Swimming/drowning with armour on

[S'mon]

I think there does need to be some penalty for swimming in heavy armour, realism aside it just doesn't feel right genre-wise to have no penalty at all. A circumstance penalty equal to the base AC bonus* sounds about right, but set your swim DCs with this in mind. I don't think it's unreasonable to let the Paragon or Epic Fighter swim in scale armour with a suitable Athletics check. I recommend treating swimming in armour as a difficulty to overcome, not a flat ban.

Mind you, when Elric went overboard wearing the Dragon Armour of Melnibone, he sunk like a stone.

*Or go by weight carried.

 

[S'mon]

I don't know if anyone noticed this in the post above or not.

Swimming Test on Vimeo

This guy is not a world class athlete and he is swimming in plate armor.
If 10 str is average then 14 and above str is a very athletically built individual.
People like that who are trained swimmers should not have much of a problem staying afloat.

Now if your 8 str weakling wizard dons full plate and jumps in the water he will sink like a rock.

Just my take on it.

It's clear from the video that while he can move forward without difficulty, he absolutely cannot keep his head above water. I guess those should best be treated as separate factors - a moderate Athletics check can enable you to move forward through water ok, but keeping your head above water is the real trick.

 

[the Jester]

Come on, they couldn't even mount a horse without help.

English knights were trained to leap on horseback while armored, according to a contemporary account I read of the training they underwent (I wish I could remember the name of the book it was in; it collected a ton of info on chivalric training and behavior and disabused me of a number of notions I'd held on such things).

 

[El Mahdi]

...Come on, they couldn't even mount a horse without help.

...

The reason you can't swim in plate is not only because of the weight, but because you can't perform the fluid movements necessary. Especially with your legs - the only real flexibility in the knights' armour being that in the arms (required for wielding a weapon)...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMuNXWFPewg]‪Down from horseback with armour‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WmFvQAEelM&feature=related]‪armoured calisthenics.3gp‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm11yAXeegg]‪Armour Aerobics‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]