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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kigmatzomat" data-source="post: 3382063" data-attributes="member: 9254">There are a couple of complex things going on that d20 is trying to model simply.First of all, spear fishing requires certain learned skills just to figure out where to aim. Crystal clear water isn't.  Ever.  There is always a significant distortion and your aim point is guaranteed to be off.  How much off varies with the angle of incidence but you will not hit where you think unless you are directly over the target where the distortion is zero and even then you are probably guessing wrong about the depth.    Second water is a non-compressible fluid which means the harder you hit it, the harder water gets.  Water is basically what flesh is made of so every inch of water is about equal to being behind an inch of flesh.  So someone 2' under water is very similar to having complete cover from another body or two; very difficult to get through with much energy left at the end.  Bludgeoning weapons suffer the worst because they have large, blunt surface areas that the water just stops cold.  (Hit water with a baseball bat, see how deep you go).   Slashing weapons have narrower cross-sections but they become hard to maneuver; water is so thick that the blade cannot be redirected easily since the blade acts like a 'wing.'  Spears are actually low velocity weapons in comparison to a club or a sword; they rely a lot on your body mass to provide the energy.  Clubs & swords are all arm motion and a whole lot of velocity at the point of impact but a spear is braced with the upper torso and/or whole body.   Projectile weapons have a horrible time against water.  Stones skip, even bullets can bounce.  The problem is the water fails to compress and the missle is deflected heavily.  Arrows suffer from excess drag as fletchings are ripped to shreds and begin to tumble.  So as a general rule, I have no trouble saying that water provides an impenetrable layer of cover.</blockquote>

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