Re: Drowning

[Steve Ames <steve@ns1.cioe.com>]

I'm not a big believer in being able to get more than one skill
check unless you've gotten better at it or circumstances have
improved. If you fail your swimming check, your done... you aren't
going to swim. Your options are:

1) start calling DI every round until you die
2) hold out until someone saves you
3) 1 and 2
4) try something different (ie cast arise, fly, ironlungs, gills,
   timestop, etc... anything that might save your ass).

They only factors on this that I even view as debatable are:

A) How long do I have to attempt #4
B) How long until I have to call DI for real

A being defined as conscious and able to perform an action. B being
defined as dead.

No extra rolls, etc... just durations. I would suggest the following:

A) HEA rounds (rounded down)
B) HEA*4 rounds

This gives people (on average) 12 rounds of trying to save themselves
before they are incapacitated (muscle fatigue, lack of oxygen, CO2
buildup, whatever). And then another 48 rounds before they are "dead".
Total elapsed time... 4 minutes for someone of average HEA. This is
pretty fair in my mind. If you can't save yourself in 12 rounds, your
not going to. If your friends don't fish you out within the next
couple of minutes, your dead. Pretty simple. If they do fish you out
then they just dump water out of you and slap you around a bit... you'll
be fine.

So in summary:

Jaern is a water based world. Take this seriously and learn to swim. In
the event that you can't swim (or fail your swimming check) and fail
your swimming default check, you're in a world of hurt. You have your
HEA in rounds to improve your situation (get ashore, out of the water,
get a life vest, etc...) before you become incapacitated and begin the
slow sink to the bottom. If you are not rescued in your HEA * 4, in rounds,
after becoming incapacitated, call DI... your dead.

						-Steve

> The reason for all the complexity is to make people less pissed I guess.
> The way some people rule drowning is WAY to quick. I've seen " you fell
> in the water? make a swimming check. Missed it? Roll DI." That type
> of GMing sucks ( this is an actual style I've seen a long time ago with
> a GM who does not run/play anymore ). The rules are all about ok we shouldn't 
> be killed due to missing a check to swim how long should it take. 
> Your ruling is on the
> short end of the stick I prefer a longer stick myself but will concede
> some of my stick since while one may be able to hold there breath for
> a while this time is much shorter with frantic activity to try and keep
> yourself from drowning. ( what a run on sentence ). So how long should
> it take?
>
> 						Greg
>
> > They way that I've always determined it is:
> >
> > Your in the water.
> > Make a 1d6 swimming check.  No?  Default.
> > Swimming yet?  That's too bad.
> > Give me a 1d6 HEA check.  Still with us?
> > Good.  Wanna try another swimming check?  Fail; default.
> > Still sinking like stock prices? 2d6 vs. HEA.
> > Didn't make it, huh?  
> > Now I need you to roll three dice and call the name of your favorite 
> > god.  Oh, well.  Thanks for playing.
> >
> > But, John, I do like the additions of the swimming skill based on armor 
> > and such.
> >
> > See ya Saturday,
> > Beej
>