I received a question via email about how I make rulings on adventuring in the dark.

Frankly, I’ve handwaved it in an inconsistent way. It’s a bad habit that I need to break out of.

I want players to feel like their characters are in danger the moment they step into the dungeon. I want the dungeon itself to feel like a malevolent entity that resents the intrusion of surface dwellers.

Making darkness a danger that players must deal with is one way to do that.

Why light matters

It’s obvious that darkness is an important thing to consider in the exploration of maze-like subterranean places. You don’t have to go very deep away from the entrance of a tunnel to be plunged into complete darkness.

Many monsters and dangerous predators are active at night. Darkness is an issue above ground as well as below.

The main considerations are…

• Avoid falling into a pit, crevasse, trap, or other environmental hazard
• Finding your way
• Seeing a creature that you are fighting
• Searching and inspecting objects
• Using tools, magic, and other gear of adventuring

Without the ability to see, most of those tasks are difficult if not impossible.

Why I track torches and other sources of light

“…the proliferation of luminous fungi or iridescent crystals in deep caves where the torchlessly improvident hero needs to see is one of the most obvious intrusions of narrative causality into the physical universe.” ― Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent

Light sources in classic D&D depart somewhat from physical reality. Carrying a lit torch into a confined subterranean space is a high probability way to kill yourself and others. This is an area where we depart from modeling reality because it conflicts with the conceit of adventurers in the underworld. I choose fun over simulation in this case.

Another consideration is whether the consequences of being in the dark is important enough to make light tracking something I want to manage during play.

Most referees don’t like tracking light sources. Referees have a lot going on and adding something else to manage is not appealing. Some method of tracking like a form, tokens, cards, or counters are required to make it manageable. It’s easy to forget to tick the box on a tracking sheet or pull a token when a turn has passed.

Torches are cheap and readily available every place adventurers go between adventures. I could assume that PCs are smart enough to replenish their supply every time they return to town and always bring enough to get them through an expedition.

Encumbrance is often handwaved. This makes tracking torches seem even more pointless.

Once characters gain a few levels, they have access to spells like continual light and magic weapons that emit light. Magic makes torches redundant.

Each referee has to decide if encumbrance and resource management is an important part of their game or not. I like resource management because it’s a potential failure point that can cause players big trouble.

The characters may have access to continual light but that is a spell slot. Spells are valuable resources. If the player chooses to use that slot for light then they can’t use it for something else. If you track encumbrance, then carrying an extra bundle of torches becomes a decision point.

If players decide to hire torch bearers to carry the party’s extra torches, a monster that causes fear in creatures less than 4HD can turn a routine situation into total chaos.

An enemy spell caster can use dispel magic to put out that continual light spell. If the party chooses not to pack torches as a back up, they are in trouble.

Being in the dark is an opportunity for imaginative problem solving. Players will get very focused on the situation when they suddenly face the very real possibility of being completely wiped out while trying to find their way out of the dungeon.

What do the rules say?

I did a little research in Swords & Wizardry, Old School Essentials, and the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide. There aren’t a lot of specific rules and mechanisms for what happens when it gets dark in the original rule sets and the games that clone them.

A lot of the rules are implied.

The obvious or implied rules

Without light or the ability to see in the dark via magic, a character can’t do things like pick a lock, write, map, read a scroll, or spell book.

A character can find an object and manipulate it by feel though it might take longer than normal. If the situation is not routine, that sort of action may be difficult or impossible.

Moving around in the dark is dangerous. Tripping, falling, stepping on something pointy, and running into things are dangers.

What other referees call common sense rulings I consider “implied rules.” Darkness has a lot of implied rules.

Combat

Rules for fighting or finding invisible creatures are somewhat related. Since I was unable to find specific rules stating modifiers for the dark, I looked at rules about invisibility, the thief’s backstab attacks, and descriptions for relevant magic spells.

In Swords & Wizardry and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, attacking an invisible creature has a -4 modifier. I noticed a sentence in the DMG also says that invisible creature also gets a +4 on saving throws. I don’t remember seeing that before.

A thief or assassin who has snuck behind a target are effectively invisible in that the target doesn’t know the character is there until they feel the blade in their back. The back stab attack modifier for a thief or assassin is +4.

I was unable to find any attack modifier for an invisible combatant that wasn’t a thief or assassin attacking a visible target. I usually allow a +4. I thought it was a rule somewhere and it may be. I couldn’t find it.

I found a modifier of +2 for flanking or attacking from behind in Swords & Wizardry and AD&D. Also in AD&D, a flank or rear attack negates the AC bonus a shield and the AC bonus for a high Dexterity score. I don’t remember ever applying that rule either.

There is a rule in Old School Essentials that any blinded creature can’t attack. That blindness can come from using the light spell on the eyes of a creature or from magical darkness. One interpretation of this rule I’ve heard is that if the PC can’t see in the dark then they can’t attack.

I get where the rule would apply in the case of light blinding a target. That would prevent them from doing anything other than staggering around in pain. If the character is simply unable to see, I can’t get behind the idea that a creature couldn’t at least make a wild swing. If you can make a wild swing at an invisible creature at a -4 then you ought to be be able to make a wild swing in the dark. It may not be advisable to do that but you can do it.

I prefer to give players a choice when it’s a choice with potential for bad outcomes.

My house rules for adventuring in the dark

A torch lasts 1 hour (6 turns)

A full oil lamp lasts 4 hours (24 turns)

Without a light source mapping is not possible. Seeing a map is not possible. Players must put away any maps they have previously drawn when their characters are not able to see. If the referee has been drawing a map on a battle grid, it will be erased or covered.

Players will narrate what direction and rate of speed their characters are traveling relative to where their character is at in the moment. The only accepted directions will be those relative to the current facing of the character such as right, left, forward, backward.

In order to safely move in a dark space, movement rate is half of normal or less. If a character is led through the dark by a character with infravision or darkvision, movement is still half though dangers such as pit traps, crevasses, and bumping into objects may be avoided.

A player may choose to move at normal movement rate but there are hazards. Quiet movement around obstacles at full movement rate in the dark is impossible. Surprise will occur on a roll of 4 or 5 on a D6 depending on the circumstances. Surprising a monster that has infravision while the PC is bumbling in the dark is not possible.

Characters running in the dark will be automatically surprised in an encounter with a monster.

Any character that cannot see in the dark must apply the following modifiers to melee combat conducted in darkness.

• -4 to Attack Rolls
• -4 to AC
• -4 to Saving Throws

If a PC is unable to see, makes a melee attack, and a friendly creature is in the front facing arc of the attacking PC along with an adversary, who/what is attacked will be determined randomly and may hit the friendly creature/character.

The referee may reduce the penalty if the monster has a characteristic that makes it’s position more apparent like glowing eyes, a distinctive sound, or smell.

Missile attacks made in darkness have a -4 to hit and any creature in the direction the missile is loosed may be hit. The actual target creature will be determined randomly.

Spells normally requiring line of sight will be adjudicated on a case by case basis.

Area of effect spells can be cast. The spell caster must determine direction and distance where they intend the spell to go off relative to their own position and facing. Position and facing will be tracked by the referee and the exact position of the character relative to other characters and the space their character is located may not be known by the player. Casting a spell in this way has obvious dangers. The caster, other party members, and friendly NPCs may be in the area of effect.