Drow and deeper darkness


Rules Questions

Shadow Lodge

If a Drow with the Drow Noble, Greater feat casts Deeper Darkness SLA in an area of dim light making the light level drop to Supernatural Darkness, is the Drow able to see?

I am only asking because it seems as though the feat would be hindrance in many situations, because it replaces the Drow's Darkness SLA.

Designer, RPG Superstar Judge

Drow nobles can't see in deeper darkness.

Not to use a novel to justify rules, but Drizzt Do'Urden is training in blind-fighting specifically for the tactic of fighting in circumstances like this.

Shadow Lodge

I see.

In that case, is there anyway for a Drow noble to get the ability to see in supernatural darkness through a feat or alternate racial trait or something?


It's more for fighting out in the sun, it seems. Drop Bright natural light down to Dim or Normal natural light to Dark. But yeah, what SKR said, it you are prepared to fight in supernatural darkness by some other means (blind-fighting, blind-sight, etc), then you'll still have an advantage vs an unprepared opponent.

Designer, RPG Superstar Judge

xXAbyssusXx wrote:

I see.

In that case, is there anyway for a Drow noble to get the ability to see in supernatural darkness through a feat or alternate racial trait or something?

Not that I can recall off the top of my head. "See in darkness" (like a devil has) is a pretty valuable ability (in that it and true seeing are the only things that can see through supernatural darkness) and we don't hand it out lightly.

The Exchange

I'm pretty sure that's deliberate, since the most frequently encountered enemy for drow nobles is... other drow. Darkness you can't see through is darkness your enemies can't see through either.


I found two ways to acquire a See-in-darkness equivalent.

One was an 11th Level dark tapestry Oracle with Pierce the Veil.

I cannot recall the other. There are perhaps more than two ways as well. Also note you can simply use blindsight or tremor sight(many spells allow for this)

Deeper darkness and the capacity to see effectively in it is extremely powerful in combat, DMs beware.

The Exchange

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Advanced Race Guide:

"Fiend Sight

Your eyes develop keener sight in dim light and darkness.

Prerequisites: Darkvision 60 ft., tiefling.

Benefit: You gain low-light vision and your darkvision improves to 120 ft.

Special: You can take this feat twice. When you take it a second time, you gain the see in darkness universal monster ability."


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

True Seeing should work.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
snobi wrote:

Advanced Race Guide:

"Fiend Sight

Your eyes develop keener sight in dim light and darkness.

Prerequisites: Darkvision 60 ft., tiefling.

Benefit: You gain low-light vision and your darkvision improves to 120 ft.

Special: You can take this feat twice. When you take it a second time, you gain the see in darkness universal monster ability."

That would still not work in supernatural darkness.

Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Hendelbolaf wrote:
snobi wrote:

Advanced Race Guide:

"Fiend Sight

Your eyes develop keener sight in dim light and darkness.

Prerequisites: Darkvision 60 ft., tiefling.

Benefit: You gain low-light vision and your darkvision improves to 120 ft.

Special: You can take this feat twice. When you take it a second time, you gain the see in darkness universal monster ability."

That would still not work in supernatural darkness.

Er, did you read the whole thing?


Hendelbolaf wrote:
snobi wrote:

Advanced Race Guide:

"Fiend Sight

Your eyes develop keener sight in dim light and darkness.

Prerequisites: Darkvision 60 ft., tiefling.

Benefit: You gain low-light vision and your darkvision improves to 120 ft.

Special: You can take this feat twice. When you take it a second time, you gain the see in darkness universal monster ability."

That would still not work in supernatural darkness.
SKR in the thread above you wrote:
"See in darkness" (like a devil has) is a pretty valuable ability (in that it and true seeing are the only things that can see through supernatural darkness) and we don't hand it out lightly.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Jiggy wrote:


Er, did you read the whole thing?

Er, yes I did, but I did forget that See in Darkness allows you to see in supernatural darkness or as it puts it "darkness of any kind, including that created by deeper darkness"

Shadow Lodge

Fiend Sight doesn't work for Drow, though, unless your GM waives the race requirement on the feat (I can easily see a drow with a drop of fiendish blood...)

Or for an alternative house-rule change Deeper Darkness to Blacklight for the drow noble. Still can't see in anyone else's supernatural darkness, but at least you'd be able to see in yours.

Shadow Lodge

Well, this seems unusual.

On top of it all, a Drow with the greater Drow nobility feat which grants Deeper Darkness at will, does not give Darkness at will.

so in areas of dim light he is forced to blind himself bc he is not allowed to use a lesser version of a spell he is able to cast at will as a SLA.


So along the lines of the spell like abilities can you choose to cast darkness instead of deeper darkness if you take the noble feats or are you stuck with it? The sorcerer is the only person in the party with blindscence, all other party members have dark vision which deeper negates.


Ermak_umk3

It'd be better if you ask your question as a new thread.
1 because it's not directly part of the original question.
2 because this thread was over a year ago since the last person posted.


Hell Knight armor should allow you to see in magical darkness as well. If you're a hell knight and all that. I do believe even a Drow could be a hell knight as long as they're lawful.


ermak_umk3 wrote:
So along the lines of the spell like abilities can you choose to cast darkness instead of deeper darkness if you take the noble feats or are you stuck with it? The sorcerer is the only person in the party with blindscence, all other party members have dark vision which deeper negates.

If you only have deeper darkness as an SLA then you can't cast darkness. They are two different things. However I see no reason why a GM could not allow the player to have the darkness instead.


Best way to get around supernatural darkness I've found is with an elixir of darksight, out of the ARG.

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