Torch
A torch provides bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for another 20 feet. It lasts about 1 hour and creates noticeable movement and audible crackling, making it useful for stealth checks but potentially revealing your position. Torches are common, inexpensive, and can be lit with a fire spell or tinderbox, but they offer the shortest duration and weakest illumination among most adventuring light sources.
Standard Light Items and Their Trade-offs
Standard nonmagical light sources balance portability, duration, and visibility. Understanding these trade-offs helps parties choose the right tool for exploration, ambush, or extended downtime in dungeons.
- Lantern: Sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light 20 feet beyond; uses a hood to block wind. Can be hung from a wall or placed on the ground, freeing hands while illuminating a controlled area.
- Sunrod: Emits bright light for 6 hours, functioning like a daylight spell but less powerful than a continual flame. Often favored by urban adventurers and favored in well-lit environments.
- Hooded lantern: Wind-protected hood improves reliability outdoors; can be snuffed to conserve fuel, creating darkness on command for ambushes.
Lantern vs Sunrod Practical Notes
Lanterns provide flexible, area illumination, while sunrods excel at longer, timed brightness without consumables. Choosing between them affects encumbrance, downtime management, and encounter pacing.
Bright Light, Dim Light, and Darkness
Light in D&D 5e is modeled as bright light, dim light, and darkness. Bright light normally reveals hidden creatures only if they succeed on a Stealth check against the observer’s passive Perception. Dim light imposes disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on sight. Darkness heavily obscures areas, rendering sight-based Perception ineffective without darkvision or magical sight. Bright light imposes disadvantage on creatures that rely on darkvision, since many races evolved for low-light conditions. Tactical use of light sources can blind or impair enemies, while protecting your party with controlled illumination.
Darkvision and Light Synergy
Darkvision lets you see in darkness within a set range, but it works in dim light as well. In bright light, darkvision often becomes unnecessary for creatures with it, though some DM rulings treat intense light as uncomfortable or blinding for certain species.
Magical Light and Utility Options
Magical items and spells provide reliable light with enhanced properties. Some produce daylight-level brightness, while others emphasize silence, portability, or tactical control.
- Continual Flame: A sustained flame that sheds bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light 10 feet. Cannot be snuffed unless dispelled, and can be placed on objects or creatures.
- Daylight: Emits bright light in a 60-foot radius and dim light for another 60 feet; counters magical darkness and automatically dispels darkness created by spells lower than its level.
- Glowstone: Produces steady bright light; often used in urban or safe zones because it cannot be snuffed by conventional means.
- Dancing Lights: Useful for signaling, trickery, or creating distractions. Not reliable for primary illumination but flexible in social and exploration contexts.
Comparing Light Intensity
| Light Source | Bright Radius (ft) | Dim Radius (ft) | Duration | Special Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torch | 20 | 20 | 1 hour | Noisy; can be snuffed by wind or action |
| Lantern (fueled) | 20 | 20 | 8–10 hours | Wind-protected hood; can be snuffed |
| Sunrod | 20 | 20 | 6 hours | Bright light without fuel; urban-friendly |
| Continual Flame | 5 | 10 | Concentration, up to 1 hour | Cannot be snuffed; can target creature or object |
| Daylight | 60 | 60 | Concentration, up to 10 minutes | Dispels magical darkness; daylight-level brightness |
| Glowstone | 20 | 20 | 12 hours | Consistent bright light; can’t be snuffed by normal means |
Tactical Use of Light in Exploration and Combat
In exploration, controlling light determines whether the party is surprised. Darkness heavily obscures areas and can give enemies tactical cover, while bright light reveals hidden creatures under standard rules. Snuffing a lantern or using darkness spells can create zones of disadvantage for pursuers or set up ambushes for enemies. Conversely, shining light into areas of darkness can reveal invisible creatures or force enemies to rely on senses other than sight, often disadvantage on attacks.
Light and Stealth Checks
Carrying a lit torch in darkness usually makes stealth attempts harder due to noise and light, but creative uses—holding a torch low or using a hooded lantern—can mitigate this. Ranged light sources like Dancing Lights allow illusion-heavy approaches, while continual flame offers low-profile illumination for stationary objects.
Practical Loadout by Role
Different roles and party compositions benefit from tailored lighting choices. Scout-heavy groups may prefer quiet, portable options, while front-line parties can exploit bright light to impose disadvantage or protect fragile members. Consider downtime needs and the availability of fuel or recharges when deciding how many light sources each member carries.
- Scout/Rogue: Hooded lantern, tinderbox, and oil for controlled snuffing; a small sunrod for timed illumination.
- Wizard/Sorcerer: Continual Flame on a shield or armor for hands-free light; reserve Daylight for critical exploration or anti-magic-darkness moments.
- Cleric/Druid: Use daylight or control-oriented spells like Darkness to toggle between visibility and concealment.
- General Adventurer: Standard lantern with fuel, backup torch, and a glowstone or sunrod for redundancy.