Moonrods and low light vison

[Avadriel]

This might be in the wrong section and if so, sorry.

What is the point of a moonrod? A creature with dark vision doesn't need it, to a creature with only normal vison its a less useful more expensive sunrod, and for the creatures with low light vision it is supposed to be useful to, it does nothing but what a sunrod does.
Low light vision extends the range of light categories but unless the light source is the moon, it does not let you see without penalties in dim light.
Since the Moonrod raises the light level by 1 step if you have low light vision, and sheds dim light if you don't.

In ambient dim light, it goes to 60 feat of bright light, for people with low light vision, just like a more expensive sunrod.

If ambient light level is darkness, then a moonrod brings up 60 feet of dim light for creatures with low light vision, but it does not allow them to see without penalty and is therefore a worse more expensive sunrod in this case.

What is the point of this item? Was this just some content creator forgetting how low light vision works? Was it supposed to allow characters with low light vision to see fine in a 60 foot radius?

[Xethik]

Perhaps benefit Low-Light users while giving penalties to those without it during a fight?

[Avadriel]

Xethik wrote:

Perhaps benefit Low-Light users while giving penalties to those without it during a fight?

That's the issue, it does not provide a benefit to characters with low light vision.

Your elf activates a moonrod in a dark room, and now he sees a hostile human 20 feet away. The human also sees the elf because dim light.
against attacks made by the elf, the human has 20% concealment, against attacks made by the human, the elf has 20% concealment, neither benefits.

[Durngrun Stonebreaker]

Avadriel wrote:

Xethik wrote:

Perhaps benefit Low-Light users while giving penalties to those without it during a fight?

That's the issue, it does not provide a benefit to characters with low light vision.

Your elf activates a moonrod in a dark room, and now he sees a hostile human 20 feet away. The human also sees the elf because dim light.
against attacks made by the elf, the human has 20% concealment, against attacks made by the human, the elf has 20% concealment, neither benefits.

So activate it in dim light and a creature with low light vision has normal light and a creature without it would still have dim light.

[Avadriel]

Durngrun Stonebreaker wrote:

So activate it in dim light and a creature with low light vision has normal light and a creature without it would still have dim light.

now I feel silly, thanks, not sure how I missed that.

[Xethik]

Still, it isn't an amazing feature. Kind of have to work to find a good situation for it.

[frakeer]

"This 1-foot-long, silver-tipped tin rod glows dimly when struck as a standard action. IT SHEDS DIM LIGHT IN A 30-FOOT RADIUS. However, the light given off by a moonrod is particularly easily to perceive for creatures with low-light vision. For such creatures, a moonrod increases the light level by one step (to a maximum of normal) for a 60-foot radius."

The Moonrod produces dim light for everyone (with normal and dark vision) for 30 feet. players that have Low light improves that to normal.
.
30' to 60' the moonrod increases darkness 1 step to dim and/or dim 1 step to normal.
.
That's how I read it.

[frakeer]

I didn't specify that the 30' to 60' range increase only affects people with low light vision. Normal and darkvision are not affected beyond 30'