Pathfinder Blindness, and how to Compensate for it

[Draco_Lord]

So I am DMing a game, and recently my players decided to create some backup characters, in case they happen to die. One of them wanted to create a character who is blind. She didn't ask for anything for it, so much as just a roleplaying thing. Personally, I'm all for that, but as a Summoner they will have a bit of trouble casting spells.

One way to counter this lies in the fact that she can share senses with her Edilon. But is that enough? I don't want her to be completely incapacitated if she finds herself lost, or away from the group without her beastie.

Should I give her blindsight at a limited range? Maybe 10 feet or so? Or should I just let her do this?

[Red Fel]

Should I give her blindsight at a limited range? Maybe 10 feet or so? Or should I just let her do this?

My inclination is to say no, don't give her stuff, just let her do it.

Look, she wants to play a character with a unique and challenging handicap, and that's awesome. From an RP perspective, I respect it a lot. Don't diminish her decision by saying "Hey, it's great that you're playing this concept, now let's render it meaningless." If she wants to endure the challenges that blindness entails, let her, and let her pursue any remedies or work-arounds she chooses. Don't just throw compensation at her.

Think about it this way. If I wanted to play a PC who had no arms, would you want to give me free Mage Hand or Telekinesis or similar? I chose the concept knowing that it meant that my PC couldn't hold objects (unless he used mouth, feet, or tail) or perform somatic components. Don't diminish my decision by throwing a work-around at me; if I want one, I'll pursue it myself. If you're convinced that the concept would be utterly crippling, disallow it to begin with; don't say, "Yes, you can play it, but we have to completely neutralize the handicap."

[Malimar]

Well, as per the Blinded condition (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/conditions#TOC-Blinded):
The creature cannot see. It takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class, loses its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), and takes a –4 penalty on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks and on opposed Perception skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) against the blinded character. Blind creatures must make a DC 10 Acrobatics skill check to move faster than half speed. Creatures that fail this check fall prone. Characters who remain blinded for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them. If I were you, I'd probably allow her to move at full speed without the Acrobatics check, lose the -4 to Strength and Dexterity checks, and maybe lose the -2 to AC, while keeping the loss of dex bonus to AC and 50% miss chance just offer her the Blind-Fight (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/blind-fight-combat) feat for free, that's simpler. This is effectively a Flaw-Feat tradeoff, except permanent Blinded is worse than any Flaw.

[Draco_Lord]

I think Blind Fight is actually what I am looking for. She is naturally blind, and that allows her to overcome some of the more crippling situations, such as the 50% miss chance, acrobatics check, without actually giving her a loop hole out of being blind.

Thank you very much!

[CGNefarious]

I think a bonus to non-sight oriented perception checks would be warranted. She's going to already be getting far less out of the skill since she can't see at all, and it makes sense that she would have become more accustomed to sound and tactile based perception.

[Honest Tiefling]

My inclination is to say no, don't give her stuff, just let her do it.

Look, she wants to play a character with a unique and challenging handicap, and that's awesome. From an RP perspective, I respect it a lot. Don't diminish her decision by saying "Hey, it's great that you're playing this concept, now let's render it meaningless." If she wants to endure the challenges that blindness entails, let her, and let her pursue any remedies or work-arounds she chooses. Don't just throw compensation at her.

I agree wholeheartedly with this, with two caveats: The first being that she understands the limitations in game. I've seen people try to play a blind archer before WITHOUT Blindsight and thought it would make sense somehow. Not saying your player is that uh...Unique, but make sure you two are on the same page on how it affects the game.

Secondly, I get the feeling you are worried she'll get bored or frustrated later on. Which is fine, so if you think that is happening THEN compensate. Don't do it right out the gate. If she is away from her beastie, then give her a companion NPC (Don't summoners primarily have summoning and buff spells? This will give her summons a flank buddy and someone to buff) temporarily that she needs to coordinate/convince/trust/etc. They could give the party a reward or help them out if she succeeds. If she's overall bored and maybe even regretting the blindness, offer a RP quest to go fix it or mitigate it. That way, it'll feel like an achievement not a freebie.

[Troacctid]

I'd encourage the player to take the Synthesist archetype. Then she can easily pick up blindsense and eventually blindsight for herself, as evolutions. They're pricey, but for a blind character, they would be a godsend.


Think about it this way. If I wanted to play a PC who had no arms, would you want to give me free Mage Hand or Telekinesis or similar?

Well, I'd gladly sell you a hand of the mage for 900 gp, but I suppose that's beside the point. :smallwink:

[Flickerdart]

The problem with blindness is that you're going to have to ask her to ignore 90% of your descriptions of things. Even if you try to include more sounds and smells and stuff, we're a naturally sight-oriented species, it'll be hard to deliver descriptions that are just as rich as what the other players are getting. I would strongly encourage you to make Scent and Tremorsense/Touchsight more readily available to her character, so you could draw from smell and touch as well.