Has my group been handling darkness wrong?

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

Consider these monsters and spells:

Dark Creeper
Dark Stalker
Dark Slayer

darkness
deeper darkness

Does their ability to create magical darkness at will allow them to make Sneak Attacks with impunity against those who can't see them? The Dark Stalker in particular has proved an obscene terror in this regard, and my Pathfinder Society group has remarked on how seemingly unbalanced they seem to be for the levels at which we've encountered them - but is that because we're screwing up with the rules?

[x93edwards]

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

Does their ability to create magical darkness at will allow them to make Sneak Attacks with impunity against those who can't see them?

Barring other factors, "yes".

[wraithstrike]

Just remember that the light level before darkness is cast determines how dark it is. As an example if it is bright light and you cast deeper darkness, then it wont be too dark for characters with darkvision to be able to see in it.

If the lighting was dim or already dark then darkvision is blocked, and they can be tough for lower level characters.

Retreating is not a bad idea since you would be fighting on their terms otherwise.

[thejeff]

And Heightened Continual Flame is your friend. As is Daylight if you can cast it, but Continual Flame Heightened to 4th level trumps Deeper Darkness and is permanent.

[SlimGauge]

Remember that "A rogue cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment." Darkness often provides concealment, unless the rogue himself can see in the darkness.

[thejeff]

Which of course the dark creepers can. Do remember that other forms of concealment even the odds. If you can't see and your opponents can, drop a fog cloud. Now no one can see.

[Lifat]

Yup. You have lots of ways to battle the darkness -> sneak attack combo. Do as Thejeff has already proposed, increase light levels or make it impossible for everyone to see properly, evening the odds or retreat and find a better spot for the fight.
The combination of darkness -> sneak attack is definitely strong, but not in any way unbeatable, and I don't think it is overpowered.

[Claxon]

I was also going to suggest a heightened continual flame cast on an ioun stone or other object will (almost) always defeat even deeper darkness. Especially since deeper darkness as a SLA will count as a 3rd level spell and heightened continual flame will always beat it, so the only thing that will beat the HCF is a heightened deeper darkness (doesn't happen often).

There are also plenty of ways to counter the rogues ability to sneak attack, so it's a neat trick but not too difficult to get around.

[kinevon]

For a cheaper, but more limited, way to remove the sneak attack from the equation, the alchemical item: Smokestick can be your friend.

Only a 20% miss chance, but unless the dark creeper also has class levels, and added feats, it has no way to do sneak with that miss chance.

[Kazaan]

Also, remember that concealment and the like are calculated based on the light at the location of the intended target. So if someone is standing just outside of the radius of the Darkness effect, they get no concealment from it but characters within the effect can attack them without penalty while still benefiting from the concealment.

[Seraphimpunk]

oil of daylight, scrolls of daylight.
it sucks vs. the creatures that can toss down deeper darkness at will,
but it may buy you time to retreat to a better area , or all gang up on it at once.
my next cleric will go heightened spell + continual flame route, and pass as many continual flame ioun torches around as he possibly can.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

Admittedly, one thing that saved my party (except the pre-gen Bard) last time we fought one was...wait for it...detect magic. After a couple rounds of concentration, I could not only "see" the Stalker via the auras of his magic items, but once I got into the right position, I could see that annoying little pebble he'd cast deeper darkness on in the far corner of the room.