This question came up in my #ShadowDark con game:
Can you see INTO the circle of torchlight from OUTSIDE the circle of light?
Thinking about this in the real world: You're walking down the street in the dark. You see a street light. There's a person walking their dog and patiently waiting for them to finish their business.
You can easily see them, but they can't see you. #RPGRules
In #ShadowDark though, the rules specifically say:
"Note that any area outside of a light source's illumination is in total darkness." - Vision, p. 84
That's how I rolled at the con, but I think this approach makes it harder to be a rogue lurking at the edge of the shadows.
Is it dangerous for the rogue to hang back in the shadows? Definitely. But could they sneak from one pool of light (the PCs) to another (belonging to rival adventurers) so they could listen/watch/backstab?
I think so.
On a related note, there's this post from Physics World:
"How far away can you see light from a candle?"
https://physicsworld.com/a/how-far-away-can-you-see-light-from-a-candle/