(Water & cover) Am I reading this right?

[Notmousse]

Judgement calls are naturally going to be needed, otherwise we wouldn't have GMs, just adventure modules on CD playing different tracks as you progress.

 

[starwed]

Given the 5' cube world of DnD I find it hard to say that a spear thrust into water is going to do much more than minimal damage if it managed to hit at all.

It shouldn't be any harder than attacking someone while underwater, and there are certainly rules for that. I'd suggest looking at those rules for the maximum penalties for attacking a submerged target from land.

 

[werk]

Wait...so wearing heavy metal armor actually makes you eaiser to hit in the real world but harder to hit in D&D???

THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL!?!?! It's like it's completely opposite of the way it should be!

Time to rewrite everything! These rules don't reflect the real world at all, so they are completely worthless...

 

[green slime]

Wait...so wearing heavy metal armor actually makes you eaiser to hit in the real world but harder to hit in D&D???

THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL!?!?! It's like it's completely opposite of the way it should be!

Time to rewrite everything! These rules don't reflect the real world at all, so they are completely worthless...

You Naughty, Sinful Revisionist, you.

 

[werk]

You Naughty, Sinful Revisionist, you.

Nar nar nar She-Bear, Kain't nobody understand you...

Seems that some real world physics defying issues in the rules would come up MUCH more often than others. Suspension of disbelief is merely setting priorities. YMMV.

 

[Elemental]

Judgement calls are naturally going to be needed, otherwise we wouldn't have GMs, just adventure modules on CD playing different tracks as you progress.

Okay, just to be 100% clear, I know it makes no sense. I'm not intending to seriously exploit this, and I don't have a player who's trying to exploit it. When I spotted it, my reaction was "Eh? That doesn't make any sense, needs a houserule."

I was just pointing out that it seems really strange that water will automatically block all attacks--you can see them, but somehow, they still have total cover. Even if it's somehow impossible for normal humans to attack through the water surface, it's equally impossible for a STR 40 giant with a longspear. Or for a targeted spell that requires no attack. Heck, a divine blast, even.

Wait...so wearing heavy metal armor actually makes you eaiser to hit in the real world but harder to hit in D&D???

This old canard?

Armour makes it harder to land a damaging blow on the wearer instead of the armour. Seriously, that's the sort of slam I see from people who have never actually played D&D or read the rules, so I've no idea why you've bought it up here. You do know about the difference between normal attacks and touch attacks, right?

Of course, if you find the notion that it's harder to land a damaging blow on an armoured person equally as absurd as water being an impenetrable barrier by the RAW, well....

 

[green slime]

Nar nar nar She-Bear, Kain't nobody understand you...

Seems that some real world physics defying issues in the rules would come up MUCH more often than others. Suspension of disbelief is merely setting priorities. YMMV.

Agreed. But we must initiate a careful stance when venturing upon a line of argumentation which runs an elevated risk of bursting bubbles.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I was just pointing out that it seems really strange that water will automatically block all attacks--you can see them, but somehow, they still have total cover. Even if it's somehow impossible for normal humans to attack through the water surface, it's equally impossible for a STR 40 giant with a longspear. Or for a targeted spell that requires no attack.

You can Magic Missile him just fine. You just can't Disintegrate, Ray of Frost, Acid Arrow, or Enervate him.

-Hyp.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Okay, just to be 100% clear, I know it makes no sense. I'm not intending to seriously exploit this, and I don't have a player who's trying to exploit it. When I spotted it, my reaction was "Eh? That doesn't make any sense, needs a houserule."

True dat. And for that, I've read a houserule some time ago: Targets underwater get "hardness" equal to the inches below the surface... works nicely, and I still use it.

 

[werk]

This old canard?

I was pointing out the absurdity of the argument by proposing a more absurd one. Thanks for REALLY illustrating my point for me.

Now, back to bulletproof water and things more cogent...