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<blockquote data-quote="JiffyPopTart" data-source="post: 8583352" data-attributes="member: 4881">This might be where our game styles differ, and why you don't see things that I feel are threatening as threatening.You posted the rules for holding your breath, which are fine if you want to model how long someone can do so for the purpose of knowingly running through a gas cloud or swimming through an underwater passage.But in the three cases where characters have died from drowning in the games I've been in, only one gave a character the opportunity to properly hold their breath (sand filling an enclosed space they were trapped in.&nbsp; In the other two cases the PC was in the middle of combat and then suddenly left without air.&nbsp; Once because they were grappled and engulfed by a water elemental and once because they were held magically and then pushed in a sewer.A character in the middle of battle that gets attacked like that isn't casually holding their breath like they are going to freedive, they are most likely to be breathing heavily already (in combat) and have no time to &quot;take a few deep breaths, then a really deep one, then close off your airway and conserve oxygen&quot;.&nbsp; One second they are swinging a sword and the next they are paralysed and immersed in water.&nbsp; New breath is needed almost immediately.And this is where 5e tells me to be a GM and come up with something fair for the table.&nbsp; Iny case as a GM that thing is a series of increased DC Constitution saves each round until the PC fails and the &quot;run out of oxygen&quot; and move to the countdown as described in the normal holding your breath rules.You say it's a side case, but I've seen three characters die that way.&nbsp; You can't argue it's too hard to kill individual PCs (as opposed to TPKs) if the only mechanic you are using to kill them is just whacking away at their HP.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="JiffyPopTart, post: 8583352, member: 4881"] This might be where our game styles differ, and why you don't see things that I feel are threatening as threatening. You posted the rules for holding your breath, which are fine if you want to model how long someone can do so for the purpose of knowingly running through a gas cloud or swimming through an underwater passage. But in the three cases where characters have died from drowning in the games I've been in, only one gave a character the opportunity to properly hold their breath (sand filling an enclosed space they were trapped in. In the other two cases the PC was in the middle of combat and then suddenly left without air. Once because they were grappled and engulfed by a water elemental and once because they were held magically and then pushed in a sewer. A character in the middle of battle that gets attacked like that isn't casually holding their breath like they are going to freedive, they are most likely to be breathing heavily already (in combat) and have no time to "take a few deep breaths, then a really deep one, then close off your airway and conserve oxygen". One second they are swinging a sword and the next they are paralysed and immersed in water. New breath is needed almost immediately. And this is where 5e tells me to be a GM and come up with something fair for the table. Iny case as a GM that thing is a series of increased DC Constitution saves each round until the PC fails and the "run out of oxygen" and move to the countdown as described in the normal holding your breath rules. You say it's a side case, but I've seen three characters die that way. You can't argue it's too hard to kill individual PCs (as opposed to TPKs) if the only mechanic you are using to kill them is just whacking away at their HP. [/QUOTE]

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