Half-drow and vision

[Itikar]

Hello again, lovely people! I was thinking of coming back to Potm after a few years, as I have seen the server seems to be doing rather well and I miss the overall feel that was found here. However, while I was reading up on the various lore and the new subrace resources, considering whether I wished to remake here my historical half-drow or do something different, I found something odd.

Namely that half-drow now get Low-Light Vision instead of Darkvision, like they did some years ago.

I do not know what generated such change, however, I must point out that fron the standpoint of the lore and the various rules provided for this half-elf subrace, there is little room for them having anything else than Darkvision.

Firstly, the most important reference and source for Half-Drow in D&D 3.5, Races of Faerun, lists very clearly that they are exactly like half-elves, except for two differences:

Half-drow have all the half-elven racial traits listed in the
Player's Handbook, except as follows:
• Darkvision up to 60 feet.
• Drow Blood. For all special abilities and effects, a half-drow
is considered a drow.

Secondly, the same sourcebook, confirms again this in the description of the feat Drow Eyes, which allows half-drow to enhance their Darkvision to the level of that of a drow, i.e. 120 feet.

Drow Eyes [General]
You have trained your eyes to see in the dark as well as your full
drow ancestors.
Prerequisite: Half-drow elf.
Benefit: You gain darkvision 120 ft.
Normal: A half-drow normally has darkvision 60 ft.

Where it is again expressed clearly what type vision half-drow of Faerun get, and that it is, in fact, darkvision e not low-light vision.

This feature is eventually confirmed in the latest video-game rendition of the race according to D&D 3.5, in Neverwinter Nights 2 Mask of the Betrayer, in the end of 2007, a few months before the infamous 4th edition was released, where they are exactly like half-elves except for having darkvision instead of low-light vision. Compare Hal-Drow and regular Half-Elf racial abilities in that game. Darkvision vs. Low-Light vision is the only difference.

Last, but not least, however, having low-light vision makes absolutely no sense for a half-drow and I cannot see how it can be roleplayed without pretending a half-drow has in fact darkvision, as per lore and rules.

In tabletop D&d, and in the games that implement low-light vision properly, darkvison and low-light vision are pretty different things. They are both enhanced types of vision and both help in dark environments, but they really do not work in the same way.

As they are explained in the d20 srd under Special Abilities:

Low-Light Vision

Characters with low-light vision have eyes that are so sensitive to light that they can see twice as far as normal in dim light. Low-light vision is color vision. A spellcaster with low-light vision can read a scroll as long as even the tiniest candle flame is next to her as a source of light.

Characters with low-light vision can see outdoors on a moonlit night as well as they can during the day.

Darkvision

Darkvision is the extraordinary ability to see with no light source at all, out to a range specified for the creature. Darkvision is black and white only (colors cannot be discerned). It does not allow characters to see anything that they could not see otherwise—invisible objects are still invisible, and illusions are still visible as what they seem to be. Likewise, darkvision subjects a creature to gaze attacks normally. The presence of light does not spoil darkvision.

On one-hand low-light vision is full color, and does not really have a precise limited range, whereas darkvision is black and white and usually has a definite range (usually 60 feet, and for some races such as drow, deep gnome, etc. 120 feet).

Compare again how the range is not specified for low-light vision in the entry for Pixie, but it is specified for darkvision in the entry for Salamander.

As for drow, well, they get only darkvision, 120 feet, and they lose low-light vision:

Darkvision up to 120 feet. This replaces elven low-light vision.

Also the sourcebook Underdark, which gives the drow racial abilities in the clear, without reference to elven abilities, does not provide the drow with low-light vision, but only with darkvision 120 ft (and Light Blindness).

So, if we are to assume a half-drow gets low-light vision instead of darkvision, where are they supposed to inherit it from? Certainly not from the human parent, since humans have no type of enhanced vision, and certainly not from the drow parent, because drow have only darkvision, and low-light vision and darkvision are two very different things.

Hance a half-drow cannot reasonable have low-light vision, the only reasonable type of vision they can have is darkvision 60 ft, as confirmed in every single instance in which the abilities of the subrace were provided.

In conclusion the argument of half-drow having low-light vision is untenable from the point of view of the lore and the rules of D&D 3.0/3.5.

[EO]

The Races of Faerun writeup was errata'ed in Drow of the Underdark. In DnD, half-elves never inherit the racial characteristics of their elven parent beyond the generic half-elven traits. Here's said errata:

[Itikar]

This errata is rather problematic, because the matter remains that Low-Light Vision is something very different from Darkvision. So, how is it explained that they develop Low-Light Vision out of the blue when the drow do not have it? It's quite perplexing.

The errata is not ambiguous, though, so fair point there. However, the same page you quote, right next to that, also complements the errata with a new feat offered to half-drow that allows them to retain darkvision:

NEW DROW FEAT
This feat is provided for half-elf characters with drow ancestry that
wish to emphasize their dark elf heritage. This feat can be taken
only at 1st level. In a FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign, this
should be considered a regional feat and subject to the rules
described on page 33 of Player's Guide to Faerûn.
DROW LEGACY
The drow blood in your veins runs true and grants you some
abilities from that heritage.
Prerequisite: Half-elf with drow ancestry.
Benefit: You have a +2 racial bonus on Will saves against
spells and spell-like abilities. You have darkvision out to 60 feet.
You receive Exotic Weapon Proficiency (hand crossbow), as well
as, Undercommon and the drow dialect of Elven as automatic
languages.
If you have an Intelligence score of 13 or higher, you also gain
the following spell-like abilities, each usable once per day:
dancing lights, darkness, and faerie fire. Your caster level equals
your class level.
Normal: A half-elf with drow ancestry normally just receives
the half-elf racial traits as described in the Player's Handbook.
Special: Taking this feat also causes you to have light
sensitivity: You are dazzled (–1 circumstance penalty on attack
rolls, saves, and checks) in bright sunlight or within the radius of a
daylight spell.

Which pretty much still points out that half-drow are still seen as having access to darkvision and other abilities, with a feat cost, even in light of that errata.

[EO]

This errata is rather problematic, because the matter remains that Low-Light Vision is something very different from Darkvision. So, how is it explained that they develop Low-Light Vision out of the blue when the drow do not have it? It's quite perplexing.

Half-elves in DnD always only inherit generic elven blood; ie: a half-aquatic would not gain any special traits. Otherwise they would inherit other traits, not just the race's darkvision (vs low-light).

As for the feat, yes it exists, but it's not something we'll implement. We generally don't implement racial feats (except for 1-2 exceptions for half-orcs).

[Itikar]

Half-aquatic elves actually do inherit a few traits, at least according to Races of Faerun, and without any errata that I am aware of at least. They get a Sea Longing feature and also gain swim speed and automatic swim checks like many aquatic beings.

But since they are not playable on the server this is not really relevant. Or even if they were, those features cannot really be ported to NWN anyway, since it does not cover swimming in general.