Does Water Breathing allow spell casting?

[Magic Rub]

In any case, the only rules it puts forth for spells is something like "all spells work normally except fire spells", "fire spells require a spellcraft check (DC 15) to suceed and if they do produce areas of steam instead".

This is odd? So what about other spell types?

- Acid, would they get diluted?

- Sonic, would they be more effective? sound carries better under water. Better range?

- Electrical, would everyone get zapped?

- Gas, would say for example stinking cloud work?

ect, ect, ect...

 

[kreynolds]

This is odd? So what about other spell types?

Until I see something better, I've been house ruling energy spells while underwater.

- Acid, would they get diluted?

Half damage and half range in my games.

- Sonic, would they be more effective? sound carries better under water. Better range?

Double the range in my games.

- Electrical, would everyone get zapped?

Double the range and half the damage in my games.

- Gas, would say for example stinking cloud work?

Doesn't work in my games. The gas is immediately diluted to nothingness.

I haven't ever thought about force effects though.

 

[Henrix]

I agree that Water breathing alone would not allow you to cast spells unhindered, but I'd prefer a straight 20% chance of spell failure, as if deafened, rather than a Concentration check*.

Perhaps arcane magic should have the same failure as long as the spell involved verbal and/or somatic components.

 

[Tar-Edhel]

Sound can carry underwater but we don't have the olfactory capabilty to understand(water in the ears problem).

Don't you mean auditory?

In fact, sound carries better in water than in air. I am not sure our vocal chords could produce sound underwater (with your throat filled) but since they can produce sound through air, I don't see why they wouldn't work underwater.

No one here ever swam in a pool where music played underwater? You can hear it very clearly at very long distances.

The problem would be, IMHO, more with the somatic part of the spell. I wouldn't allow spells with somatic components unless under the Freedom of movement spell

 

[Henrix]

I am not sure our vocal chords could produce sound underwater (with your throat filled) but since they can produce sound through air, I don't see why they wouldn't work underwater.

Water is rather heavier and is not at all compressable like a gas is, which would make it much harder to set into vibration.
Don't try this at home, though

 

[Jeremy]

I used similar house rules as kreynolds with regards to energy spells in our underwater combat because that "all spells work normally" grated on me. Though I didn't halve electrical damage and I doubled the area of electrical spells instead of the range.

Which actually made something interesting when, knowing the consequences, a PC cast an empowered lightning bolt because they really needed the dragon to go down.

We had specifically discussed that the lightning bolt spell underwater would have a path twice as wide as the version selected and that the caster would take damage too from being in the area of the enlarged bolt (i.e. the bolt starts at the hands, so the body is in the water electrified by the bolt). She did it anyways and fried herself but got the dragon. Very cool moment for the PC's.

 

[kreynolds]

Though I didn't halve electrical damage and I doubled the area of electrical spells instead of the range.

That's what I meant when I said range, but I should have said area of effect. Here's what it looks like...

Acid: Half damage and half area of effect in my games.
Sonic: Double the area of effect in my games.
Lightning: Double the area of effect and half the damage in my games.
Gas: Doesn't work in my games. The gas is immediately diluted to nothingness.

I still need to figure out how force effects work under water though. I don't know. Maybe they wouldn't be effected at all.

 

[IceBear]

I think the 2E rules turned all electrical effects into a sphere of some sort. I'm still using those rules for underwater adventuring in my games, though I think there was a seafaring book by a 3rd party that may have 3E rules.

IceBear

 

[kreynolds]

though I think there was a seafaring book by a 3rd party that may have 3E rules.

The Seafarer's Handbook from FFG. Pretty nice actually. Wish I had it with me.

 

[Xarlen]

Let's see... Yes, lightning was treated as a fireball at the point of detonation in 2e.

I ruled that in water, Electrical spells have twice the area effect and give those in the area of effect a -2 to their Ref saves, since it's *Really* hard to dodge that.

I figure fire spells would be halved with damage. Acid... I don't know about that, because you can have acid in water, ne?

Sonic, definet on the double area.

Gas doesn't work. Look at Obscuring Mist, Fog Cloud, etc. However, the caster creating a spell to 'Cloud the water' or make it very dingy, I could see that happening. Perhaps allowing something like Glitterdust aswell, that would twist the light reflection in the water, or allow the water to flow more obvious over the invisible target.

I think a caster should be able to cast spells underwater with Waterbreathing. Maybe not as well, but if they were say... naked, I don't think cloths would hamper them.

As to about Components, I think it depends on the component. A feather, although soggy, will work, as would some bat quano and sulfer (Though it get very squishy). However, things like Powders, and that much couldn't be used since it'd just float away.