tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post2916180720547825608..comments2024-03-28T15:32:19.036-04:00Comments on Dungeon Fantastic: Thoughts on spells - Sunlight and small-d darkness effectsPeter Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-4067161313280478842021-04-05T12:55:36.504-04:002021-04-05T12:55:36.504-04:00I would look at it as being like a light /sunlight...I would look at it as being like a light /sunlight bright with Color (full spectrum sunlight) and base it on those limitations. Gwythainthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05184355400691527355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-28786850277713449462021-04-05T00:27:45.929-04:002021-04-05T00:27:45.929-04:00"- If I treat Sunlight like Darkness, it is j..."- If I treat Sunlight like Darkness, it is just a small area of light with sharply defined boundaries but is totally inconsistent with everything else we do with light."<br /><br />But also totally consistent with the inconsistent manner in which the Spell Darkness works.<br /><br />Another way to think of Darkness is "destroy light". It's an area that light cannot escape, thermodynamics be damned, it just is.<br /><br /><br />But for your purposes, I say lean in on the last choice.<br /><br />For me, the choice went the same, but also differently. I removed the spell from Wizards and only allow Clerics and Druids to cast it, it's literally the gods shining light down from above. It's a miracle!evileeyorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08296632217198088455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-40570849991493298202021-04-05T00:18:59.728-04:002021-04-05T00:18:59.728-04:00That it creates a new, temporary star when cast at...That it creates a new, temporary star when cast at night also has world building implications if you raise your eyes to the heavens and wonder about it. So maybe don't encourage anyone to play a sage. William Knowleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07075848234082280333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-49192856818440060952021-04-04T20:17:12.512-04:002021-04-04T20:17:12.512-04:00That's where I'm leaning because of the re...That's where I'm leaning because of the relative simplicity in saying it has to be some kind of natural terminus.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-55616251794377067732021-04-04T17:54:26.050-04:002021-04-04T17:54:26.050-04:00"...allow it only to be cast at the terminus ..."...allow it only to be cast at the terminus of light" seems to be exactly what the designers intended, is consistent with the wording, and restricts the abuses that could come from casting it midair and allowing it to extend down to the ground, hundreds of yards away. It does cause some issues for large/tall caverns--a one hex Sunlight spell would allow you to see all the way to the ceiling, and, presumably, four hexes away in bright sunlight, twelve hexes away with darkness penalties. Whether the spell should do that is an other issue, but that seems to be what was intended. That's less of a problem than being able to cast it midair and seeing down into a really deep pit or shaft. Vichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03268174879688628707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-68861310996841455202021-04-04T14:11:09.558-04:002021-04-04T14:11:09.558-04:00All of that seems much more complicated than what ...All of that seems much more complicated than what we've got now.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-52730356695433975052021-04-04T13:47:59.598-04:002021-04-04T13:47:59.598-04:00I've always gone with the last option: the spe...I've always gone with the last option: the spell is cast on the patch of ground to be illuminated, and range penalties are assessed accordingly.BenjaminWashingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04435543057328775047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-42584413869494040292021-04-04T10:20:20.323-04:002021-04-04T10:20:20.323-04:00Well, this is obviously a spell that can have its ...Well, this is obviously a spell that can have its assumptions different depending on how you want to set up the cosmology.<br /><br />With real light, if you assume plane wave (to simplify the math), light has a direction and illuminates surfaces based on that. You have shadows, and different intensities depending. <br /><br />The light from sunlight does not seem to match any sort of realistic source, otherwise you would have shadows, and problems filling an infinite space at constant intensity with a finite source.<br /><br />So, what is doing is defining a volume, and the free space within that volume is acting as a source. A weird source. 1. It is omnidirectional like a point source. 2. But, despite being a volume, it is not 'adding up'/integrating to become a larger directional source. 3. You /can't/ look at the effects from a distance, because it doesn't propagate outside the volume. <br /><br />So the basic question is not "why doesn't it behave like real light", but the magical constraints on defining the volume. Around the caster and up can be justified in a number of thematic ways. Symbolically, the sun is up even when your cosmology says the sun is on the other side of the world. Mechanically, up is opposite gravity. If you want trouble, the caster is bouncing something that radiates off of the ground, and that invisible radiation is defining the volume. Extra trouble, the caster is also casting the reflective field over the grounds surface, the radiation reflected by the field, and the thing that turns the radiation into the volume of illumination. <br /><br />Bonus question: If you have a torch or lamp that would illuminate outside of the effect of Sunlight, does the outer edge of Sunlight stop that propagation outwards? You can answer yes or no, but the implications are different. What about propagation of light /in/?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com