Water Breathing Dispelled while character is underwater, drowning or drowned?

[Dandu]

Why is water going into lungs in the first place again?

 

[Vegepygmy]

Even the spell's Name implies that.

I'm just curious, frankthedm: is it your belief that the game's designers actually intended that water breathing cause death, nausea, or some other harm upon being dispelled and/or its duration expiring, or do you just personally think that's a good idea?

I have no issue with the latter, but I consider the former to be highly unlikely.

 

[frankthedm]

Why is water going into lungs in the first place again?

"The transmuted creatures can breathe water freely."

 

[Dandu]

Is that the only interpretation?

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Of course not. It's MAGIC.

And in any case, lungs aren't built to handle water intake. You could say they alter the lungs to do so, but that's just as much of an interpratational houserule as "the air gets separated by magic as soon as it enters your mouth and then the water is promptly flushed out...again by magic."

But there's no logical reason to assume just because you're "breathing water" that the water is actually going to a pair of organs that can't handle water.

 

[Dandu]

Now, I personally imagine it works like the Bubble Head charm or Gillyweed.

 

[Jacob Marley]

Maybe I have watched The Abyss one too many times, but I am inclined to agree with [MENTION=1164]frankthedm[/MENTION] in his interpretation of how water breathing works. Though, I would rule that, if dispelled, the character would have a chance to "hold her breath" and attempt to rectify the situation.

ABYSS. Breathing the Fluid - YouTube

 

[Dandu]

To interpret a spell named Water Breathing as literally as to mean it allows you to breath water makes about as much sense as saying a spell called Stoneskin turns your skin to stone. And thus subjects it to Stone Shape or Transmute Stone to Mud.

Based on the text of the spell, there is no mechanical reason to believe it must involve water going into the lungs. In addition, there are significant mechanical reasons against such an interpretation - as mentioned before, that would mean that when the spell expires on dry land, you are left with a lung full of water and risk dry drowning. I sincerely doubt the designers intended for this to happen.

But maybe I'm biased. Can anyone tell me a good reason to have water breathing let water into your lungs and therefore drown you when it is dispelled or expires, mechanical or otherwise?

 

[jonesy]

To interpret a spell named Water Breathing as literally as to mean it allows you to breath water makes about as much sense as saying a spell called Stoneskin turns your skin to stone. And thus subjects it to Stone Shape or Transmute Stone to Mud.

Exactly. And you don't fall like a feather bobbing sideways and subject to small gusts of wind when you cast featherfall.

There is no water going into your lungs at any point. Otherwise there'd be a check to see whether you choked anytime that the spell expired.

 

[frankthedm]

But there's no logical reason to assume just because you're "breathing water" that the water is actually going to a pair of organs that can't handle water.

The very nature of breathing makes it logical a spell that lets you breath water would put water into your lungs.

I have to admit the growing gills idea for the spell is kinda cool and actually sounds like it would take less "magical energy" to put gills on an airbreather than total magical conversion of the lungs.