Lightning attacks and water

[Mad Hamish]

Lightning is magic, so do whatever fun stuff you want, first of all. But if I were to be asked for realism at my table:

They're right. Electricity always wants to follow the easiest path of resistance. Water is easier than a person, so a person standing in water might be easier to hit (he's standing in a great conductor) but he's probably at least a little wet. All the water on him will conduct electricity first (I think the term is called "sheeting".) So basically all the electricity that the water sheets away first won't hurt him at all. After the water has it's full conductive load, then the hero takes the rest.

But HPs are abstract, and that sheeting might well be some of the luck component of HP.

Final verdict from me would be:

+2 to hit but character gains resist 5 lightning.

I'm not sure this works out too well as a realistic model.
Lighting travelling through air versus lightning through water

electric eels stun things in water but I don't know of any land animal which does it...

Nor do I think it makes a fun game.

for simplicity I'd consider +2 to hit and +5 to damage.

 

[Bleoberis De Ganis]

Removed by admin.

 

[Piratecat]

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[Irda Ranger]

I'm further considering having any lightning breath weapons do additional damage to character caught standing in the water between the islands.

Hrmm. I understand that you're trying to use a little sim/realism to enhance the tactical complexity of your combats. That's cool. I love sim/realism myself. But be careful what you start ....

Because you'll get players who wear lightning rods on their backpacks that ground all lightning attacks away from them. And fire attack spells will do a lot less damage if the PCs are wearing their asbestos underwear, or are covered in a thick coating of swamp mud, or if they dive under the water momentarily. And god help you if you add water to acid attack spells instead of adding acid attack spells to water.

See where I'm going kid? There's an endless debate (among all Editions) about whether the rules are subject to the laws of physics in the game world or if the rules are the laws of physics in the game world (or at least an abstract but controlling model of the laws of physics in the game world). Once you establish the precedent that the rules in the book can be modified by in-game physics, well, you've just handed your players a really big toolkit to mess with the carefully crafted and play-tested game mechanic balance (and your campaign world).

I'm just sayin: "Careful what you wish for", because you ain't "tactically interesting combats" until you've unleashed a Physics or Chemistry major on the Monstrous Manual ...

 

[Piratecat]

One option might be to increase the area of effect instead of increasing damage. For instance, a burst 1 might become a burst 2 while in water.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

in earlier editions lightning attacks became bursts if they were lines before, which i would also apply to 4e.

Interestingly a blast 5 would become a burst 5 resulting in zapping yourself...

If you want to know if changing the area is appropriate in 4e, ask yourself if you would allow fireball to work in the water...

if not, you should make every lightning attack bursts (but i wouldn´t change damage at all, and won´t probably change attack bonus, though i would however consider half damage on a miss)

 

[Obryn]

I think adding different effects for lightning in water seems like a really good idea. It shouldn't be that tough to houserule.

I like the increased area of effect, and I also like turning bolts into blasts.

Additionally, I think a bonus to-hit would be appropriate - maybe a +2.

-O

 

[DanmarLOK]

Realistically the energy(aka damage) and chance to take damage (to hit) would increase the closer to the point of impact and decrease the farther. It takes energy from the energy to travel through mass and water isn't that great a conductor, pure water (no impurities, minerals etc) is actually fairly non-conductive but I doubt if a swamp is going to have pure water.

If I really wanted to add in something, personally I'd ignore to hits and vulnerables (otherwise you open the can of worms between cloth wearing targets and ones in full plate) I'd just make single target do regular damage to the target and a minor burst damage of perhaps +stat bonus in a burst 1. For bursts/blasts I'd just increase the size by 1 or 2 squares.

 

[abyssaldeath]

You could turn the swamp water into a hazard similar to Volatile Haze in the Draconomicon.

DanmarLOK has the best solution, I think. Since it seems the PC's are going to be in the water most of the time you don't want to make it too dangerous.