what happens when you look at the sun?

[ohako]

I mean, I know what happens...but there's nothing in the Environment chapter of the Core rulebook.

All we have to go on is this from the ARG

ARG Orcs wrote:

Dayrunner: Orcs refuse to yield to any foe, including the sun. Some spend hour upon hour glaring at the sun until their ruined eyes acclimatize to bright light. Orcs with this racial trait take a –2 penalty on all ranged attack rolls. This racial trait replaces light sensitivity.

Hmm, so at least orcs can stare at the sun for hours with no permanent penalty other than a -2 to ranged attacks. But in the process, their eyes are 'ruined'.

I suppose I have two questions

1. What is the mechanic to ruin eyesight by staring at the sun? Can anyone ruin their eyesight, or only orcs (or other creatures with light sensitivity)?

2. Could a character with some means of flight use the sun as a form of concealment against a foe on the ground? Could a rogue with sniper goggles take long-range sneak attacks by concealing themselves with the sun?

Presumably if you went looking for said rogue, you'd start ruining your eyes...

[SlimGauge]

1. There isn't one. You're taking a fluff sentence that justifies the following sentences penalty.

1.a It's a racial trait. If you can find some way for your other creature to take this racial trait, then yes other creatures can do it.

2. That's beyond the scope of the (rudimentary) flight rules.

2.a Only by DM fiat when the sun is just on the horizon and you've got the bearing to your target JUST right.

Only if it takes "hour upon hour" of searching to find said rogue.

[Matthew Downie]

Seeing something as far away as the sun is a DC 48 billion perception check. Therefore, you cannot see the sun and it cannot damage your eyes.

[Drakkonys]

You receive 1d4 nonlethal damage every round staring at the Sun?

[Nearyn]

Matthew Downie wrote:

Seeing something as far away as the sun is a DC 48 billion perception check. Therefore, you cannot see the sun and it cannot damage your eyes.

True grasshopper, true, but remember always that the sun is so massive anyone attempting to percieve it recieves a +47.999.999.999 circumstance bonus, as long as there is line of sight.

-Nearyn

[Zathyr]

Drakkonys wrote:

You receive 1d4 nonlethal damage every round staring at the Sun?

Nah, it's not that bad. I can probably stare at it for at least 4 rounds before my eyes even start tearing up.

I used to make a game of it when I was really little, to see how long I could stare at the sun, before anyone ever told me you're not supposed to.. It does kind of hurt after some time, and you see a big purple blotch for a while, especially when you blink. It fades in a minute or two. Use the dazzled condition and call it a day.

[Lathiira]

You stare at the sun. It stares back. You eventually blink and lose the staring contest.

[MattR1986]

I'm not sure if this is trolling or serious. Do you really think the game is going to speak on staring at the sun? How about putting your fingers on a hot stove? Or maybe jamming your fingers in a door? Just google staring at the sun, get some basic info and apply permanent perception or other modifiers accordingly.

The second question actually makes up for the first. An interesting idea to go between someone and the sun for some kind of concealment. I would rule that this would work and give you full concealment but you'd have to make a fly check each turn to get the correct position. The person below could obviously move to negate this though.

[ohako]

MattR1986 wrote:

I'm not sure if this is trolling or serious. Do you really think the game is going to speak on staring at the sun? How about putting your fingers on a hot stove? Or maybe jamming your fingers in a door? Just google staring at the sun, get some basic info and apply permanent perception or other modifiers accordingly.

The second question actually makes up for the first. An interesting idea to go between someone and the sun for some kind of concealment. I would rule that this would work and give you full concealment but you'd have to make a fly check each turn to get the correct position. The person below could obviously move to negate this though.

I am actually being serious.

1. Looking at the sun is clearly an environmental hazard that was skipped by the rules. It's a bummer that there aren't rules for such, but at the same time, staring at the sun is clearly harmful (at least to humans). So, I asked the forum what to do?

2. The business with the rogue using the sun as concealment...that's effectively hiding in plain sight. Which under the usual circumstances (magic, weird class abilities) is somewhat hard to get. However: it's the sun. Anyone who can fly can sneak attack on a perfectly clear day, right?

A rogue who uses the sun as a backdrop has an effective radius where if you're staring at him, you're staring at the sun instead. It's effectively a 'cone of concealment' (and because all of my maths leaked out my ears long ago, I have no idea how to describe this shape). The higher up you go, the larger the effective cone (but you'll still need sniper goggles if you go above 30 feet, which you probably do). If an enemy on the ground can discern the area of the cone, then the enemy can move and see the rogue. Since the rogue could place his enemy anywhere within the cone (or be any amount of distance straight up), I think the enemy's only safe bet would be to try and locate the rogue's shadow. This might also be tricky, because finding a rogue-sized shadow on the ground might be difficult (or the rogue could magic away his shadow, or use displacement on himself, or similar).

Basically, attacking from the sun should be what every ranged rogue tries to do every time, because the other ways of gaining ranged sneak attack are so much more difficult. In addition to finding out what happens when you look at the sun, I want to know what the rogue has to do to use the sun effectively, and what the rogue's victim has to do to counter the effect.

[Kthulhu]

Pure RAW, it's way too far away for you to ever see it. DC for the Perception check is at a - (infinity - 1) penalty.