What does "when worn" mean?

[FireHorse]

The text for Darkness says:

"Extinguishes all artificial lights (including Light spells) within its range."
and
"Torches, lights, etc., come back to life when the spell ends."

"Extinguish" and "come back to life" both seem to imply that it is indeed suppressing fire (not ending it, but temporarily suspending it), rather than merely preventing the transmission of light. The phrasing does invite that argument.

However, since the spell is named "Darkness", one might also argue (and I certainly would, if I were the GM having this argument with a player) that the clear intention of the spell was to target light, not combustion — and that this is just another example of unclear text that needs to be rewritten and clarified in future editions.

On the side, though… infrared light is still "light", and should be affected by Darkness (as long as it's artificial infrared light). And I would define "light" as "any part of the EM spectrum that is perceived by a lifeform through organs that a reasonable person would call Eyes" — which includes UV light, for everybody who can see that, too.

Correction: artificial UV light.

[JimmyPlenty]

Originally Posted by FireHorse

The text for Darkness says:

"Extinguishes all artificial lights (including Light spells) within its range."
and
"Torches, lights, etc., come back to life when the spell ends."

"Extinguish" and "come back to life" both seem to imply that it is indeed suppressing fire (not ending it, but temporarily suspending it), rather than merely preventing the transmission of light. The phrasing does invite that argument.

However, since the spell is named "Darkness", one might also argue (and I certainly would, if I were the GM having this argument with a player) that the clear intention of the spell was to target light, not combustion — and that this is just another example of unclear text that needs to be rewritten and clarified in future editions.

On the side, though… infrared light is still "light", and should be affected by Darkness (as long as it's artificial infrared light). And I would define "light" as "any part of the EM spectrum that is perceived by a lifeform through organs that a reasonable person would call Eyes" — which includes UV light, for everybody who can see that, too.

Correction: artificial UV light.

How about this rebuttal for infravision...

Since magic is psychic in nature on Cidri, it could well be that it has nothing to do with actual vision (regular, infrared, or otherwise), but just that the mind cannot see it. That evades all the science of the spell.

[FireHorse]

Originally Posted by JimmyPlenty

…it could well be that it has nothing to do with actual vision (regular, infrared, or otherwise), but just that the mind cannot see it. …

That works for me, because it has the same end result — either way, the essence of it is that the light can't be seen.

The pseudo-scientific "prevents the artificial generation of light within the AOE" sort of explanation is simpler though, because your alternative — "prevents the visual processing of artificial light from within the AOE by all observers, no matter the range" — implies a vastly larger actual AOE.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by FireHorse

The text for Darkness says:

"Extinguishes all artificial lights (including Light spells) within its range."
and
"Torches, lights, etc., come back to life when the spell ends."

Note that while it specifically mentions the Light spell, it does not mention the Fire spell. Go with the literal meaning: extinguish light not flame.

However, since the spell is named "Darkness", one might also argue (and I certainly would, if I were the GM having this argument with a player) that the clear intention of the spell was to target light, not combustion — and that this is just another example of unclear text that needs to be rewritten and clarified in future editions.

Exactly. This eliminates the extra effect of suppressing fire.