As I go through dungeons in Skyrim I constantly realise that I do not need to cast any light emitting spells or light torches or do anything like that because there is always some wierd glowing mushroom or a crack in the cave or some torches that never seem to need relit lighting the area for me. It got me thinking, do you think it is a tad unrealistic that everywhere seems to have some sort of lighting.
Why would Falmer have torches? They are blind.
To cut it short I think there should be underground areas (or even interiors of some buildings) where it is completely dark and you have to use a torch or soemhting like that. I would add a degree of realism to the game as well as make the player more suspectible to ambushes 'n' stuff. There's not many things that get your heart racing than being in a dark tunnel when something like a frostbite spider jumps up on you.
So what are your thoughts. Do you think that there should be some areas of darkness or would it ruin the game?

Dark stuff is a cool concept, but whenever I've seen it implemented through mods in Morrowind and/or Skyrim to make everything darker I just find it to be a hassle. I can't see anything so I'm squinting at the screen really hard, and then if I carry a touch I lose the ability to carry a shield/block/dual wield/use a bow/use a second hand for magic. So I think there would need to be some better implementation...like maybe a follower can carry a torch for you. I don't know... I guess I'd rather just leave the lighting as it is.

would be good for me as the sneaky type always hiding in the dark spots and shooting my enemies down from far away, it would also allow khajiit to use their power night eye where they could see in the dark, that'd be pretty cool

Yeah because when I played Kahjit in Oblivion I found the night eye virtually useless.

If it were implemented right it could be a good feature. And for Ravenius, the spell candlelight will fix all your problems.

sven would be a good canidate for torch holder, sinc ehe is the one bard, and bards are useless, look at the bard's college, like 5 quests in all are there, i stamped it a fail and all bards a fail... and fails HOLD TORCHES

While I do use candlelight in the really dark areas, I hate that I have to unequip my shield to cast it. While some people want darker dungeons, I don't mind the brighter ones, and will sometimes just turn the brightness up on my tv as to not have to bother with torches and spells.

That's true but what if I'm playing (or roleplaying) as a warrior or thief archetype who can't use such magic then I'm kind of screwed.

You can still block with a torch although I don't know how effective it is. It would be cool if you could drop torches while they are still lit while you line up a shot with your bow.

i like carrying a torch, makes me feel like an npc...

Actually, pressing the right mouse button while holding a torch makes you smack someone with said torch, and set them on fire. I'm 90% sure there's no way to block with a torch out.

Smacking someone with a torch and setting them on fire is a bad thing? And no, You block with a torch which makes the attacker burn.

To hard with only 1 weapon and Torch to fight huh? Dungeon crawling shouldn't be a wayof spending time coz I'm bored but a type of adventure. And adventures if I recall right, are not similar to walking in a park.

This is the problem. The devs decided to make Dungeons and Caves bright coz then ppl would brag, I don't have torches, why I need to use spells, it's to dark, why the dead don't use more candles...

Now we have useless torches and spell...

Um...I guess? I've never really tried using a torch and sword combo at higher levels because any mod that I had which accidentally made dungeons darker I disabled. The point isn't difficulty, it's that it's silly I can't 'parry' with my sword while carrying a torch. So, using said torch is currently not very fluid, and doesn't feel natural. It would be better if I could have a shield strapped to my arm and still carry my torch, or at least block stuff with my sword. As now it would be silly trying to wrestle with the overpowered Falmer without the ability to block.

And what if I'm a warrior who uses 2h weapons? I guess I'm just screwed then if I don't have the ability/desire for my character to use magic.

First of all You can give the torch to your companion and he can lighten up the room. Mine do that (although I'm not sure if it's because of a mod I'm using or not). And if You don't like to have a follower with You there's always an option to switch to a one handed weapon. I can't think of a warrior who can't fight with both 2 or 1h weapons. He may not be an expert in both but still he can definitly take care of himself.

You made me actually laugh You know that? I imagined an adventurer, a well know Hero among the ppl who is specialized in 2h weapons. A King/Lord asks him to venture to a long forgotten Tomb with lots of treasures to recover an ancient Artifact which will save the Kingdom from the incoming horrible fate and give even greater glory to the one who claims it. You know what he repiled?

No way, it's to dark I would have to take a lighter 1h sword and a torch. To hard for me. Maybe You have some quests involving my Legendary Greatsword named Betty, more daylight... and mead?

It's not a mod. It happens on consle too.

i agree that there should be some interiors that are completely dark for a limited time.

however, when i adjust my tv and game properly i can get it to where i can't see a thing outside of a light source radius and must use a torch.

Why are you being so obnoxious?

I'm making a point that the gameplay limitations make using a torch difficult to utilize effectively, which should not happen. This is the reason I don't want darkened spaces, but if they fix the gameplay limitation I'd be open to it.

Followers will carry torches however my sneak character never takes a follower. Not to mention having a torch or a big ball of light following my sneak character would totally destroy any hope of staying stealthy. So what could a sneaky character do in a completely dark environment. I'm sure those are the things the developers had to deal with when they finally decided to just let there be enough light to at least see where you're going. On my monitor at least if I have the brightness set right there are still fairly dark areas in certain caves. I have to pull out a torch to see the things that are lying around in places to know if there's any loot I want. So it's not totally lit. But I do agree that realistically it makes no sense that the Falmer areas would be lit. Unfortunately having those areas totally dark brings a whole set of new problems to the table.

If You felt offeneded I'm sorry. However I don't belive that chosing the easiest way is the right decision. The dungeons are to dark so let's lighten them up. No that's just bad and lazy. No imagination.

Doesn't change the fact that I did laugh .

@Garrison64

Those things could be easily fixed with low level minor enchanted night eye vision rings and such.

I agree and disagree with you. True, the game mechanics have something to be desired like not being able to block/parry with a 1h weapon without using your other hand. Same goes with 2h and spells or 1h/Shield and spells. And it would be nice, in a way, if you could strap a shield to your arm and still carry a torch. But I don't know if that is practical, maybe for smaller shields/bucklers. Now, if you are a 2h warrior, even with fixed mechanics, how would you carry a torch and still use the 2h weapon? Strap the torch to your arm? Same for a sneaky character who wants to stay hidden yet wants to see. They have night-eye for that, but if you don't want to have to use magic it is an issue. So the devs made brighter rooms/dungeons so all playstyles (or as many as possible) work.

But I would like darker dungeons and have to deal with the consequences. I have my brightness settings all the way down in the options menu and like it.

I could go for that although I'm not a huge fan of the typical monochromatic night vision used in most games. Occasionally someone get's it right in a way that doesn't hurt to look at for extended periods.

Haha, you clearly haven't played Half-Life: Opposing Force. Let's just say it gives you greater appreciation of monochromatic night vision
Isn't that half the point, though? I mean, what's the point in making a place dark if there are no disadvantages to lighting it up again?

and, what would be those gameplay utilizations? torches as EFFECTIVE and longlasting shields and offensive weapons? i don't think so.

Followers can carry torches, they only last for 4 minutes though.

meh get the shout that lets you see people, aura whisper i think, u can't be heard doing it and if there's no enemies take out a torch, if there are, than go after them, im a sneak character, i dont even torches i just use aura whisper when im not sure