Light and Vision

Throughout the mechanics introduced to the game system, few are as interwoven as those of lighting and vision due to the various roles sight plays in other aspects of the game. This page helps to break down those rules and serve as a quick reference page in how different forms of vision interacts with various blinding phenomena.

Special Senses

Some creatures may have access special senses in addition (or in lieu of) normal vision in order to help perceive their environment. These senses are listed below.

Darkvision

If you have Darkvision, you can see in Dim Light within a specified range as if it were Bright Light and in Darkness within that range as if it were Dim Light. You discern colors in that Darkness only as shades of gray.

Devilsight

If you have Devilsight, you have Darkvision within a specific range, and you can see normally in Darkness, both magical and nonmagical, in your Darkvision.

Blindsight

If you have Blindsight, you can see within a specific range without relying on physical sight. Within that range, you can see anything that isn't behind Total Cover even if you have the Blinded condition or are in Darkness. Moreover, in that range, you can see something that has the Invisible condition.

Ghostsight

If you have Ghostsight, you can see through any physically obscured areas within a specific range, which includes solid objects and physical phenomenon such as fog. Creatures and objects do not benefit from Cover from you behind these objects.

Tremorsense

A creature with Tremorsense can pinpoint the location of creatures and moving objects within a specific range, provided that the creature with Tremorsense and anything it is detecting are both in contact with the same surface (such as the ground, a wall, or a ceiling) or the same liquid. Tremorsense can't detect creatures or objects in the air, and it doesn't count as a form of sight.

Truesight

If you have Truesight, your vision is enhanced within a specified range. Within that range, your vision pierces through the following:

Darkness. You have Devilsight for the purpose of interacting with both magical and nonmagical Darkness.
Invisibility. You can see creatures and objects that have the Invisible condition.
Transformations. You discern the true form of any creature or object you can see that has been transformed by magic.
Ethereal Plane. You see into the Ethereal Plane.

Magesight

If you have Magesight, your senses are enhanced within a specified range as you utilize the Weave or other magical effects to perceive the world. Within that range, you gain the following:

Devilsight. You have Devilsight.
Blindness Immunity. You are immune to the Blinded condition.
Divination Protection. Creatures protected through Divination magic (such as nondetection) are Invisible to you unless you can perceive them through other means (such as normal sight or other senses).
Magic Reliance. This vision does not function in anti-magic fields.

Obscurement and Visibility

An area might be Lightly Obscured or Heavily Obscured depending on different circumstances, such as lighting, natural phenomenon such as fog or foliage, or any number of other circumstances. Obscured areas have the following effects:

Lightly Obscured. Creatures in Lightly Obscured areas, or trying to see into areas that are Lightly Obscured, have Disadvantage on Ability Checks that rely on sight. Examples include: patchy fog, moderate foliage, moderate rain.
Heavily Obscured. Creatures in Heavily obscured areas, or trying to see into areas that are Heavily Obscured, have the Blinded condition. Examples include: thick fog, dense foliage, heavy rain or blizzard, blindfolds.

Some obscured areas may have a Visibility Rating in which one can see better. Creatures looking into a Lightly Obscured area treat the first X feet (where X is the Visibility Rating) as clear, and creatures looking into Heavily Obscured areas treat the first X feet (where X is the Visibility Rating) as Lightly Obscured.

Table: Physical Obscurement and Senses
Obscurement	Lightly Obscured	Heavily Obscured
Normal Vision	Disadvantage on checks that rely on sight	Blinded
Darkvision	Disadvantage on checks that rely on sight	Blinded
Devilsight	Disadvantage on checks that rely on sight	Blinded
Blindsight	See normally	See normally
Ghostsight	See normally	See normally
Tremorsense	Varies	Varies
Truesight	Disadvantage on checks that rely on sight	Blinded
Magesight	See normally	See normally

Lighting

Lighting is broken down into three different categories that determines the illumination of an area, which may interfere with certain types of senses. These categories are as follows:

Bright Light. Bright Light allows for most creatures to see normally, and even gloomy days provide Bright Light, as do torches, lanterns, fires, and other sources of illumination within a specific radius.
Dim Light. Dim Light, also called shadows, creates a Lightly Obscured area. An area of Dim Light is usually a boundary between Bright Light and surrounding Darkness, and the soft light of twilight and dawn also counts as Dim Light. A full moon might bathe the land in Dim Light.
Darkness. Darkness creates a Heavily Obscured area. Characters face Darkness outdoors at night (even during most moonlit nights), within the confines of an unlit dungeon, or in an area of magical Darkness.

Darkness can also be Magical Darkness, which is its own sub-category for the purpose of interfacing with certain senses. The specifications of magical darkness varies based on the source, with some directly interfering with Darkvision. The following table shows how various sense and vision types interacts with the different lighting categories.

Table: Lighting Conditions and Senses
Lighting	Bright Light	Dim Light	Darkness	Magical Darkness
Normal Vision	See normally	Disadvantage on checks that rely on sight	Blinded	Blinded
Darkvision	See normally	See normally	Disadvantage on checks that rely on sight	Varies
Devilsight	See normally	See normally	See normally	See normally
Blindsight	See normally	See normally	See normally	See normally
Ghostsight	See normally	Disadvantage on checks that rely on sight	Blinded	Blinded
Tremorsense	Varies	Varies	Varies	Varies
Truesight	See normally	See normally	See normally	See normally
Magesight	See normally	See normally	See normally	See normally