D&D 5E Casting spells with a Verbal component underwater

[Horwath]

I would say no.

and also I would be oppose that if you start to "talk" underwater you start drowning right away.

But no Verbal components as your voice does not exits your mouth correctly as it is distorted by water too much to invoke magic.

If you have underwater breathing I would say yes by default or with successful concentration, DC10+spell level

gives more utility to sorcerer with subtle spell metamagic.

it the same as being gagged, you can try to talk, maybe someone can understand a word here and there, but it is not precise incantation.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

How about somatic? If non-proficient armor hampers those, do you need a swim speed to be sufficiently capable of making precise gestures in hampering liquid medium?

 

[Horwath]

How about somatic? If non-proficient armor hampers those, do you need a swim speed to be sufficiently capable of making precise gestures in hampering liquid medium?

no, because water does not interfere with fine small hand movements.

You feel resistance while you make fast/long movements.

I manage to screw on a boat engine propeller in and out of water with same effort.

maybe if you are in VERY viscous fluid like jello or pitch.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Nah, I've ruled you need to cast Water breathing, Alter Self or something like that. Rationale is spell casting has got to be crystal clear, no mumbling, gargling, whispering.

I did however allow a cleric to time the finish of her Waterwalk spell as she immersed herself in a waterfall to begin ascending. So yeah, the odd exception. I'm like that.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

no, because water does not interfere with fine small hand movements.

You feel resistance while you make fast/long movements.

I manage to screw on a boat engine propeller in and out of water with same effort.

maybe if you are in VERY viscous fluid like jello or pitch.

You have a point, but it's still a matter of degrees. Is it any harder to perform somatic components in non-proficient armor than while underwater? I can't see how. The fine hand movements should be completely unhindered in armor, and the gross muscle movements shouldn't be hindered any worse than being underwater does.

If we want to really try to be believable here we should probably just say you can't cast spells underwater (unless it only has Material components and the component isn't sensitive to being ruined by water). Maybe make an exception for creates that have a natural swim speed and can breathe water.

But do we really want to do that? I don't know. It seems a little extreme. Weapon users have some hefty penalties underwater, but they can still use their weapons. I'd think that spellcasting probably shouldn't be any more penalized than weapon use--especially since the spellcasters are probably the ones who are going to save the life of the party by casting water breathing or teleport when the party finds themselves unexpectedly deep underwater (came through a portal, plane shifted by a foe, etc).

 

[PsyzhranV2]

The fine hand movements should be completely unhindered in armor

Gauntlets. You aren't as dextrous wearing them.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Gauntlets. You aren't as dextrous wearing them.

I always forget those. Kind of like helmets. They cramp the style of my favorite sorts of characters, so I assume they aren't wearing them.

 

[Bohandas]

It depends on if you can bereathe water.

The player characters could cast spells in the underwater level in Dark Queen of Krynn, but they explicitly had a continuous water breathing effect on themselves.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I allow creatures to cast underwater, although without water breathing it isn't recommended.

If the distortion created by water is sufficient to disrupt spellcasting, then it ought to be possible to create rooms whose shape creates audio distortion sufficient to disrupt verbal spellcasting. Not only have I never heard of such a thing in D&D, but if such knowledge became prevalent (not improbable) casters would be basically useless indoors (except for subtle sorcerers), which I don't feel is a desirable outcome.

As I see it, a gag prevents you from properly forming the words, whereas in the case of underwater casting it is the medium that is causing the distortion. Somewhat similarly, a silence spell prevents you from forming the words entirely by suppressing all sound in the area. A spell that allows speech within but prevents sounds from passing beyond a barrier (Private Sanctum or one of those spells) nevertheless allows spellcasting, even beyond the confines of its perimeter, which suggests to me that distorted acoustics should not prevent casting.

 

[akr71]

Sound travels underwater, so I would say yes. However, if you can breath underwater, you just exhaled all your breath. I don't know what the drowning rules are off-hand, but I think you are suddenly at disadvantage.