Senses

Different races, monsters and species use different methods of sensation. The most universally referenced sense is vision. In the fantasy world, there are several types of vision. The three most common are normal vision, darkvision and spirit sight. There is also night vision, which Jzaka, cats and owls have. Many other senses are used by different creatures. Here will be a brief summary of what each type is.

Normal vision is exactly what is sounds like; it is what you are using now, viewing the normal visual spectrum. What this means is in darkness, normal or magical, it is more difficult to operate and fight. Anyone using normal vision suffers a -2 to attack penalty for attack rolls in the night and disadvantage on attack rolls in total darkness. Also, movement is half of normal for traveling in darkness, including dim light.

Darkvision is unique eyesight adapted by subterranean and nocturnal creatures. It allows them to operate in darkness as if similar to normal vision; however, there are a few different degrees of precision. While there are no penalties for fighting in the dark, unless otherwise stated, darkvision is monochromatic. Further, if its based mostly on heat; therefore, some things can still be difficult to distinguish, such as written text; this is why even subterranean species will often have some sort of lighting in their communes. While many creatures with darkvision operate in the normal spectrum, both forms of vision cannot be active simultaneously without explicitly stated exceptions. This is important when working with a group having different vision types. Further, the range is different for different species that can be used in the darkness. Orkane sub-orcs can only see 15 feet, while the svirfneblin can see out to 120 feet. All of this said, magical darkness will thwart darkvision.

Night vision is an above-ground sight relying on the absorption of light waves in materials from sunlight. Even though the material is no longer reflecting current light, there is a shedding of the radiation, partly based on heat and partly based on the subtle glow of the planet's ring. Creatures with night vision have a special sensitivity to be able to see in the dim light of a double-moonless night; however, if being hidden from the atmosphere, either by going subterranean or inside a windowless mansion, those with night vision become as blind as normal vision.

Spirit sight is a special sensation for creatures that do not rely on vision. Most of the walking dead and “unliving” creatures, known as feratu, find their prey like this because many feratu do not have functioning eyes. Spirit sight is the detection of a living creature’s aura, biofield or life song. For those without it, it can be best thought of as the radar sense used by the comic-book hero Daredevil. Of course, this means those with spirit sight are not affected by light conditions; however, if one can mask himself from life-detection, then the spirit sight could not know he was there. Of course, this will not work for all feratu, for example vampires, as they make use of normal vision as well (or possibly darkvision for a dwarven vampire).

Devil sight is a powerful form of seeing. This allows not only vision in any darkness as if normal, but also a being with devil sight can see through magical darkness as well. This method is used often by imps and lesser fiends of the devil phylum to endanger their victims.

Blindsight is a general term for being aware of the surrounding even without vision. In some cases this is due to hearing, air pressure or even magnetism from the ground. In other cases it is a bit more mystical. Most everyone has a minuscule amount of this sensation, but unless an entity is explicitly stated to have it, there are no modifiers to adjust. For example, zombies use primarily spirit sight; however, this is based on feeling presence of life forces around them. But one might ask, how then do zombies not walk into walls, know to use doors, not fall into pits? The explanation is a very low-grade use of blindsight -- not enough to identify the types of rocks, but enough to avoid tripping over them. Other creatures, constructs for example, have a high degree of blindsight. They cannot be blinded nor can deafness alter their perception of things around them. Beings using blindsight as a primary sense cannot see through walls, but they are typically unaffected by glamour type illusions.

Many subterranean creatures have sunlight sensitivity. Batfolk have echolocation. Jen'esse have vibrational awareness called tremorsense. Some of these have details listed with the species and how members use the sensation; others merely translate to a bonus on Perception. However, it is important to be knowledgeable of how these unusual impressions work. It also allows a GM to rule for exceptions. For example, echolocation will not work for batfolk who are caught inside a silence spell. A method of mental anguish for a Jen'esse could be placing one in a deprivation chamber to block vibrations; it does no real harm but would become very stressful over time.

Psionics, telepathy and magical means can detect things normally undetectable. The specifics should be detailed in the skill, incantation or axiom. This brings up illusions and how they are perceived. Read the Illusions section for a better understanding. But in that vein, know that something can be invisible (to one type of sensation) and still be seen by others.

The long and short of this is that based on one's senses and awareness of what they mean, everyone should have a better understanding of how characters and monsters can sense and identify others. It also allows one to know when their character is at disadvantage, figuratively and literally. Finally, the table below defines how different sensations work under different circumstances, usually as an Awareness check. Whenever there are more than one sensation possible, the active one will be used. Of course, some senses can be used simultaneously, such as normal vision and hearing -- or echolocation/tremorsense with any form of vision.

^†Night vision becomes “normal vision” when indoors or underground
^‡Echolocation must be actively being used

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