Did the Manticore drown?

[Willtell]

After the manticore has showered the party with its spikes, it flys closer to claw one of the wounded pc's. A cleric uses a readied action to cast sound burst, stunning the creature. They are in a fishing boat.

A stunned creature loses its dex bonus if any, and can take no actions, so the flying manticore falls into the sea - but can it hold its breath? - is that an action?.

If holding it's breath is an action, its just fallen into the sea and it cannot hold its breath. In the 1st rnd it cannot hold it's breath it starts to drown and falls unconscious.

 

[IceBear]

I'd allow it to hold it's breath. I think an "action" is one of the broad categories listed in the charts in the PHB - move, attack, trip, sunder, etc. I don't think holding your breath is considered an action.

IceBear

 

[pontus]

From the FAQ. Applies to paralysis, by should be equally relevant here.

Can a paralyzed person voluntarily stop breathing (if submerged) to avoid drowning?

Yes. A paralyzed creature is unable to move or take physical actions, but holding one's breath is not a physical action for game purposes.

 

[Willtell]

From the FAQ. Applies to paralysis, by should be equally relevant here.

From the Srd Hold Person description: "The subject freezes in place, standing helpless. He is aware and breathes normally but cannot take any physical actions, even speech. He can, however, execute purely mental actions (such as casting a spell with no components). A winged creature who is held cannot flap its wings and falls. A swimmer can’t swim and may drown."

Does a stunned or parayled creature have enough physical control over his body to hold its breath which is a physical action?.

 

[IceBear]

To actually breathe, you have to take physical action - your lungs have to expand, your diaphram has to move, etc.

Hold person doesn't stop you from breathing does it? Then it wouldn't stop you from holding your breath.

It states that a swimmer stops swimming and may drown.

I see this as applying to something like a shark that needs to swim forward to pass water over it's gills or it would drown.

I would have let the manticore hold it's breath. Perhaps it couldn't have taken as big a lungful of air as normal but it could still have held it's breath.

IceBear