Effects of a Thunderstorm [Archive] - Wizards Community

Effects of a Thunderstorm [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
eamon
07-02-07, 06:21 PM I'm going to let my player's encounter a goblin raid on the village they're currently staying in. With a twist... a thunderstorm will start around dusk, and be in full force (very windy, very rainy) by the time the encounter starts.

According to DMG 94, the effects of a thunderstorm impose a -8 on spot, listen and search checks, make ranged weapon attacks impossible, and reduce visibility ranges by 3/4s. Now, that means that torches and similar have no longer a 20ft full and 40ft shadowy illumination, but 5/10ft. So far so good.

But:
Is darkvision reduced similarly in range? It seems like it should be reduced, but it's a little weird.
What about ranged touch attacks? I think it's kinda ridiculous to give them no penalty. I could reduce their range by 3/4, but that's a little weird, or I could say that the wind makes aiming a little difficult, and the rain judging proportions, so imposing some sort of penalty on the attack roll. I'm sure someone will try. So what to do?

Less important: And then, what if you see a small torchlight in the distance? Clearly the distance you can see that is much reduced, but there's no real guidelines - of course there aren't any real guidelines for that anyway (I mean, a spot -1 per 10 ft just doesn't work. on clear days, flat plains, you can see for miles, even 100's of miles...)
Some_call_me_Tim
07-02-07, 07:39 PM Is darkvision reduced similarly in range? It seems like it should be reduced, but it's a little weird.Why is it weird, if you have something blocking your view, in this case heavy rain, why should it not be reduced.

What about ranged touch attacks? I think it's kinda ridiculous to give them no penalty. I could reduce their range by 3/4, but that's a little weird, or I could say that the wind makes aiming a little difficult, and the rain judging proportions, so imposing some sort of penalty on the attack roll. I'm sure someone will try. So what to do?I would reduce the range (you just can't see to target clearly). Don't forget the high winds will cause a concentration check albeit likely trivial. I would muck with it as it does give spell casters a tactical advantage over non-casters. One of the fun things about vary terrain and weather is they don't run the same as 'normal' fights. I commend you for you choice to run a fight in adverse weather. You could always go with the DM's best friend -2 circumstance penalty.

Less important: And then, what if you see a small torchlight in the distance? Clearly the distance you can see that is much reduced, but there's no real guidelines - of course there aren't any real guidelines for that anyway (I mean, a spot -1 per 10 ft just doesn't work. on clear days, flat plains, you can see for miles, even 100's of miles...)You do have guidelines for maximum spotting distance given in the DMG based on terrain. Roll for the distance reduce it by 3/4 and make it an automatic spot at that distance as that represents when you have line-of-sight to the torchlight. You could also call it DC 0 and apply the -8 penalty.
mvincent
07-02-07, 07:45 PM Is darkvision reduced similarly in range?As written: Yes

What about ranged touch attacks?You could adjudicate concealment (20% miss chance). Also, the chart (and some other references) say "ranged attacks" rather than specifically "ranged weapon attacks" (if you wanted support for not allowing it).

Still, check out this Order of the Stick comic strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0200.html) for an interesting illustration of weather effects. It appears that their DM would've allowed ranged touch attacks during a storm at least.

what if you see a small torchlight in the distance? Clearly the distance you can see that is much reduced, but there's no real guidelines The Encounter Calculator (here (http://www.penpaperpixel.org/tools/d20encountercalculator.htm)) gives some numbers for Encounter Distance (i.e. distance someone is spotted, rather than lighting distance).
Mock26
07-02-07, 07:49 PM Just remember that rain distorts light, thus it will distort darkvision. Additionally, very windy and very rainy stands a good chance of putting out a torch.
eamon
07-05-07, 02:46 AM Well, thanks for all the tips! I played it out yesterday, and it worked fine! Most players were a little confused (it gets odd to see all the minitures and separating that from in character knowledge is non-trivial), and the druid was very flustered when I said that he might be able to fly in animal form, but that he wouldn't be able to significantly impact where to (fly speed of 40ft) :-). I mostly left out the concentration checks, after mentioning that they needed to concentrate; all spellcasters have maxed-out concentration and thus cannot fail the check bar circumstances.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
eamon 07-02-07, 06:21 PM	I'm going to let my player's encounter a goblin raid on the village they're currently staying in. With a twist... a thunderstorm will start around dusk, and be in full force (very windy, very rainy) by the time the encounter starts. According to DMG 94, the effects of a thunderstorm impose a -8 on spot, listen and search checks, make ranged weapon attacks impossible, and reduce visibility ranges by 3/4s. Now, that means that torches and similar have no longer a 20ft full and 40ft shadowy illumination, but 5/10ft. So far so good. But: Is darkvision reduced similarly in range? It seems like it should be reduced, but it's a little weird. What about ranged touch attacks? I think it's kinda ridiculous to give them no penalty. I could reduce their range by 3/4, but that's a little weird, or I could say that the wind makes aiming a little difficult, and the rain judging proportions, so imposing some sort of penalty on the attack roll. I'm sure someone will try. So what to do? Less important: And then, what if you see a small torchlight in the distance? Clearly the distance you can see that is much reduced, but there's no real guidelines - of course there aren't any real guidelines for that anyway (I mean, a spot -1 per 10 ft just doesn't work. on clear days, flat plains, you can see for miles, even 100's of miles...)
Some_call_me_Tim 07-02-07, 07:39 PM	Is darkvision reduced similarly in range? It seems like it should be reduced, but it's a little weird.Why is it weird, if you have something blocking your view, in this case heavy rain, why should it not be reduced. What about ranged touch attacks? I think it's kinda ridiculous to give them no penalty. I could reduce their range by 3/4, but that's a little weird, or I could say that the wind makes aiming a little difficult, and the rain judging proportions, so imposing some sort of penalty on the attack roll. I'm sure someone will try. So what to do?I would reduce the range (you just can't see to target clearly). Don't forget the high winds will cause a concentration check albeit likely trivial. I would muck with it as it does give spell casters a tactical advantage over non-casters. One of the fun things about vary terrain and weather is they don't run the same as 'normal' fights. I commend you for you choice to run a fight in adverse weather. You could always go with the DM's best friend -2 circumstance penalty. Less important: And then, what if you see a small torchlight in the distance? Clearly the distance you can see that is much reduced, but there's no real guidelines - of course there aren't any real guidelines for that anyway (I mean, a spot -1 per 10 ft just doesn't work. on clear days, flat plains, you can see for miles, even 100's of miles...)You do have guidelines for maximum spotting distance given in the DMG based on terrain. Roll for the distance reduce it by 3/4 and make it an automatic spot at that distance as that represents when you have line-of-sight to the torchlight. You could also call it DC 0 and apply the -8 penalty.
mvincent 07-02-07, 07:45 PM	Is darkvision reduced similarly in range?As written: Yes What about ranged touch attacks?You could adjudicate concealment (20% miss chance). Also, the chart (and some other references) say "ranged attacks" rather than specifically "ranged weapon attacks" (if you wanted support for not allowing it). Still, check out this Order of the Stick comic strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0200.html) for an interesting illustration of weather effects. It appears that their DM would've allowed ranged touch attacks during a storm at least. what if you see a small torchlight in the distance? Clearly the distance you can see that is much reduced, but there's no real guidelines The Encounter Calculator (here (http://www.penpaperpixel.org/tools/d20encountercalculator.htm)) gives some numbers for Encounter Distance (i.e. distance someone is spotted, rather than lighting distance).
Mock26 07-02-07, 07:49 PM	Just remember that rain distorts light, thus it will distort darkvision. Additionally, very windy and very rainy stands a good chance of putting out a torch.
eamon 07-05-07, 02:46 AM	Well, thanks for all the tips! I played it out yesterday, and it worked fine! Most players were a little confused (it gets odd to see all the minitures and separating that from in character knowledge is non-trivial), and the druid was very flustered when I said that he might be able to fly in animal form, but that he wouldn't be able to significantly impact where to (fly speed of 40ft) :-). I mostly left out the concentration checks, after mentioning that they needed to concentrate; all spellcasters have maxed-out concentration and thus cannot fail the check bar circumstances.