4e Monster Vision: Why The Monsters Will See You First.

4th Edition may be a year old, but people may still not know everything there is about the monsters. For this reason, I am writing this post to help people with small things to help them in case they run into something they might not have come across before. I hope you enjoy.


Monsters are able, in many cases to see better than the player races, but that doesn't mean they all do, so I shall start with the vision that even player races have.


Normal Vision
Normal vision is, as the name implies, nothing special. In dim light, any creatures in the area have concealment against you, putting you at a disadvantage. You cannot see at all in complete darkness.

Low-Light Vision
This level of vision is basically the same as normal vision, but without the penalty in dim light, but you still can't see in complete darkness.

Darkvision
It is unexplained how, exactly, darkvision works. It allows the charcter to see in dim light and complete darkness without any penalty.


Well, that covers the playable race's visions, but we are just getting started with the monster's vision types.

Blind
well, its more of a monster type, but still, I think it fits in this post. Blind creatures cannot see, they rely on special senses (below) to detect things within their range. Anything beyond that range is invisible to them.The book even goes on to specify that they not only can't be blinded (as the status effect), but they are also immune to gaze attacks and other effects that rely on sight.

Blindsight (Ranges 6, 8, 10, 12, 20)
Monsters with blindsight are able to see anything within range and line of effect, even if they are invisible or obscured. Beyond their range, the monster must rely on their normal vision.

Tremorsence (Ranges 5, 10, 20)
Monsters with tremorsence can see things within range even if they are obscured, invisible, or out of line of effect, but the creature must be on the ground or touching the same surface (water or a web). If out of range (or not touching ground or same surface) monster relies on his normal vision.

Truesight (Ranges 6, 10, 20)
Monsters with true sight can see things that are invisible, as long as it is in line of sight.

All-Around Vision
Monsters that can see in all directions at once have all-around vision, keeping them from granting a bonus to flankers.



Well, there you have it. You can run, but you cant hide.
Actually, you can't even run! Check back on Wednesday to see why...
Questions, comments, etc. are always gladly accepted