RE: [BNW] A Sneak with Goggles

[Scott Raby <sraby@asymtek.com>]

>It's fairly bright outside at night where I live (lots of light 
>pollution and city glow), to the point where normal folks don't have 
>major problems getting around.  Does the Darkvision help Mr. SNeaky, 
>or should he rely on normal abilities?

>It's very rarely purely dark, unless you go in a cave or windowless room.

>Jennifer

It gets plenty dark enough away from a city as well. (like in the middle of
nowhere Montana and in 29 Palms.) When I was in Somalia a Marine driving a
Hummer, crashed into our road block and had to go to the hospital. (He was
driving about 45 with the "Black-out drive lights on" It's like a flashlight
with a half hood mounted on all US military vehicles. Had he been wearing
NVG's (or had "night-vision") he would have seen the 5-ton truck, 26-ton
AAV, and M-1 sitting in the road (he hit the 5-ton).

I think sunglasses would work for normal light conditions, but would not
allow them vs. say a flash-bang device, like a stun grenade, or a strobe
light, WP, stuff like that. Also the thing with NVG's and bright light, is
that you don't become "blind" it's that it amplifies the light so you can
see and if it's bright enough to see with out it, then it amplifies that and
all you see is a large bright light and nothing else, you can take it off
and see fine. (of course NVG's can have the optics burned out if it's too
bright, or looking at something bright for a long time). New newest models
used by Special Forces and such are much better at compensating for bright
lights, but it's still slow enough for you to run past someone before he
regains sight, etc... something like 3-5 seconds, while the old ones (which
are the more commonly used ones, as seen in Silence of the Lambs) could take
10 or so seconds to clear up as they did not compensate very much.