D&D 5E Lightly Obscured

[samursus]

Apologies if this has already been addressed, but I cannot find out what the effects are of lightly obscured anywhere in the playtest packet. It is mentioned enough that I assume it has some in-game mechanics associated with it.

Anyone find anything?

 

[babomb]

As far as I can tell, just this:

Some monsters and characters have special abilities that allow them to try to hide even in areas that are lightly obscured.

For example:

Wood Elf Grace: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

 

[Unwise]

I presume that for people without nightvision, Dim Light counts as Lightly Obscured. I hope 5th edition does not fall into the trap of special abilities saying things like "you can hide in dim light" as it always causes confusion when dealing with night vision. Did they mean you are just hidden from people who can't see properly in the dim light, or is it a magical effect where you become one with the darkness, regardless of whether the observer has darkvision.

This is as good a place as any to bring up another concern with the playtest. Feats like Master Sneak that let you treat any low roll as 9, seem really overpowered when combined with disadvantage, basically negating it completely. Take for instace the suggested "Stealth Specialist", they get that ability, then another that lets them hide when moving, but always at disadvantage. The former ability really just strips away any of the disadvanatage from the later. I wonder if that was intended.

This is even more pervasive when combined with the rogues' skill mastery manauver. If effect, they can be at disadvantage and expect to get an average roll of 14 or so. I am really hoping I misread something.