Deafness and Blindness

A deafened creature can react only to what it can see or feel, is surprised on 1-3 on 1d6, and suffers a -1 penalty to its Initiative rolls. A blinded creature is surprised on 1-4 on 1d6, suffers a -4 penalty to its attack rolls, a -4 penalty to its Armor Class, and a -2 penalty to its Initiative rolls. These effects are modified when dealing with monsters having unusual sensory abilities; for example, bats may be affected by deafness as if blinded instead. These penalties are for characters or creatures recently handicapped. Those who are normally blind or deaf may have reduced penalties at the GM's option. Note that the penalty for attacking an invisible opponent is the same as the penalty for attacking blind, that is, -4 on the attack roll. Do not apply this twice... a blind character attacking an invisible opponent is no worse off than if they were attacking a visible one.