I'm curious to hear what solutions people use to combat deeper darkness. In theory an everburning torch using a heightened continual flame would be a suitable solution - though what is a fair price for such an item? Running the numbers purely on the guidelines comes to a relatively low cost given that its a big problem that is solved - so I (as a player) am leaning towards making it more expensive to account for this.
But maybe I don't realize about any number of other ways to tackle this, so please let your voices be heard! :)
Some love for the deeper darkness, any one?
My defense against it is the rules around it being so specific to each individual spell and so convoluted that no dm dares to try to use the tactic for fear of spending the entire night with their nose in the rulebook. Muahahahahhaah!
Deeper Darkness is a level3 cleric spell.
Daylight is a level 3 bard, cleric, druid, paladin and sorcerer/wizard spell.
Daylight counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower
level, such as darkness.
Seems like a lot of classes can easily counter it. So a cheap item shouldn't be too hard to pull this off.
Funny story from 3.5:
I once tried to create an encounter where the room in which it was located needed to be pitched in total darkness. I explored using deeper darkness to counter any light sources brought into the room and I ended up with an amusing loop in the rules.
The room had no windows or any other sources of light so it was totally dark. Applying deeper darkness to the room actually increased the light level to shadowy! Well, as DM I simply hand-waved this away as silly. However, by the rules, if someone were to cast a daylight spell in the room the two spells would negate each other and the room would return to the prevailing lighting conditions becoming darker.
I am glad to see Paizo updated the spell for Pathfinder.
@Skull:
Daylight certainly counters Deeper Darkness, but it doesn't illuminate an existing Deeper Darkness (needs to be one level higher for that)
@Lakesidefantasy:
Daylight in Pathfinder has no effect on a Deeper Darkness that already exists (though Daylight can be used to counter Deeper Darkness)
Probably the easiest item counter to this would be a custom crafted item that is a 1 use/day spell effect that will negate the deeper darkenss
e.g.
Torch of Sunburst 48'000gp
1 use/day functions as sunburst spell
ring of seeing 18'000gp
1 use/day true seeing for 9 minutes
ring of dispel 12'000gp
1use/day as per dispel CL10
Gem of Seeing would do it but is quite pricey.
but realistically to get any of the above you'd need to a get GM approval and b be a caster with the required spell anyway in which case you'd just use that memorised spell to deal with the deeper darkness.
the easiest option by a caster is simply dispel magic as it will beat deeper darkness assuming you didn't set it up with a CL20 NPC ;)
For me the easiest option would be an everburning torch that just works on deeper darkness too. Just a question of costing that?
Deeper Darkness is a level3 cleric spell.
Daylight is a level 3 bard, cleric, druid, paladin and sorcerer/wizard spell.
Daylight counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower
level, such as darkness.Seems like a lot of classes can easily counter it. So a cheap item shouldn't be too hard to pull this off.
The problem is that the "and dispels" part of "counters and dispels" is meaningless because there's no description of it anywhere in the rules.
Daylight is pretty convoluted because it seems to only dispel the actual darkness itself, it doesn't counteract the darknesses ability to shut off torches and whatnot, so that if you're underground and someone has deeper darkness.. you're going to have normal, non magical darkness no matter what.
Deeper Darkness is a level3 cleric spell.
Daylight is a level 3 bard, cleric, druid, paladin and sorcerer/wizard spell.
Daylight counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower
level, such as darkness.Seems like a lot of classes can easily counter it. So a cheap item shouldn't be too hard to pull this off.
The problem is that the "and dispels" part of "counters and dispels" is meaningless because there's no description of it anywhere in the rules.
Daylight is pretty convoluted because it seems to only dispel the actual darkness itself, it doesn't counteract the darknesses ability to shut off torches and whatnot, so that if you're underground and someone has deeper darkness.. you're going to have normal, non magical darkness no matter what.
As I see it, You can use a light spell of equal or higher level to counter a darkness spell beign cast, if you have readied the action to counterspell. Or if there is a darkness spell already in effect, you cast the light spell of equal or higher level to nullify that spell. As if casting something similar to dispell magic?
I suspect people are making this far more complicated than it needs to be.
Edit: Also, the deeper darkness needs to be cast in dim light before the supernatural (you cant see through me) darkness comes into effect.
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
Daylight counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower level, such as darkness.
The means that you can
(a) use a daylight spell as a readied action to counterspell deeper darkness as it is being cast, or
(b) cast daylight to dispel a deeper darkness that has already been cast (probably as if it were dispel magic, and thus requiring a dispel check, but this parenthetical is conjecture).
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
Daylight counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower level, such as darkness.The means that you can
(a) use a daylight spell as a readied action to counterspell deeper darkness as it is being cast, or
(b) cast daylight to dispel a deeper darkness that has already been cast (probably as if it were dispel magic, and thus requiring a dispel check, but this parenthetical is conjecture).
This is my take on it as well
I have a character with the darkness domain. At 8th level I get Eyes of Night if I have the name right. Allow you see in any darkness for 1/rnd per level. So 8 rounds in Deeper Darkness works for me. I get all the advantages and even those with Darkvision are denied in the right conditions.