Senses
As in real life, a sense allows a creature to perceive certain aspects of the world. Senses fall into two categories: base senses and special senses.
Base Senses
A creature has all of the following base senses unless otherwise indicated: sight, hearing, smell, and touch. The DM determines what can be perceived by each of these senses. Also see the rules on light and obscured areas for determining if something can be seen.
Special Senses
Special senses offer explicit benefits within a specified range. The range is usually given in parentheses after a sense's listing. For example, a goblin with darkvision (60 ft.) can see better in darkness out to a range of 60 feet.
Most special senses require a base sense to function. For example, the aforementioned goblin can't benefit from its darkvision while blinded, since darkvision is based on sight.
| Special Sense ▼ | Base Sense |
|---|---|
| Blindsight | Varies |
| Darkvision | Sight |
| Mindsense | — |
| Supersmell | Smell |
| Tremorsense | Touch |
| Truesight | Sight |
Using Another Creature's Senses
Some effects allow you to use one or more base senses of another creature, often replacing your own base senses of the same kind. For example, the find familiar spell lets you use your familiar's senses of sight and hearing instead of your own, allowing you to see and hear from its point of view but effectively rendering you blind and deaf to your own point of view. When you use a base sense of another creature, you also benefit from any applicable special senses possessed by that creature; for example, if your familiar has darkvision, you benefit from it while looking through its eyes. You can't use your own special sense through the base sense of another creature, and you can't use another creature's special sense through your own base sense. You always use your own Perception skill, however.
If an effect removes one of your base senses, you aren't prevented from using that base sense of another creature. For example, if you're blinded, you can still see through your familiar's eyes.
Perceiving something through another creature's sense counts as perceiving it through your own sense for the purpose of effects that require you to perceive something. For example, if you are blinded but are seeing through your familiar's eyes, you can cast hold person on a humanoid that your familiar can see, provided the target is still within 60 feet (the spell's range) of you.
Blindsight
Blindsight
Base sense: varies
If you have blindsight, you can sense physical shapes within a specified range, allowing you to effectively see creatures and objects within that range. Blindsight doesn't go around cover, nor can it detect color or intangible things. Thus, blindsight enables you to effectively see invisible things, but you can't use it to detect an illusory object created by a spell such as minor illusion.
The base sense of blindsight varies. A common base sense is hearing, in which case blindsight can often be interpreted as echolocation. Some creatures have no base sense for their blindsight; this represents a fundamentally distinct sense, such as a shark's electroreception. When a base sense is present, it is usually given in parentheses after this sense's listing.
Darkvision
Darkvision
Base sense: sight
Within a specified range, a creature with darkvision can see in dim light as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. The creature can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Light
Light
There are three categories of illumination: bright light, dim light, and darkness.
A source of light typically emits bright light in a small radius and dim light in a larger radius; these distances are given in parentheses. For example, a fire that sheds light (20/40 ft.) produces bright light within 20 feet and dim light for another 20 feet beyond that.
Bright Light
Bright light lets most creatures see normally. Even gloomy days provide bright light, as do torches, lanterns, fires, and other sources of illumination within a specific radius.
Dim Light
Dim light, also called shadows, creates a lightly obscured area. An area of dim light is usually a boundary between a source of bright light, such as a torch, and surrounding darkness. The soft light of twilight and dawn also counts as dim light. A particularly brilliant full moon might bathe the land in dim light.
Darkness
Darkness creates a heavily obscured area. Characters face darkness outdoors at night (even most moonlit nights), within the confines of an unlit dungeon or a subterranean vault, or in an area of magical darkness.
Obscured
Obscured
When vision in an area is hindered by smoke, darkness, or a similar phenomenon, the area is obscured. There are two degrees of obscurity.
Lightly Obscured
In a lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog, or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on sight.
Heavily Obscured
A heavily obscured area, such as darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage, blocks vision entirely. Nothing in that area can be seen.
Mindsense
Mindsense
Base sense: none
If you have mindsense, you know the location of thinking creatures within a specified range. A creature can be detected in this way if it knows at least one language, has an Intelligence score of at least -3, or is maintaining concentration. You can also sense whether each detected creature is maintaining concentration. Mindsense doesn't count as a form of sight, however.
Mindsense can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by a thin sheet of lead, 1 inch of any other metal, 1 foot of stone, or 3 feet of wood.
Supersmell
Supersmell
Base sense: smell
A creature with supersmell automatically detects the presence—but not the location—of creatures within a specified range. Supersmell goes around cover but can't penetrate barriers, including going from air to water or vice versa. Additionally, having supersmell of any range grants a creature advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell.
Tremorsense
Tremorsense
Base sense: touch
A creature with tremorsense can pinpoint the location of moving creatures and moving objects within a specific range, provided that the creature with tremorsense and anything it's detecting are both in contact with the same surface (such as the ground, a wall, or a ceiling) or the same liquid.
Tremorsense can't detect creatures or objects in the air, and it doesn't count as a form of sight.
Truesight
Truesight
Base sense: sight
A creature with truesight has enhanced vision within a specified range. Within that range, the creature's vision pierces through the following:
- The creature can see in normal and magical darkness.
- The creature can see invisible creatures and objects.
- The creature notices visual illusions and automatically succeeds on saving throws against them.
- The creature discerns the true form of any creature or object it sees that has been transformed by magic.
- The creature can see into the Ethereal Plane.