RAW, I'd say no. But I wouldn't say it's an unreasonable houserule to convert a fraction of your fly speed(half or so) into swim speed while underwater.
My opinion is that fly speed =/= swim speed. But many people have different opinions. If memory serves, there have been a number of exhaustive threads on this topic.
I just halve the speed in the case of magical flight (water resistance, it's basically just difficult terrain).
Not really sure about winged creatures, we just say their wings don't affect swimming one way or the other (but for sure, they aren't flying underwater).
Do the swim rules specify that for a creature without a swim speed they have to use a fraction of their ground speed instead? Or could you take a quarter of your fly speed (after making a swim check)?
No.
I don't know how to interpret this.
Could you be a little more specific?
Do the swim rules specify that for a creature without a swim speed they have to use a fraction of their ground speed instead? Or could you take a quarter of your fly speed (after making a swim check)?
Imagine that on a dragon, wow.
No, Fly speed doesn't affect swim, but I allow magical flight at half speed.
In retrospect, I probably shouldn't.
It's a Butterfly!
Do you base it's swim on it's land speed, or fly speed?
I would have it die.
Or, if actually swimming, based on land speed.
Eagles, with a good fly speed, are not known for their ability to swim...
From the thread Magical flight while underwater:
Yeah...
Swim and Fly are not only different types of movement speeds... they're governed by entirely different skills.
Fly does not grant you any bonus or benefit to flight at all. There are different spells (such as touch of the sea from Advanced Player's Guide) that grant you increases or bonuses to swimming. Fly does not.
I only quote the mistake, because it still shows we are ALL human. I know you meant to put swim.
I guess I am one that likes a bit of reality to my magic. If I can fly in the air and avoid the pitfalls of gravity and move in any direction, then why would I not be able to exert the same force when suddenly submerged?
Does the ruling then expand in that would mean that you could never dimension door into water, as it is technically solid body, since the water occupies that space?
JJ, not a rules guy, sais it does not work.
/cevah
The wings of birds are not built for underwater propulsion. Diving birds like loons keep them folded in... swimming birds like penguins use them for steering.I just halve the speed in the case of magical flight (water resistance, it's basically just difficult terrain).
Not really sure about winged creatures, we just say their wings don't affect swimming one way or the other (but for sure, they aren't flying underwater).
Yup. Not to disagree with MYSELF, but I have seen dragons in movies (Dragonheart?) USE their wings underwater to aid in swimming... so, there's that.
But yeah, I personally just go with what the book says.
Thats the logic i would use when asking a GM but without a permissive statement in rules or designer post it still feels like asking for a house rule.
The issue is that there isn't a permissive statement linking swim speed to ground speed either. There is just swim speed=1/4 speed, with no qualifiers stating what type of movement the 1/4 speed is.
However as far as I can tell nothing in the rules RAW prevents one from flying (per the fly spell) through water.
Except for the fact that the only movement in water is SWIM, if you don't have swim, you cannot move through water except for walking on the bottom. No flying animal has the strength to fly through water with its wings - it's physically impossible. Even if a butterfly could breath underwater, it couldn't fly - to a butterfly it would be like trying to fly through asphalt.
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Why not allow Fly to work as burrowing also? I'll answer, because it's a dumb assumption. Air is gas, Water is liquid, Ground is a solid. The three are vastly different and there are rules to govern each. Flying does not give a swim speed just like walking doesn't give a burrow speed. There are different rules for the different modes of travel and if you are using a spell to give you a different mode of travel then it is specific to that mode of travel. You don't fly through water, you don't burrow through water, you don't climb through water. You also don't climb through the ground, swim through the ground, or fly through the ground.
Come on, common sense. Fly spell. "Can I swim with it?" is just a ludicrous question from someone wanting to make a spell do more than it should.
At the very least, the GM should declare water to be difficult terrain, halving movement. :D
Sorry, costing double per square to move through.