Creature type and vision.

[Oryan77]

If a creature type gives darkvision (Outsider, Monstrous Humanoid, etc), and the monster entry in a book doesn't list darkvision as a quality when it is one of those creature types, are we to assume it does have darkvision? It's confusing when sometimes an entry lists it under qualities, but for other creatures it doesn't specify.

[Tzardok]

The usual assumption of type traits is that the creature has them unless noted otherwise. Darkvision and low-light vision are for whatever reason (propably because they have to do with wether the creature can notice the party and start the fight at all) called out seperately, so if a creature doesn't list them, I'd assume that it lacks them.

Do you have a specific example maybe?

[Oryan77]

Do you have a specific example maybe?

I was just thinking about this after looking at the Aarakocra from Monsters of Faerun. It's a Monstrous Humanoid, but doesn't list Darkvision. The Chosen One from the same book is also a Monstrous Humanoid that also does not list Darkvision. If you look at the web enhancement though, it updates the Aarakocra to 3.5e, but doesn't mention Darkvision, but the update to the Chosen One does list Darkvision.

So I guess it's safe to say that the Aarakocra does not have Darkvision even though it's a Monstrous Humanoid. It just gets confusing though when, as you said, "The usual assumption of type traits is that the creature has them unless noted otherwise."

At face value, I would assume the Aarakocra has Darkvision since it's a Monstrous Humanoid. The only way I determined that it doesn't is by comparing other creature updates in the web enhancement and noticing it spelled out for them, but not for the Aarakocra. Very confusing.

[ShurikVch]

Note: "see the Type" was blanket assumption in the Monsters of Faerûn: most of creatures who should have Darkvision from their respective Types don't listed it unless its range differed from 60'

Two "exceptions" were Draegloth and Hairy Spider: they has listed Darkvision 60' - but should have it anyway because of their Types (Funny: "ordinary" Drow have Darkvision 120' - did Half-Fiendish ancestry impaired it? Also, the "Monster Update" WE says "Add darkvision 60 ft." to Draegloth - despite it being already there. If they tried to add Darkvision which was already present - how can we be sure they don't forgot to add it where it, actually, should be added?..)

[Beni-Kujaku]

There are whole books where darkvision isn't mentioned and you'd be surprised how many constructs are not called out as having DV and LLV. They still have it. It's not "noted otherwise"‚ so they have it.