Understanding Blindsight 5E: Rules and Regulations
The rules for Blindsight 5E state that a creature with Blindsight can perceive its surroundings without relying on sight, within a specific radius, typically using senses such as echolocation or heightened senses, allowing them to detect objects and creatures even in total Darkness or when the creature is Invisible. To utilize Blindsight, players must understand its limitations and applications, including how it interacts with Invisibility, Darkness, and other environmental factors, and how characters can acquire this ability through various Classes and Spells.
How Blindsight Works
Blindsight is a special sense that allows creatures to perceive their surroundings without relying on sight. This can be achieved through various means, such as echolocation, heightened senses, or other forms of non-visual perception.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Blindsight Work in Darkness?
Blindsight allows a creature to perceive its surroundings without relying on sight, making it effective even in Darkness. However, the creature is still “blinded” by Darkness or Shadow of Moil, but suffers no penalties from being blinded within its Blindsight radius.
2. Can Players Get Blindsight 5E?
Yes, players can acquire Blindsight through various means, including Fighting Style: Blind Fighting (available to Fighters at 1st level, Paladins, and Rangers at 2nd level), Draconic Transformation (a 7th-level spell available to Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards), and Ascendant Aspect (available to Monks of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon at 17th level).
3. Can You Stealth Against Blindsight?
Blindsight allows a creature to spot an Invisible creature in range, but that creature can still try to hide behind something with Stealth. However, the creature with Blindsight can still detect the hidden creature if it is within its Blindsight radius.
4. Can You Hide from a Creature with Blindsight?
You can’t hide from a creature if you’re in its Blindsight radius, unless magic cloaks your presence entirely. Blindsight allows the creature to perceive its surroundings without relying on sight, making it difficult to hide from.
5. Is Blindsight Blocked by Walls?
Blindsight does not allow a creature to see through walls. If you want your monster to see through walls, you need to give it a trait that says it can. The primary function of Blindsight is to clarify that it does not see through walls.
6. Does Blindsight Cancel Invisibility?
Blindsight can effectively see anything that isn’t behind Total Cover, even if the creature has the Blinded condition or is in Darkness. Moreover, in that range, it can effectively see a creature that has the Invisible condition.
7. Does Blindsight Negate Invisibility?
Creatures with Blindsight or Truesight are unaffected by Invisibility. Also, Invisible creatures attack with advantage, but attacks against Invisible creatures are at disadvantage unless they can be “seen” by magical means or through Blindsight or Truesight.
8. Does Blindsight Bypass Invisibility?
Invisibility only makes you Invisible. Blindsight is a sense that doesn’t rely on vision, so Invisibility is irrelevant. However, hiding behind Total Cover is still an option.
9. Can You Blind a Creature with Blindsight 5E?
Yes, creatures with Blindsight can still be blinded. If such a creature suffers the Blind condition, it would “see” normally within its Blindsight radius but be unable to see things it otherwise would farther away.
10. What Does Blindsight Do in D&D?
Blindsight allows a creature to perceive its surroundings without relying on sight, within a specific radius. Creatures without eyes, such as oozes, and creatures with echolocation or heightened senses, such as bats and true dragons, have this sense.
11. What Classes Get Blindsight?
Players can acquire Blindsight through various classes, including Fighting Style: Blind Fighting (available to Fighters at 1st level, Paladins, and Rangers at 2nd level), Draconic Transformation (a 7th-level spell available to Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards), and Ascendant Aspect (available to Monks of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon at 17th level).
12. What Are the Two Types of Blindsight?
There are two types of Blindsight: “action-blindsight” and “attention-blindsight”. “Action-blindsight” refers to the ability to accurately act upon blind field stimuli, while “attention-blindsight” refers to the ability to process blind field stimuli attentively.
13. What Is the Best Example for Blindsight?
An example of Blindsight would be if an object was moved to the left and a person who was looking at the object, but cortically blind, somehow knew it was moved to the left, even though they could not see it.
14. Is Blindsight Controversial?
Blindsight is a controversial issue, with some detractors suggesting that results could be artefactual due to light scattering from targets into unimpaired parts of the field.
15. Can Blindsight Detect Scrying?
No, Blindsight cannot detect Scrying sensors because they are intangible and cannot interact with the senses of a creature with Blindsight.