A storm strikes. Boom. Power’s out. You’d better brave it down to the basement to grab the candles and spare flashlights. Alone. Even with the glow of your smartphone, every shadow seems to be intensified by the sporadic thunder and howling wind outside.
Even if you’re normally not afraid of the dark, being put into a sudden situation where you are forced to address the darkness can be unsettling at the very least. In a world where light is constantly in our pockets and at our fingertips, we can sometimes forget that the convenience of instant illumination wasn’t always available.
Using the mechanics of light and vision in Pathfinder can add an extra layer to your game that will naturally add tension and foster creativity for your players.
Mechanics
There are four levels of light in Golarion, mechanically: bright light, normal light, dim light, and darkness. Outside of grimy caverns, ancient dungeons, and freezing tombs, most conditions that your players will experience are bright and normal light. Once the lights go out, however, is when things start to get interesting.
In dim lighting conditions, there is a partial concealment that comes into play for any creature that doesn’t have darkvision, and creatures can also use the dim light to their advantage by performing Stealth checks. Simple enough.
Darkness, is much more dangerous to the PCs. Without external light sources, magical or mundane, creatures will essentially be considered blind. This brings a plethora of ill-effects like a lowered AC and penalties on Strength/Dex-based checks.
I won’t even go into the lighting conditions underwater, although there has been a boatload of discussion regarding how light wavelengths travel through water, and how murky conditions would hinder vision, etc.
Can Lights are Better than No Lights
So why does lighting matter? Isn’t it a pain to track all the time? Yes and no. First of all, lighting conditions are usually going to be obvious. Are the PCs enjoying an outdoor festival on a sunny day? Bright light. Are they delving into an abandoned burial site underground in search of untold riches? Most likely darkness. Sometimes there will be sconces or torches on the wall that will create dim light instead; determining the level of light is usually intuitive if you imagine yourself in the characters’ shoes.
But shrugging off light levels as insignificant in your game are stripping out mechanics that really SHOULD matter! There are ‘Light’ spells and torches in-game for a reason. Certain races are gifted with low-light and darkvision to give them a hereditary advantage in dark places. Don’t make those character choices meaningless for your players.
Plus, think of how encounters can be spiced up with an effective use of light! Maybe the barbarian is forced to use a one-handed weapon instead of her trusty greataxe because she’s holding a torch in her off-hand. A multi-leveled room might have two different lighting conditions depending on the spacing of the wall sconces, forcing characters to adjust their tactics during the battle.
Shed Some Light on the Matter
Light doesn’t have to be cumbersome or avoided – use it when it makes sense. Try to pose questions like, “Okay, so you’ve all entered this murky cave…what’s everyone doing for light?” or “It’s really dark in this hallway with all the curtains drawn – who has darkvision?”
These sorts of questions will help keep your players honest with the lighting conditions and also help to describe the setting at the same time. Do a service to yourself and to your players by sliding realistic lighting mechanics into your games!
I’m going to be sure to pick up some darkvision before the next major storm hits. I’ll be ready.