Swim - Take 10
- Thread starter Trellian
- Start date
Lela
First Post
Trellian said:
I'm a swimmer and I'd say it isn't that hard (unless you're carrying something or someone). If it's just you and a small amount of gear (like maybe 5 lbs at most), then I'd let it go for 4xRanks=Rounds at Take 10. Then you have to start checking. Cutting it down to 3xRanks might be more effective; I haven't had it come up much so this is all untested.
That's all heavily in favor of the Swimmer, but it's really not all that difficult once you know how and have had a little practice. But carrying anything even remotely heavy makes it so much harder.
EDIT: But most to none of that is based on the rules. Just RL. And D&D often doesn't (and shouldn't) reflect RL.
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green slime
First Post
I wonder if Ian Thorpe could swim in full plate armour...
Without feeling slightly stressed
Without feeling slightly stressed
Lord Pendragon
First Post
In calm waters, yes I would say you can take 10. As you said, you are neither distracted nor in a hurry. Weight doesn't factor in other than for the already-present rules for its effect on your swim modifier.Trellian said:
The demand for a check every round really doesn't matter either. If you can make the check by taking 10, you can assume to be doing so for every round thereafter until conditions change.
Rough waters, on the other hand, would certainly be distracting.
Li Shenron
Legend
Trellian said:
It is possible, and I think it's even quoted somewhere on the books or faqs as an example of taking 10. It doesn't matter that you need a check per round: if you meet the conditions to Take 10, you take 10 every round.
I agree that it is a little ambiguous whether you can take it or not depending on the DC itself. Swimming in stormy waters poses a threat to your life so you can't take 10? I don't know, it's debatable at least. If you compare it with Climb, you don't consider how high the DC to know if you can take 10, you just note there is no external "distraction" such as a battle involving you, but you can still take 10 even while climbing an ice vertical surface with bare hands, if you have a high enough Climb score to make it, so it should be the same with Swim.
edit: typo
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shilsen
Adventurer
Yes, you can take 10, as long as you're not distracted. Note that the distraction must be an external one. If you're trying to swim during a storm and the water is rough, that is not a distraction (since it's part of the task and factored into the heightened DC) and you can take 10. If you're swimming in completely calm water and a dire goldfish is chewing on your foot, then you're distracted and can't take 10.
JoeBlank
Explorer
dcollins said:
Does this mean that one must have at least one rank in the swim skill to be able to take 10? This seems a reasonable interpretation of the "trained" swimmer requirement.
If this is the case, all my PCs will take a rank of swim (unless they are desert dwellers or for some reason have never encountered a body of water).
Li Shenron
Legend
JoeBlank said:
I am seriously sure it was just a word used in the common sense, it could have been carefully avoided to write "trained" when it has a specific meaning in the rules.
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