Does darkvision see shadows?

[Elethiomel]

This is essentially the same issue as the Shadowdancer's HiPS, as Frank pointed out. There's been some previous threads regarding shadowdancers and darkvision. It's likely that those will contain all the arguments you'll see here.

 

[Jhulae]

Look at it this way. With Darkvision you can see in normal darkness as if there were light present except the fact you cannot discern color. It is just like having True Colorblindness. Your eyes do not recognize color, but you do see shades of darkness and shadows.

You can see shades of grey (as if watching a Black and White TV show) but you most definitely do not see shadows.

In fact, a long while back I asked one of the 3.0 designers about DV and he pointed out that the 'guy with the cloak's hood pulled over his face to conceal it in shadows would have his face fully visible to Darkvision.

 

[moritheil]

This is essentially the same issue as the Shadowdancer's HiPS, as Frank pointed out. There's been some previous threads regarding shadowdancers and darkvision. It's likely that those will contain all the arguments you'll see here.

Yes, in fact this quote sounds eerily like what I suggested the designers were thinking:

If there's nothing in the room to cast a shadow, there's nothing to observe the shadow mastiff. The question is moot.

It's wrong, of course: devils, for one, can see in darkness of any kind. Clairvoyance or other divinations can enable one to see into a space without being there. There is still an issue of what is or is not observable.