Starting in D&D 3e, they went to Darkvision, b/c Infravision was more troublesome in game apparently.
I'm struggling a little to just do Darkvision. The more I remember from the Drizzt books, the more I read on some of the source books from 1993, etc. ... the more the infravision is cool. But it's hard to run as a DM/fair game surely. So let's list some of this out.
Book, Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark - 1993. Reading it now.
This site lists some things about Infravision that make me think: https://ladyinferus.tripod.com/drow/mysite3/darkvision.htm
- Inviz spells would be a problem, if they could see your hot footprints. But the site says Drow's inviz spell works perfectly to hide that, too, while upper world spells do not.
- Water and mirrors wouldn't reflect normal light. Just show a temperature.
- Inks and writing wouldn't work without extra light.
- I do recall them using faint light for this sort of thing in the Drizzt books, right?
- "Furthermore a Drow can identify how long ago an object has been held or an area has been passed through based on its 'visual' temperature."
- Seems like trouble... you could never escape easily.
- Hiding: The usual ability to hide, assumes that you can hide in shadows, or out of site. The Drow have mastered a special form of hiding only possible in a lightless world. They can pick a spot in a cave wall that more closely matches the temperature of their clothing and blend in. Anyone else attempting to hide from a Drow would be spotted instantly even in the darkest corners.
- Ranged Weapons: There is little purpose in carrying a long ranged weapon in the underdark, first of all because most caverns wind long before maximum range, and second because drow darkvision only extends to 120 feet. Therefore the standard hand crossbow is the ranged weapon of choice.
Well that site is likely going away any second, so let me just copy paste all the text. Sorry for the duplicates.
The Underdark is a lightless place, yet Drow have developed eyes that can see down here. They use the infra-red spectrum to pick out differences in heat. Unlike Low-Light Vision however, they can see almost anything in great detail, since their eyes are so sensitive to even minor differences in temperature. This great adaptation also puts the Drow at a disadvantage if they ever see real light, the drow will be blinded while their eyes slowly adjust - remembering the genes of their Elven forefathers.
A Drow can see shades of red and white through darkvision (infravision). The brighter the red, the hotter the source, white results from very hot sources or real light that's not quite bright enough to make the drow shift into the regular spectrum. Here is an illustration of what the Drow actually sees with her eyes:
Because of the absence of light, several things are done differently by Drow than would be done by surface dwellers. First of all the heat sense allows a Drow to easily identify the state or arousal of another drow, as well as states of emotion. Furthermore a Drow can identify how long ago an object has been held or an area has been passed through based on its 'visual' temperature.
Mirrors: There are extremely rare in the Underdark. Since mirrors relly on reflected light to work, such a device would be quite useless. Only in the presence of real light would the mirror show a reflection. Similarly, liquids don't show reflections, but are usually cooler than their surroundings.
Inks and writing: A few minutes after a Drow writes a letter, the parchment and the ink become of a homogenous temperature and look blank. Wizards and Priestesses often use real light in the form of candles expressly for the purpose of reading scrolls or spell books. Special fluorescent inks are also available, however these are expensive and never last forever.
Faerie fire; dancing lights: Faerie fire and dancing lights is one of the drow's innate abilities, the light produced by these sources is too faint to even read by however and in no way disrupts darkvision.
Darkness: The special ability of all Drow is to create a globe of darkness, like with the wizard spell, even darkvision doesn't allow sight within the globe.
Hiding: The usual ability to hide, assumes that you can hide in shadows, or out of site. The Drow have mastered a special form of hiding only possible in a lightless world. They can pick a spot in a cave wall that more closely matches the temperature of their clothing and blend in. Anyone else attempting to hide from a Drow would be spotted instantly even in the darkest corners.
Ranged Weapons: There is little purpose in carrying a long ranged weapon in the underdark, first of all because most caverns wind long before maximum range, and second because drow darkvision only extends to 120 feet. Therefore the standard hand crossbow is the ranged weapon of choice.
Invisibility: Invisibility cast by a Drow functions perfectly, masking even heat emanations. Invisibility cast by a surface dweller makes the caster invisible to a drow, but you can still see the warmer spots where the caster is standing on the ground.
Bright Light: Bright light hurts the Drow's eyes and blinds them temporarily. It is often used as a weapon.
DROW DOs and DONTs
Do.
Pay attention. The smallest detail can save your life (or ruin it).
Think only of yourself. No one else will.
Work together. When an enterprise benefits both parties - why not?
Speak when spoken to. Volunteering information is considered suspicious.
Control your emotions.
Assume the worst.
Make yourself appear stronger than you really are.
Gain power.
Don't
Refuse a Priestess.
Kill a Spider.
Talk back to the Matron.
Make TOO many enemies.
Try to make friends. The Drow don't even have a word for 'friend.'
Assume someone is your friend.
Tell them all you know.
Speak out against Lolth.
Attempt to invoke pity. You will not get any.
Be satisfied with what you have.
Trust anyone.
Appear weak.
Forget
Fail
