Light Levels
Light level describes how much visual information a character can reliably use.
Light changes what details can be perceived, how confidently targets can be identified, and whether actions use normal vision or Blind rules.
Creatures are commonly affected by light levels. There is no universal “darkvision” that ignores darkness. A wolf in pitch darkness is still at the same visual disadvantage unless it has another sense or supernatural ability that applies.
Clear Light
Clear light is normal functional visibility.
Examples:
- Daylight
- Bright torchlight nearby
- Well-lit rooms
Effect:
- No visibility penalty.
- Characters can read, identify faces, track motion, and target normally.
Dim Light
Dim light allows detail, but only with effort.
You can read, identify objects, and make out faces, but it strains the eyes and slows certainty.
Examples:
- Candlelight
- Weak lantern light
- Deep indoor shadow
- Heavy overcast twilight
Effect:
+1 Pressureon actions requiring visual precision, reading fine detail, or quick target identification.- No penalty for broad movement through known or simple terrain.
- Stealth and concealment attempts may gain Leverage if the dim light is relevant.
Darkness
Darkness allows broad shapes after the eyes adjust, but not reliable detail.
You can perceive silhouettes, movement, large obstacles, and rough layout. You generally cannot read, identify fine features, or confidently distinguish similar figures by sight alone.
Examples:
- Moonlit night
- Starlit open ground
- Unlit room with light leaking under a door
- Woods at night after adjustment
Effect:
+2 Pressureon visually guided attacks, defense, navigation, searching, and target identification.- Fine visual tasks may be impossible without another sense, tool, or light source.
- Treat precise targeting, reading, lock work, and similar tasks as Blind unless the fiction provides another way to perceive the target.
- Stealth and concealment attempts usually gain Leverage.
Pitch Darkness
Pitch darkness provides no useful visual information.
No amount of waiting allows normal sight. Characters must rely on touch, hearing, memory, smell, or supernatural senses.
Examples:
- Lightless cave
- Sealed cellar
- New moon under dense canopy
- Magical darkness that blocks sight
Effect:
- Use Blind rules for actions that depend on sight.
- Visual identification, reading, and visual searching are impossible without a light source or nonvisual sense.
- Movement through unknown or hazardous terrain may require checks or may be disallowed without another method of navigation.
- Stealth based on sight denial is usually automatic against creatures relying only on vision, though noise, touch, scent, and other clues still matter.
Adjusting to Darkness
Characters can adjust to ordinary darkness if they spend about 10 minutes without bright light.
Adjustment allows broad shapes and movement to become clearer in Darkness. It does not turn Darkness into Dim Light, and it does not help in Pitch Darkness.
Sudden bright light ruins darkness adaptation.
Light Exposure
When a creature is suddenly exposed to bright light after being adapted to darkness, it is temporarily blinded.
Ambient light reveals; directed sudden light blinds. Entering the normal radius of a torch, lantern, or campfire does not automatically cause Light Exposure. The effect usually requires a deliberate or abrupt event, such as thrusting a torch into a creature’s face, uncovering a lantern, igniting a flare, or opening a bright doorway.
Effect:
- The target takes
+2 Pressureon sight-dependent actions until it adjusts. - This lasts for one round.
- The target loses darkness adaptation and must spend about 10 minutes without bright light to regain it.
Light Sources
Light sources create local zones of visibility.
Use the nearest practical category:
- Bright light near the source is usually Clear Light.
- The edge of a weak light source is usually Dim Light.
- Beyond the light source is usually Darkness or Pitch Darkness, depending on the environment.
Light also reveals position. A visible light source may remove concealment for the carrier even while improving their ability to see.
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