| 2 people marked this as FAQ candidate. |
Read the rules, but seems a bit... extreme.
Any character can hold her breath for a number of rounds equal to twice her Constitution score. If a character takes a standard or full-round action, the remaining duration that the character can hold her breath is reduced by 1 round. After this period of time, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check every round in order to continue holding her breath. Each round, the DC increases by 1.
When the character finally fails her Constitution check, she begins to drown. In the first round, she falls unconscious (0 hp). In the following round, she drops to –1 hit points and is dying. In the third round, she drowns.
Unconscious characters must begin making Constitution checks immediately upon being submerged (or upon becoming unconscious if the character was conscious when submerged). Once she fails one of these checks, she immediately drops to –1 (or loses 1 additional hit point, if her total is below –1). On the following round, she drowns.
If you fall unconscious while submerged, or in water (as I can't see you passing swim checks unconscious), you immediately take a constitution check. If you fail you lose a hit point (whatever). Next round, if you fail the check you drown.
It's DC 10 con, +1 each round.
Seems a little... nuts that you can get knocked out and drown in 6 seconds. Odds are that you'll drown in about 12 seconds.
Corner issue: if you heal someone that's negative, and drowning, do they stop drowning? Or do they just wake up making con checks in a near drowned state?
Seems a little... nuts that you can get knocked out and drown in 6 seconds. Odds are that you'll drown in about 12 seconds.
Yeah, this is one area where the rules do not really attempt to model reality. In reality, when water enters the airway of an unconscious person, the larynx reflexively seals, and it is possible for an unconscious person to survive as long or longer than a conscious person underwater. But apparently it is simpler to adjudicate this way.
Corner issue: if you heal someone that's negative, and drowning, do they stop drowning? Or do they just wake up making con checks in a near drowned state?
A quick look at the rules shows that there are no rules for recovering from drowning; RAW provides for nothing except death one you fail your first Con check, no matter what is done for the drowning person. So I would say, rule as you like on this matter, there's nothing in RAW about it.
Next round, if you fail the check you drown.
Minor correction: once you fail your first Con check, the process of drowning proceeds automatically with no opportunity for further checks.
|
I keep saying to people that drowning is seriously nasty stuff. Almost instant death to some degree.
It's stated in the rules that person starts dying if it fails a check but it's not saying anything if person drops into water while already dying. From what I understood, person just dies, but it seems to much.
This should be a call for your GM unless you are the GM! My first question is how long is the character submerged, temperature of water, type of water i.e. pond, raging river, head stuck under a water fall etc. and how long before some can get to him. Is that character wearing armor and how heavy is he and does he have any feats or magic items that assist in breathing?
Read the rules, but seems a bit... extreme.
** spoiler omitted **
If you fall unconscious while submerged, or in water (as I can't see you passing swim checks unconscious), you immediately take a constitution check. If you fail you lose a hit point (whatever). Next round, if you fail the check you drown.
It's DC 10 con, +1 each round.
Seems a little... nuts that you can get knocked out and drown in 6 seconds. Odds are that you'll drown in about 12 seconds.
Corner issue: if you heal someone that's negative, and drowning, do they stop drowning? Or do they just wake up making con checks in a near drowned state?
The act of "Holding" ones breath implies conscious reaction. Your brain does not understand your are under water. If you are unconscious and then fall into the drink, you might as well start making a new character unless your group is the kind to fish for sunken cadavers.
I keep saying to people that drowning is seriously nasty stuff. Almost instant death to some degree.
It is the single deadliest rule in the game in my opinion. It can and has been twisted in many games over my many years of playing to make very unhappy players and Dungeon Masters.
Doubtful Blackbloodtroll. Even at level 20 you are only creating 40gallons of water. A cubic foot of water is about 7.48gallons. A 5x2 bathtub filled to about 1feet high (to ensure an adult drowning face down) would require 74.8gallons of water. Wow, no wonder water companies want us to shower instead of bathe.
- Gauss
Ok, so you create a pit that is 10x10x(10/2lvl). To fill even one foot deep you will need 748gallons of water. At 40gallons per casting (at level 20) it will take 19castings to accomplish this.
This is for a Level 20 caster.
Round 1: Create pit under target
Round 2: Cast sleep on target (while somehow avoiding the pit yourself, such as flying).
Rounds 3-21: Cast create water
Round 21: Begin drowning (if failed save proceed to death)
Round 22: Pit ends at start of round, drowning ends?
If you cast sleep on the person first and then create pit you will need to cast sleep on them again due to damage. Thus the effect is the same.
- Gauss
The act of "Holding" ones breath implies conscious reaction. Your brain does not understand your are under water. If you are unconscious and then fall into the drink...
In real life a submerged unconscious person's larynx slams shut (Laryngospasm) in response to water entering the airways. It doesn't last, but in game terms it really ought to buy the victim a few rounds.
The act of "Holding" ones breath implies conscious reaction. Your brain does not understand your are under water. If you are unconscious and then fall into the drink...In real life a submerged unconscious person's larynx slams shut (Laryngospasm) in response to water entering the airways. It doesn't last, but in game terms it really ought to buy the victim a few rounds.
Sure I would totally give'em a couple of rounds before con check hell begins, but then again I am a nice DM.
I'll be house rulling the drowning rules when I run them for my PCs.
The basic holding breath rules stay as is. However when someone fails their Hold Breath check (or are knocked unconcious under water) they begin taking 1d6 Con Damage per round. When their Con reaches zero, they've drowned.
I'm debating allowing the use of Profession(Sailor) or Healing to perform CPR and restore some of the Con damage caused by drowning.
I like CSpiders Idea, a random 1d6(1d4) amount of con damage, But I would think a CPR (Heal check) would be 10 + con damage took, have con damage on going if the Player was removed from drowning.