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Currently I’m preparing to run this scenario, and there are two questions that popped up (both mechanical in nature):
1). I was sure one should be able to walk on the floor while underwater, and that your base speed would be halved. But after looking around the underwater rules, I cannot find the option to just walk across the bottom (only swimming). Am I misremembering the rules? Can one literally only swim while underwater?
2). The eels have an electric aura that messes with technological equipment. Although I assume that most battery-based weapons count as technological, the biggest question is if armor also counts? The save isn’t high and it wouldn’t shut down environmental protection, but the drop in armor class will be significant for a round.
Venture-Captain, Washington—Seattle
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1. Walking along the bottom is definitely a possibility.
The following adjustments apply whenever a character is swimming, walking in chest-deep water, or walking along the bottom of a body of water.
Similar language is in Handout #2 of the scenario (which is the same rule block that is present in AP #36).
People could argue abstractly about whether you could realistically stay at the bottom to walk along it due to buoyancy or the specifics of the particular environment in a situation, but I personally think it should be allowed in this scenario as difficult terrain and half speed at best on level 'ground'.
For a point of comparison:
A square that is part of a deep bog has roughly 4 feet of standing water. It counts as difficult terrain, and Medium or larger creatures must spend 4 squares of movement to move into a square with a deep bog, or characters can swim if they wish. Small or smaller creatures must swim to move through a deep bog.
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2. Almost all armor is technological in game terms; archaic or purely magical armor wouldn't be. But I could see an argument that only powered armor wearers should have their AC be affected by a purely electrical effect (due to the loss of DEX bonus if the powered armor has no battery charges, becoming forcibly flat-footed, etc).
Armor upgrades that are technological or hybrid in nature (i.e., not purely magical) do use charges and would be inoperable during that round.
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Ah, the deep bog rules. I forgot those existed. Yeah, I shall rule it as difficult terrain at half speed. I prefer having my players be able to walk around instead of doing endless checks.
And I'll leave normal armor out of the equation. I would have found the drop in AC brutal, so I'll only ask for things that use charges (and aren't solely magical in nature).
Thanks for helping me out on this!