Questions!
(1) If a druid wild shapes into a raptor (60 feet of move speed), and it has sky swim cast on it, can it basically fly 20 feet (swimming at 1/4 its move speed) as a move action?
(2) can a druid cast spells while in wild shape?
1. Looking up the Swim Skill, here's what it says:
"Make a Swim check once per round while you are in the water. Success means you may swim at up to half your speed (as a full-round action) or at a quarter of your speed (as a move action). If you fail by 4 or less, you make no progress."
So if it doesn't have a swim speed the druid would have to make a 10 DC (if in "calm water") check to move 1/4 his speed, not 1/3.
2. With the feat Natural Spell, yes. Otherwise no.
Assuming it's indoors so there is no wind, can't it just take 10 and all day long and move around at 1/4 it's speed? (15 feet)?
How does combat affect this, if at all?
Can you take a 5 foot step while swimming or climbing?
Normally you can only take 10 while not in danger, so unless they have a specific ability to do so they need to make a check each time they want to "swim" in combat.
Here's something from the 5 foot step rules:
"You can only take a 5-foot-step if your movement isn't hampered by difficult terrain or darkness. Any creature with a speed of 5 feet or less can't take a 5-foot step, since moving even 5 feet requires a move action for such a slow creature."
I would consider their movement hampered by difficult terrain here, so no 5 foot step. Only way to move is with a swim check.
You generally cannot take 10 in combat. I think you can only take a 5' step in a movement that your form has. Using moves to make swim checks means no full attacks while sky swimming.
Edit: Also, if they don't make a swim check in a round they should "sink" through the air.
1) Yes they can, but it doesn't generally make sense to do so, as the Raptor form's Fly Speed would allow them to move faster with the same Move Actions (or Charge, Run, etc, Full-Round Actions). The spell is really meant for creatures without a Fly speed, as an option for Clerics/Druids who don't get Fly (3rd level spell) and before the 4th level spell Air Walk (or if they don't want to waste a 4th level slot on that).
...In a few other cases it might make sense if the Swim Speed is faster than a creature's given Fly Speed (which is rare, but potentially possible) or the creature's normal (land) Move Speed is more than 4x it's given Fly Speed. It also has some minor benefits in that you are no longer technically considered Flying, so you don't have to make Fly checks based on what maneuver you are doing (i.e. Hovering) and failing a check doesn't mean you drop out of the sky, it just means you don't move. BTW, you misread Swim, it is 1/4 your speed per Move Action, or 1/2 per Full-Round i.e. 2x Move Actions).
2) Yes, but with limitations.
While in such a form, you cannot cast any spells that require material components (unless you have the Eschew Materials or Natural Spell feat), and can only cast spells with somatic or verbal components if the form you choose has the capability to make such movements or speak, such as a dragon.
By capability to speak, the normal creature of the form you are adopting should have some sort of language listed (doesn't matter which kind) and be able to speak it (some can just understand but not speak), telepathy doesn't count and wierd things like scent or visual-based languages don't count, but unless specified normal languages are presumed to indicate Vocal capability. By capability of movements, in reference to Somatic components, that is understood as having hands and arms which can manipulate spell components/objects in general, or the creature otherwise having some evidence of normally being capable of spellcasting (I believe there's a few spellcasting monsters which don't have arms, but since they can cast somatic spells without problem, you should also be able to in their form).
Natural Spell [Feat]
You can cast spells even while in a form that cannot normally cast spells.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, wild shape class feature.Benefit: You can complete the verbal and somatic components of spells while using wild shape. You substitute various noises and gestures for the normal verbal and somatic components of a spell.
You can also use any material components or focuses you possess, even if such items are melded within your current form. This feat does not permit the use of magic items while you are in a form that could not ordinarily use them, and you do not gain the ability to speak while using wild shape.
You generally cannot take 10 in combat. I think you can only take a 5' step in a movement that your form has.
This is my understanding, you are no longer relying on a normal movement mode, but the specified results of a Skill Check. Having a Swim Speed allows you to take 5' Steps while Swimming, but if you are relying on only the Swim skill and you don't have a Swim Speed, you cannot Swim 5' Step.
Also, if they don't make a swim check in a round they should "sink" through the air.
This isn't really upheld by the rules, failure of a Swim check means you "go underwater" (normally meaning you must hold your breath). If you aren't actually in water to go under, there is no reason to hold your breath using this spell, although it's worth noting it specifically says: , indicating the spell is primarily meant for creatures with Swim speeds but without Fly speeds (many of which cannot breathe air).
"Going under water" while using the Swim rules does not itself indicate you are sinking in the sense of moving to a lower depth 5' square, it may very well be the same square [cube], since the difference is really only a couple inches in terms of keeping your mouth/nose above water. AFAIK there isn't rules for how sinking while failing to Swim in the game. So AFAIK, failure to pass a Swim check while using Sky Swim would just mean you don't move at all (and a creature that cannot breathe air at all would need to be holding it's breath all the time anyways). If you want to go beyond the RAW, I don't see why you would ever sink more than 5' per round.
So AFAIK, failure to pass a Swim check while using Sky Swim would just mean you don't move at all (and a creature that cannot breathe air at all would need to be holding it's breath all the time anyways). If you want to go beyond the RAW, I don't see why you would ever sink more than 5' per round.
Hmm... rereading the swim rules, I agree with you. It only says that characters that fail swim checks by 5 or more (or presumably, don't make a swim check at all) "go underwater," but it does not say by how far they go underwater.
The spell says "Still air is treated as calm water," so whatever the DM would say happens to a character sinking in water would apply equally in the case of the spell.
1) Yes they can, but it doesn't generally make sense to do so, as the Raptor form's Fly Speed would allow them to move faster [...]I think the original poster was talking about the dinosaur, not the bird.
I think you're probably right... Of course, birds are supposedly descendants of dinosaurs... :-)