliffs,
pits, or pools.
These penalties do
not apply to characters with infravision,
nor
to those wielding
magical weapons or within range of any source
of light.
If a character who
cannot see is within twice his weapon length
of any ally,
other opponents, walls, chairs, or other obstacles, his
attack stands a
chance of striking one of these instead of his target.
If the attack roll
misses with a modified result of 0 or less, the
attack has unintentionally
struck another object. Any object
closer to the character
than twice his weapon’s length may be hit.
Count up all the
objects within the weapon’s reach, then roll randomly
to determine which
is hit.
In addition, if a
character who cannot see fights next to a dropoff
or on a sheer surface,
his Dexterity is reduced by two for purposes
of all DEX Checks
to see if he falls over the drop-off,
and his CR is reduced
by 10% for purposes of all
CCs.
Q: What are the effects
of total darkness
on combat? When last faced
with this problem, I simply
ruled
that everything within the
darkness
was invisible, and I applied
the -4
to-hit penalty.
A: You handled the
situation correctly.
More information on the
effects of darkness
is given on page 32 of the
DSG.
(150.9)
Spellcasting
in Darkness
If a spellcaster
cannot see the TARGET of his spell,
there is a chance
that the spell might affect something besides the intended TARGET.
In these situations,
the player must
indicate exactly where the spell is targeted.
The DM then makes
a secret roll on Table 9: Course Changes in Darkness to
determine where the spell really goes off.
If the spellcaster
has a clue to the location of the TARGET (noise or small, for example),
the DM may assign
a -1 to -3 modifier to the roll on Table 9.
<cf. Odor
Detection, DSG.37>
<incl. Table
9>
Q: What are the effects
of blindness
and deafness on spell-casting?
A: Blinded creatures
are unable to cast any
spell that requires a TARGET,
but spells that
can be cast on an AREA (such
as fireball) or
delivered by touch (such
as cure light
wounds) may still be used.
Deafness can
cause spells with verbal
components to be
miscast and fail. The failure
chance is up
to you, but it shouldn?t
exceed 20% (less
for spells with short casting
times). The
cleric spell holy word has
a deafness effect
that causes spells to fail
50% of the time;
this is due mostly to the
extreme power of
the holy word, not merely
the deafness.
(150.9)
Q: How do blindness
(such as from
cause blindness) and deafness
each
affect spell-casting?
A: Blinded creatures
are unable to cast any
spell that requires a visible
target (such as
magic missile). Spells that
can be cast on
an area (such as fireball)
or delivered by
touch (such as cure light
wounds) are still
usable.
Deafness can cause spells
with verbal
components to be miscast
and fail. The
failure chance is up to
the DM, but it
shouldn?t exceed 20% (less
for spells with
short casting times). A
2% cumulative
failure chance per segment
of spell-casting
is suggested. The spell
holy word has a
deafening effect that causes
spells to fail
50% of the time. This is
due mostly to the
extreme power of the holy
word, not
merely the condition of
deafness.
(153.6)
Although characters without the ability to see in the dark normally
make every effort to provide themselves with a source of
light underground, sometimes unforeseen situations can plunge
a party into total darkness. Even characters with infravision
have
difficulty seeing objects that are the same temperature as the surroundings
of the underearth.
This can be a very unsettling experience for a group of adventurers.
The following effects can help recreate this situation for
gaming.
If characters try to move at their normal movement rates in
complete darkness, even probing the floor and walls ahead of
them does not guarantee that the party avoids hazards. If a character
encounters an obstacle while moving in darkness, he must
make a Dexterity Check. Failure means that the character does
not detect the obstacle in time to react, and his momentum carries
him into it.
Characters in the dark can safely move at 1/3 their normal
movement rates. This pace is slow enough to keep the lead characters
from blundering into any gaping holes in the floor, or walking
off the edge of a cliff. This also assumes that the characters
are steadily probing the ground in front of them as they plod
along.
Unless a character has some means of determining direction,
such as trailing a hand along a corridor wall, it is virtually impossible
to walk in a straight line in complete darkness. This is not
usually an issue in narrow dungeon passages. On the wide-open
but pitch-dark plains of some realms of the underearth, however,
it is truly a formidable task for a character to keep his bearings
about him.
The DM should make a secret roll on ld12 to determine the
unknown changes of course that might occur if characters walk in
complete darkness. Consult the following table to find the result:
Table 9: COURSE CHANGES IN DARKNESS
| D12 Roll | Character’s Course Change |
| 1-3 | None, continue straight ahead |
| 4-5 | 45 º right |
| 6-7 | 45 º left |
| 8 | 60 º right |
| 9 | 60 º left |
| 10 | 90 º right |
| 11 | 90 º left |
| 12 | 135 º (1-3 right, 4-6 left) |
This roll should be made after every three turns that characters
spend walking in darkness. The roll should be made at the end of
the character’s uncharted movement, even if such movement
has lasted less than three turns. For each turn less than three,
however, allow a -1 modifier to the d12 roll.
If characters travel over rough or uneven floors in darkness, or
stand a chance of tripping over small rocks or other rubble, the
DM can require as many Dexterity Checks as he deems appropriate.
Each failed Dexterity Check means that the character sustains
1 point of damage in a rough fall.
Characters traveling over these surfaces can prevent any such
accidents by slowing their movement to 1/6 their normal rate.
Darkness
(Alteration)
(thgiL)
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Effect: xcept as noted above, this spell is the same as the 2nd level M-U spell of darkness (q.v.). <#>
ADQ: Can spellcasters (or for that
matter,
monsters with innate spell powers) see
through their own darkness effects?
ADA: No, not even the caster can
see
through darkness without other
aid, such as
true sight. Darkness is usually
used to confuse
the enemy while the caster escapes.
(Polyhedron #30)