Verbal Spell Underwater

[DM with a vengence]

Can spellcasters use verbal spells underwater?

Let's say a group of townfolk tie up a wizard and throw him in the pond to see if he's a witch. He starts to sink, and to escape, he casts Teleport.

Does he get the spell off?

 

[andargor]

Can spellcasters use verbal spells underwater?

Let's say a group of townfolk tie up a wizard and throw him in the pond to see if he's a witch. He starts to sink, and to escape, he casts Teleport.

Does he get the spell off?

Semi-random quotes from the 3.5 SRD:

CASTING SPELLS
...
To cast a spell, you must be able to speak (if the spell has a verbal component), gesture (if it has a somatic component), and manipulate the material components or focus (if any). Additionally, you must concentrate to cast a spell.

AQUATIC TERRAIN

Aquatic terrain is the least hospitable to most PCs, because they can’t breathe there.
...
Nonflowing Water: Lakes and oceans simply require a swim speed or successful Swim checks to move through (DC 10 in calm water, DC 15 in rough water, DC 20 in stormy water). Characters need a way to breathe if they’re underwater; failing that, they risk drowning. When underwater, characters can move in any direction as if they were flying with perfect maneuverability.

They do go into spells being cast underwater, but no mention of any specific restrictions on verbal components.

So, if you decide that he can speak underwater, he can cast it. I recommend a Concentration check DC 15 + spell level.

Andargor

EDIT: One more quote:

Verbal (V): A verbal component is a spoken incantation. To provide a verbal component, you must be able to speak in a strong voice. A silence spell or a gag spoils the incantation (and thus the spell). A spellcaster who has been deafened has a 20% chance to spoil any spell with a verbal component that he or she tries to cast.

Hmmm, this may damn his case...

 

[DM with a vengence]

Thank you.

 

[the Jester]

Can spellcasters use verbal spells underwater?

Let's say a group of townfolk tie up a wizard and throw him in the pond to see if he's a witch. He starts to sink, and to escape, he casts Teleport.

Does he get the spell off?

I'd say he escapes if he can cast his spell before sinking.

Back in 2e, you actually couldn't speak underwater even with a water breathing spell (according to Of Ships and the Sea, a fantastic aquatic supplement). I always thought that was pretty harsh, though, especially since 3e doesn't have Airy Water as a spell.

OSatS also had a spell that allowed you to avoid problems like this- in fact, it had a ton of really cool stuff in it. If you play waterborn or underwater games much, I recommend it highly. It's one of the least well-known best late 2e products, in my opinion.

 

[drnuncheon]

That depends on the underwater rules that you use. I believe that the closest ones to official were by Skip Williams and appeared in Dragon Magazine - they did not include any penalties to spellcasting for being underwater.

More detailed and realistic rules appear in Seas of Blood (Mongoose) and Seafarer's Handbook (FFG). Mongoose's are the harshest, with severe penalties to spells with verbal and material components.

 

[the Jester]

That depends on the underwater rules that you use. I believe that the closest ones to official were by Skip Williams and appeared in Dragon Magazine - they did not include any penalties to spellcasting for being underwater.

Actually, the revised dmg has rules for watery goodness.

 

[Urbannen]

On his site Monte Cook has suggested that anyone that can breath underwater be able to cast spells underwater with no penalty.

Does the 3.5 DMG say specifically otherwise? You have to figure that spellcasters of underseas races can cast spells normally underwater.

 

[Keith]

The SRD rules on characters underwater show a rather surprising lack of understanding about what being underwater is in fact like for a person. “When underwater, characters can move in any direction as if they were flying with perfect maneuverability”, and “Listen and Move Silently checks function normally underwater” are examples of what I mean.
At any rate, “Spells or spell-like effects with the fire descriptor are ineffective underwater unless the caster makes a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + spell level). If the check succeeds, the spell creates a bubble of steam instead of its usual fiery effect, but otherwise the spell works as described.” I think the implication here is abundantly clear that other spells function exactly as normal.
Personally, I think cold spells would also have some different effects, along with some others. I don’t think they knocked themselves out there, exactly.
Also, personally, I think that a character loaded for travel who finds themselves underwater suddenly would lack the ability to perform even the somatic part of a spell, given the flailing to avoid sinking and drowning, and would rapidly run out of any air available to mutter underwater. If a character went underwater deliberately, then I could see them casting for one or two rounds, but that would use up all of their air, in my view; talking is rather overtly different form holding breath.

 

[Keith]

I would allow the prospective witch to get off Teleport, myself. I wonder if you have to bring whatever you are tied with, or could leave it behind?
Good luck to that character coming back to town and arguing that they are NOT a witch, of course.

Although the caster is not deafened or silenced, I think the quality of the verbal component might be compromised to some degree; it sure would not carry far.