Swimming in liquids other than water

[Winternight]

Hi there,

This is a question that came up during our session last night when the PCs stood in front of a lake of molten lead on the plane of fire.

a. Is it possible to swim in liquids which are radically different from water?

b. Are there any d20 rules for this anywhere?

Thanks in advance...
Winternight

 

[Henry]

OK, assuming the heat and fire doesn't VAPORIZE you, a pool of liquid lead would be not only bouyant, I don't think you would even sink! Density of fluid directly relates to exerted pressure, which means it's about one step away from a trampoline.

Ever seen those demos were people float bricks on top of pools of mercury? Same concept.

 

[Hand of Evil]

You would also have to think 'now that will kill you'. Lead, mercury, poison to humans and not something you want to be in contact as least in large amounts and for long periods of time.

 

[Winternight]

OK, assuming the heat and fire doesn't VAPORIZE you, a pool of liquid lead would be not only bouyant, I don't think you would even sink! Density of fluid directly relates to exerted pressure, which means it's about one step away from a trampoline.

Ever seen those demos were people float bricks on top of pools of mercury? Same concept.

OK, but what about stuff like quicksand and swamps. Why can't I swim there if I float on dense liquids? :\

 

[UltimaGabe]

OK, but what about stuff like quicksand and swamps. Why can't I swim there if I float on dense liquids? :\

In game terms, the swim DCs would be much lower, or you would get less of a penalty for having extra weight.

 

[Zappo]

I'm positive that you can swim fairly easily in a swamp. Quicksand, however, is a different beast; I don't know the physical details, but it isn't a liquid and it doesn't exactly behave like one.

Molten heavy materials, though, would be very easy to float in, if you can take the heat.

 

[Sejs]

You can swim just fine in a swamp in areas where the water is deep enough. It's just messy as all hell.

Quicksand isn't a liquid, hence you can't swim in it. It's sand that can't support any weight because the friction beween the sand particles has been reduced. Take a look at howstuffworks.com and search for quicksand if you're interested.

 

[tarchon]

The major difference with a denser medium is that you'll have greater buoyancy, so it'll be easier to float. Swimming may or may not be "easier", since the viscosity may be higher as well, in which case actual motion through the medium would be slower and require more effort. It's easy to float in a pool of molasses (treacle) but I'd hate to have to swim laps in it. Generally viscosity tends to be higher with higher-density liquids, but not alw