Swim speed skill check bonus?

[Tinalles]

So I was adding some Fighter levels to a lizardfolk over the weekend, and found myself puzzled by his +8 Swim skill. A stock lizard folk has:

15 ft. Swim speed and

1 rank in Swim
1 STR modifier
-2 Armor check penalty from heavy wooden shield

... and a total modifier of +8.

The skill description says "A creature with a swim speed can move through water at its indicated speed without making Swim checks. It gains a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard."

The way I read that, it says they get the +8 bonus only under some circumstances. But the stat block is written to give them a flat +8 bonus under all circumstances.

Is there some errata or an unwritten convention that gives a flat +8 on Swim to creatures with a swim speed? That would certainly be consistent with how Climb is done, but it's not what the rules say in a totally pedantic RAW mind set ...

[Jiggy]

Tinalles wrote:

The skill description says "A creature with a swim speed can move through water at its indicated speed without making Swim checks. It gains a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard."

Lemme clear that up for ya:

Tinalles wrote:

The skill description says "A creature with a swim speed can move through water at its indicated speed without making Swim checks. It gains a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to [do something that actually needs a check]."

[Mort the Cleverly Named]

Tinalles wrote:

The skill description says "A creature with a swim speed can move through water at its indicated speed without making Swim checks. It gains a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard."

When you remove checks to move through the water at the indicated speed, the only thing you are left with are checks to perform special actions or avoid hazards. The bonus is included in the skill because in the only situations in which you will have to roll the skill, you will have the bonus.

[Tinalles]

Ah ... I see. Okay, thanks for the clarification.