Middle-Earth: Elf/Dwarf vision

[Tsotha-lanti]

In the Lord of the Rings RPG (a diamond in the rough, to be sure), elves and dwarves don't see in the dark. There's a Night-Eyed trait (the first level of which negates dimness penalties, and the second full darkness penalties), but they don't get it for free. I started wondering why, because in MERP and RM, elves see in starlight and dwarves in darkness, and this has also been the style of D&D.

So I go to look up the bit I thought referenced dwarven darkvision - when the Company enter Moria, and Gandalf has Gimli walk with him at the front. Nope, there's no reference to Gimli seeing any better than everybody else - Gandalf just consults him on his opinion on which direction to take. Huh, odd.

Dear Tolkien fanatics in the Playground, are there any bits in The Hobbit, Silmarillion, or LotR that actually support the ideas that dwarves can see in the dark and elves in dim light?

[kamikasei]

Elves lived on Middle Earth in the First Age before the Sun or Moon were made, with the stars the only natural source of light. I'd say it's fair to say they have excellent low-light vision just as they have generally superior senses. I know of nothing to indicate that they can see in pitch darkness, though.

Dwarves may be able to see better in low light than humans but I'm sure they can't see in darkness, either.

Both races use lamps and artificial lights at night and underground, so even if they don't strictly need abundant light they like to have it.

[Matthew]

As far as I know, there is no evidence for dwarves or elves being able to see in the dark in Middle Earth. Possibly the greatest condemnation comes in the Hobbit when the dwarves are floundering around in the goblin mines. The goblins are said there to have "night eyes", but the dwarves enjoy no such ability. Even so, both dwarves and goblins employ torches to be better able to see, the goblins only extinguishing theirs when they realise the light is giving away their position and (presumably) they only need to follow the light of the dwarves.

In OD&D, if I recall correctly, infravision was so "monstercentric" that monsters enlisted as hirelings or henchment lost the ability to use infravision.

[Premier]

In addition to the above, the superiority of elven sight is usually described as being sharper, able to see details from much farther away. I don't specifically recall any references to being able to see in darkness better, though.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Thanks! Good catch on The Hobbit, Matthew; although I think a lot of the details may not hold up, if there's no indication that dwarves do see in the dark, I'll be going with that. And elves in starlight... well, it's a reasonable inference, but without a solid source, I think I'll let things sit as they are, nightvision-wise.

[Efil]

IIRC, Legolas had trouble aiming in the darkness at the battle of Hornburg. I may be wrong, though.