Hello,
I'm about to embark on my first PF campaign and decided to go with an Aasimar cleric. I'm leaning towards the halo racial trait but I'm wondering what I'm really giving up if I forego darkvision.
I figure the halo would provide me and those close to me with enough light to avoid melee combat and skill check penalties, and if I really needed the light I could cast Daylight.
Any thoughts or advice?
Seems like a terrible trade to me. With Halo, you're giving up your ability to see and move in the dark without drawing attention to yourself for a cantrip you can already cast at-will and a couple circumstantial bonuses. If stealth will ever have any value to you and your party (it will), darkvision is amazingly better than a light spell.
It’s not a great pick on a class that can already cast the light spell. The bonuses it gives aren’t that impressive either.
That said, if anyone in your party needs light to see, then giving up darkvision isn’t usually a big deal. Most GMs tend to ignore a lot of lighting rules for convenience. If you like the flavor of halo, then you won’t be ruining your character by making the trade.