sunglasses?

[Stranzini]

For the light sensitive characters...why not have the tinkers able to craft sunglasses?

Basically two lenses made with glass - we got that -, something to darken it with, perhaps some kind of gem dust could be used or coal...any glass makers out there with reality-based ideas?...some copper wire - voila, basic sunglasses, not too hard to make, perhaps not very stylish but takes away the light sensitivity problem for our drow friends - they could have a downside in reducing charisma or one of the charisma-ish values like persuasion since they're so ugly...or a reduction to attack since they're really not very comfortable for fighting in if you're a melee fighter, and the glass isn't optically perfect and messes up your aim if you're an archer...

A more stylish version in platinum and with a better and more difficult to get lens treatment might not have the deficit associated.

[Talan Va'lash]

I doubt there will be any item that gives the daylight adaptation feat.  Personally, I wouldn't like one.  

The daylight adaptaion feat is a fairly large RP point for underdark..ian characters.  I wouldn't want to see this point dissapear with an item.  Also, its not a huge feat, but you still have to give up a feat for it, having a craftable item that gave it would undermine the feat quite a bit if not completely.  

In the period we're emulating, optics weren't invented yet.  Eyeglasses weren't around untill the early renaissance.  Of course, then we get back to the "how much technology do we have" discussion, which doesn't really have a definitive straightforward answer.  But Layonara doesn't really have a haven of early technology such as... whatever that island is where the gnomes make crazy stuff in FR.  I'm sure someone that knows FR better than I can remember the name.

But, anyway, the main reason something like this would be undesirable, is the way it would maginalize a fairly important RP issue, and one that makes potentially more powerfull races spend a feat on it (if they so choose.)

-TV

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Here are a few points, and suggestions.

- In Faerun, it wasn't the gnomes who invented tinted glasses; it was the Drow, for the very reason that they're being suggested now.

- Now, while there aren't REALLY Joo-Janta Peril Sensitive Sunglasses in D&D (though my first DM gave them to my character for laughs; RPing that was a blast, and they actually gave a BONUS to CHA, because they hid his eyes, and gave him this mysterious look {for Bluff, Intimidate, Persuade, Gather Info, all the CHA skills} as well as made him impervious to Gaze attacks when they were opaque, though I had to have him take Blind-Fight for those surprize rounds), who's to say that normal sunglasses are so ridiculous?

- No copper. These things would be a totally high-end item; you'd need glass, coal, charcoal (for heating the lenses to crystal, and to tint them), and a good bit of wire of whatever metal (iron or plat). They'd give a -2 to Spot and Search, and would kill Low-Light Vision and Darkvision. With those restrictions, perhaps they could be left to iron...

- This isn't a technology issue; the Drow had these things almost since they started raiding aboveground again, in Faerun. Why not  Layo? They don't magnify anything, they're just goggles with tinted glass. Any good tinker could do that, and have them not distort vision beyond the darkening.

There you have it.

Just have them look like a helm to the game, like the Goggles of Minute Seeing in 1-player, and find a hak that makes them look like actual goggles.

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Ba-bump.

[Faldred]

This would be a neat idea, but I would think from an RP standpoint that they shouldn't be able to completely provide the benefit of Daylight Adaptation -- it's not just an issue with the eyes... those poor Drow can actually *feel* the sunlight even if their eyes are closed.  So, maybe gsomething like this could take away the attack penalty and the temporary blindness when exposed to bright light, but not restore the saving throw penalty.

Of course, the stat changes would only apply to Underdark races who do not have Daylight Adaptation, and only when not in Daylight.  There may also be penalties for wearing them in low-light conditions, or for non-Underdark races wearing them at all.

On the whole, the RP aspects may make this idea more of a hassle than it is worth...

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

-2 to Spot and Search, cancel out Darkvision and Low Light Vision, and there you have it.