Re: swimming

[Steve Ames <steve>]

What I don't like about your proposal is that it introduces a lot of
_concepts_ into AQ that are best handled seperately. Once handled they'll
work for swimming and everything else.

A lot of skills in AQ are tricky when you start thinking about them in
great detail. Don't. The GM can adjudicate the check. Depth of water,
conditions, etc... are GM adjudicatable and will probably be pretty
consistent.

Swimming in armor is already handled for the most part. The swimming
skill is fine already.

Drowning rules is what we needed. Falling rules also. I usually go
with the old D&D 1d6 per 10 feet.

Drowning needs to be kept just as simple. You miss your check you
start drowning. A merciful GM gives you an RC and that's that. If miss
your climbing check you start falling. Again, a merciful GM might give
you a resistance check (that your _SUPPOSED_ to stress).

Drowning just takes a bit longer so you might get more checks (chances)
at salvation. My ruling would go as follows:

GM: You missed your check, try the default. You missed your default?
    for the next X rounds you can splash about and scream. *gm ponders*
    There's a chance you could snag a branch as your swept past. Give
    me a 5d6 -vs- AGI check. Missed that also? Shoulda stressed. You'll
    pass out in (x-1) rounds.

Player: Can I activate an item?

GM: give me a 5d6-vs-WIL check. Missed again? Learn to STRESS! No you
    can't seem to focus enough to activate the item. 

[ time passes during which the adventurer screams and flails and breathes
  water and gags ]

GM: you are now unconscious. Roll DI.

VEry merciful GM.

						-Steve

> Unfortunately, when one begins to drown is inherently a question that
> needs to be answered within the drowning rules, though I do agree
> everything that's been put together has been a bunch of stuff people have
> sent to me, asked of the list, or mentioned in person as to an issue
> either regarding swimming or drowning.  As the topics over lap, they are
> moshed into one proposal.
>  
> > > I think everyone initially wanted a drowning rule to take care of the
> > > GM's who said oh you just failed your drowning check roll 5d6 versus
> > > health or die.  In response to this I propose the following
> > >
> > > Failed Swimming check
> > >
> > > Health/2 rounds until unconscious
> > > Health rounds after unconscious till irrevocable dead.
> > >
>
> Oh!  I thought the 1-6 minutes between unconsciousness and death were
> consensus  :(
>
> Other than that, I don't have a big problem with the above rule, it just
> seemed that it would lead to 8 or so base difficulty swimming checks (hea
> = 14) and then the addendums added will checks to fight unconsciousness
> ... and got messy.
>
> mountain climbers don't get 3+ base difficulty checks ... work in the +1d6
> per round spent drowning and it seems cool to me (check gets progressively
> more difficult, like breaking a grapple)
>
> That is:
>
> Fail swimming check
>
> HEA/2 rounds til unconciousness
> +1d6 to swimming check per round (if we allow additional swimming checks
> after the first is failed)
>
> Success = no drowning
> reaching time limit w/o success = unconsciousness
>
> 1d6 minutes (GM roll) to cack
>
> > > Any rules on how difficult it is to swim or how far down you sink really
> > > deal with a different issue.
>
> Yes and no.  I thought they were related sufficiently for one proposal.
> It's going in picemeal, so pick and chose what you like
>
> (feedback on individual elements of the proposal would be nice, though)
>
> > >
> > > -Kris
> > >
> > 
>
> John
>