Quote from: Simlasa;793303Someplace online I read a guy's experiments with making torches. The impromptu ones like people make in movies didn't burn long at all. He researched several types and recorded the times... he did come up with some that needed particular materials and careful assembly that would burn for a couple hours... maybe.
Not that anyone uses torches in our games these days anyway. Our GM used to work as a safety adviser for some of the mines up North... so he's more than happy to let us in on the dangers of running around with open flames in underground passages... or out in the forest... or when standing in a field... or looking around an old house.

Our characters pretty much stick to lanterns now.

We used real torches in larps back in the day.

The following things can be said to be true.

i) Take a burning stick from a fire to use as a torch. the flame will extinguish and the stick will smolder with a faint red glow and smoke a lot.
ii) Wrap a rag round a stick and light it and it will burn with loads of choking thick smoke for about a minute then the torch will go out, the cave will be filled with smoke your eyes will be watering and you won't be able to do jack shit for 10 minutes afterwards.
iii) take a short length of rope (hemp) coat with something flammable like barbecue gel. Neatly wrap round the end of a suitable It will burn with a choking smoke for about 30 minutes if you get the mix right.

I really can't stress the smoke enough. In a low ceiling cave or man-made corridor type area you basically fill the place with smoke really fast.
We quickly switched to candles and "magic" light sources.  
A candle carried in the shield hand with a think glove is pretty good actually.
A proper lantern is best obviously or a wizard with cast eveready hand torch

I actually really like the simplicity and clarity of 5e D&D light rules. That said, it is in comparison to what came before from WotC and the past 15 years. The TSR distance charts are easier still and also leaves the GM to assume smoke — or not — according to taste.

I remember enjoying the GMs who allowed us to assume more natural consequences, like torches being smokey, candles being more useful for indoor light (like tomb raiding), and bonfires being useful in numerous ways. Just my style preference. However, I understand that isn't as compatible to certain desired moods.

Quote from: jibbajibba;794063I really can't stress the smoke enough. In a low ceiling cave or man-made corridor type area you basically fill the place with smoke really fast.
We quickly switched to candles and "magic" light sources.  
A candle carried in the shield hand with a think glove is pretty good actually.
A proper lantern is best obviously or a wizard with cast eveready hand torch

The D&D rules of practically any edition have a weird bias agaiinst candles. Candles in real life can burn much longer than a torch and should illuminate at least as well. But I guess someone thought bigger should be better.

I assume these days that any lanterns the party has are candle lanterns unless the players specifically look for an oil lantern. The oil listed on equipment lists is specifically meant for flaming oil attacks, not lanterns, and lburns quickly and easily.

Quote from: talysman;793822Set aside the dice for each active light source, as you describe. However, don't roll these every turn; just roll these after the start of combat or in the middle of any important action, like crossing a precarious ledge, to see if torches go out at the wrong time. After the expedition, figure out how many hours were spent in the dungeon and deduct the appropriate number of torches, candles, or oil flasks, plus one extra for every failed lighting roll.

If you didn't start the expedition with plenty of extra torches, start rolling every turn when you theoretically should have used your last torch. The last few turns become a race to get out of the dungeon before you are plunged in darkness.

Yes, that's a nice alternative. I do like the regular rolling, though, for a few reasons:

1) Its own sake: rolling dice is fun! d24!
2) Turn-boundary signaling: here comes a new turn dudes, declare actions!
3) Concealing other rolls: add in a different-color random encounter die, etc.
4) Affective functions: handfuls of dice make players nervous. Counterpoint: doing this regularly inures players. Countercounterpoint: then they become complacent.
5) Simulation: oil and torches are of uneven quality. A couple of early vanishing pints due to lucky 1s, and a steadily dwindling torch count, can put players on edge.

Regarding (3), and the d24/d6 mixture generally, if you have things happen on 1s then the entire handful can be treated as an easily read dice pool, even when die size varies.