emeraldbeacon
Adventurer
As I'm running a campaign that will soon involve the party going a minor distance underwater, without an easy source of water breathing, I'm wondering how you folks feel about the standing D&D rules for holding breath, drowning, and the like. As it stands, a character can hold its breath for a number if minutes equal to its CON modifier, with a minimum of 30 seconds (unless otherwise stated, such as for certain aquatic races). This means that, even at low levels, a tough character like a Barbarian can probably be fully effective underwater, even in full combat, for ~40-50 rounds!
Does that seem reasonable to you?
Personally, I think it makes sense to translate it into "breath points." You get breath points equal to either 10x your CON modifier, or your CON score, whichever is higher. Holding your breath for a round costs you 1 breath point. Your standard movement costs nothing. Any action, bonus action, or reaction you take costs 1 breath point, as does any single instance of taking damage. If you have to spend a breath point you don't have, you pass out, drop to 0 HP, and officially begin "dying," starting with death saving throws at the start of your next turn. If you somehow stabilize while unconscious and underwater, you don't reset your breathing, and begin to die again as soon as you have to spend a breath point.
You might be able to creatively store some air in an empty/inflated waterskin or bag of holding, or have a fellow adventurer transfer their own air to you via mouth-to-mouth, but you can never gain more air than your max lung capacity.
Does anyone else have thoughts about how to better adjudicate suffocation?
Does that seem reasonable to you?
Personally, I think it makes sense to translate it into "breath points." You get breath points equal to either 10x your CON modifier, or your CON score, whichever is higher. Holding your breath for a round costs you 1 breath point. Your standard movement costs nothing. Any action, bonus action, or reaction you take costs 1 breath point, as does any single instance of taking damage. If you have to spend a breath point you don't have, you pass out, drop to 0 HP, and officially begin "dying," starting with death saving throws at the start of your next turn. If you somehow stabilize while unconscious and underwater, you don't reset your breathing, and begin to die again as soon as you have to spend a breath point.
You might be able to creatively store some air in an empty/inflated waterskin or bag of holding, or have a fellow adventurer transfer their own air to you via mouth-to-mouth, but you can never gain more air than your max lung capacity.
Does anyone else have thoughts about how to better adjudicate suffocation?
