D&D 5E 5e RAW swimming.

[TerraDave]

Perhaps use the exhaustion mechanic? Off the top of my head, I'd give a level of exhaustion on a failed save or a specific amount of time (one minute?)

This is in the DMG for long-range swimming. I think every hour. DC 10 Con save. As others have noted, can add disadvantage or higher DC for heavy armor or encumbrance.

 

[MostlyDm]

I wouldn't spend my time coming up with a subsystem for swimming in armor. The task resolution mechanic (ability check) handles this fine, if you happen to think the act of swimming in armor has an uncertain outcome. Perhaps in a charged situation where time is of the essence and danger other than drowning abounds, a check makes a lot of sense given the goal and approach of the character. In other situations, where there is no other immediate danger or drama afoot, then no check is required for just swimming in armor.

I think that exhaustion on a failed check is a suitable cost, absent additional context about the scene that involves swimming in armor. For example, the character swims ashore or back to the boat or the person he or she is trying to rescue, but takes a level of exhaustion in the process.

It needn't be more complicated or granular than that in my view.

Depends on context, to me. For the vast majority of cases, I'd probably be happy with a simple check. But if the session is heavily focused on the dangers of navigating a dangerous stretch of water, it can be fun to have a subsystem to play in. I see it as a substitute for combat, to add depth/tension/etc to the scene in a way that a single skill check doesn't always achieve.

But. We play differently, with wildly different focus on what's important and when to roll, and we've gone over that before.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I wouldn't spend my time coming up with a subsystem for swimming in armor. The task resolution mechanic (ability check) handles this fine, if you happen to think the act of swimming in armor has an uncertain outcome. Perhaps in a charged situation where time is of the essence and danger other than drowning abounds, a check makes a lot of sense given the goal and approach of the character. In other situations, where there is no other immediate danger or drama afoot, then no check is required for just swimming in armor.

I think that exhaustion on a failed check is a suitable cost, absent additional context about the scene that involves swimming in armor. For example, the character swims ashore or back to the boat or the person he or she is trying to rescue, but takes a level of exhaustion in the process.

It needn't be more complicated or granular than that in my view.

Oh I'm not thinking of anything more advanced than you sink like a rock in heavy armor, probably medium as well, the outcome is not really uncertain. I'm not a realism nut, I'd play Harnmaster then, but swimming in full plate is ridiculous to me and I was just curious if I missed anything in the rules.

If you are worried about drowning then don't wear heavy armor when fighting on boats you may get knocked off of. And if you really love the drowned god why worry about that says Victarion Greyjoy.

 

[discosoc]

Just set the DC higher if you feel the task is harder. It's baked right into the rules...

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Thanks for keying me in on that hidden gem but I was wondering if it was addressed specifically in the rules somewhere I missed other than the exhaustion checks and whatnot.

 

[Zinnger]

There are many ways of handling this as noted above. From what I see in the books I think the way I would handle this is to set the DC based on how hard you think the swim will be. I think it is important to determine how far the swimmer is trying to go also. A very short swim lasting less than a minute could qualify as very easy depending on armor worn. If swimming in full plate for an hour, I'd think that would be very hard to nearly impossible. Either way, I would follow the DMG DC 10 Con saving throw after each hour for the exhaustion.

Alternately, I also like the idea of using the chase rules for exhaustion if swimming in plate. Allow the plate swimmer to freely swim (at the decided upon DC) for 3+ Con bonus rounds (or minutes) and then require DC 10 Con saves to avoid a level of exhaustion for each round (or minute) thereafter. Again, I think a lot of this is going to be based on how far the swimmer wants to swim and how much of a chance you want to give for success. I'd try to allow a chance for success (unless we are talking about swimming all day in heavy armor) and make it fun. Think of the stories that will be told years later about that one time we had to swim in the underdark....

 

[S'mon]

You can move forward while swimming in plate quite easily, as that video demonstrated. However you will also descend rapidly - "sink like a stone" even while moving forward. So separate out those two. You can cross a pond or stream in plate, DC 10 maybe. You cannot remain above water in the ocean - in 5e terms at least a DC 30.

 

[MostlyDm]

Here's the video I was thinking of, seems like it's a top hit on google. Probably what S'mon is referencing as well:

https://vimeo.com/13634653

Give it a second, first few seconds are black nothingness.