Worst Swim check in history

[Murrdox]

Here's an amusing situation we ran into last night that I thought I'd post for your amusement. It turns out we made a mistake on the Swim skill... we forgot that when underwater and failing your swim check, you start taking -1 penalties to rolls.

So here's the scenario. Pirate attack on the high seas. One of the players was a Fey'ri, who have Alter Self as a SLA. Note, I was not the DM here.

The Fey'ri decides he'll get the drop on the pirates before they approach our ship. He'll jump in the water, swim over to their ship, and then cast Darkness on their vessel so they can't see where they're going.

Fey'ri dives into the water without informing the party what he's going to do. As soon as he's into the water, he uses his Alter Self ability to give himself webbed hands and feet and gills. DM rules that the webbing gives him a +2 racial bonus to Swim.

How many ranks does the player have in Swim? None. The Fey'ri also had not removed any of his equipment, so he jumped in with about 40 pounds of equipment on him. His total swim bonus was now -4, after his STR and Webbing bonuses, minus his weight.

For three rounds, the player consistantly rolls below a 5, the minimum needed to stay afloat, and sinks. The DM rules that because of his heavy equipment, he sinks 30 ft when he fails. 3 rounds later, the Fey'ri is 90 feet below the surface, while the fight begins to rage on the surface.

The Fey'ri can BREATHE, so he's not drowning, but he can't swim. Finally he decides he needs to get up the surface, so he drops most of his equipment. He spends the next 3 rounds rising back to the surface, and makes successful swim checks.

When the Fey'ri reaches the surface, he does not want the whole party realizing that he is a Fey'ri, and has been disguising himself, so he transforms back into his human form, and yells for a rescue. Next round, he fails another swim check to stay on the surface, because he no longer has his webbed hands and feet giving him that +2 bonus. He sinks back 30 feet.

Finally, the player transforms back into his Water Genasi-ish form, and surfaces, and yells for a rescue. We tentatively rescue this apparent stranger... who then reveals his nature to the party... causing a whole NEW mess.

 

[Piratecat]

I feel your pain. The other day I asked the paladin in our group for a balance check for crossing a narrow bridge.

"I don't want to do that," he said.

"Why not?" I asked. "Just take 10. It's an easy check."

He looked pained. "I've got heavy armor, a shield, and some penalties from other stuff. My armor check penalty is something like -11. I take 10, and I'm STILL at -1." We goggled at him for a moment, considering the consequences, then someone asked cautiously what everyone had been thinking.

"Dude," he asked, "how do you even walk down the street? Step step step WHOOPS! Step step step WHOOPS!"

"Shut up," said the paladin. "That narrow bridge? I'll crawl across."

It was a fun game.

 

[der_kluge]

Thanks guys. That made my day.

 

[AuraSeer]

I feel your pain. The other day I asked the paladin in our group for a balance check for crossing a narrow bridge.
"I don't want to do that," he said.

I think clumsiness is innate to the class. Paladins have four important stats-- Str and Con for melee combat, Wis and Cha for their special abilities. Dex and Int must suffer. Therefore they have a low stat bonus for Dex skills, and few skill points to make up for it. Lack of Dex is doubly inconvenient, since it hurts AC, requiring them to wear heavy armor and take the skill penalty.

Our paladin's bane is the Move Silently check. We don't bother trying to sneak up on monsters anymore. ("Cool, I found some Boots Of Elvenkind! Now my skill modifier goes up to -2!" )

 

[Hypersmurf]

I think clumsiness is innate to the class. Paladins have four important stats-- Str and Con for melee combat, Wis and Cha for their special abilities. Dex and Int must suffer.

Heh. I've played two lightly-armoured Archer-Paladins.

Divine Might on a bow is fun.

-Hyp.

 

[melkoriii]

I think clumsiness is innate to the class. Paladins have four important stats-- Str and Con for melee combat, Wis and Cha for their special abilities. Dex and Int must suffer. Therefore they have a low stat bonus for Dex skills, and few skill points to make up for it. Lack of Dex is doubly inconvenient, since it hurts AC, requiring them to wear heavy armor and take the skill penalty.

Our paladin's bane is the Move Silently check. We don't bother trying to sneak up on monsters anymore. ("Cool, I found some Boots Of Elvenkind! Now my skill modifier goes up to -2!" )

We had a Figher that was like this.

MS skill total was like -5 so the party cleric made a magic gem the command word cast Silence 2x day.

Came in handy. Fighter gets quite and if needed we could throw it at the bad guy caster to shut him up.

 

[Legildur]

I'm with Hypersmurf, currently playing an elven fighter/paladin wearing a chain shirt, using a longsword and buckler, with Boots of Striding and Springing. Wisdom is lousy, but Dexterity is good.

I find the constraints on heavy armor often outweigh the armor bonus provided.

Things like Swim checks, Jumping, sleeping in armor, movement rate on and off the field of battle....

 

[Storminator]

My PCs fought on a steep muddy slope, so I forced them to make balance checks DC 5 to move or fight. The heavy armor, 7 DEX cleric had a -9 balance check. He spent the whole fight getting up.

The monk killed all the killer frogs.

PS

 

[Skaros]

My recent favorite failed skill check was the rogue/illusionist in my campaign.

After just surviving 7 attacks from a charging 7-headed hydra, he was badly wounded.

Player: "I tumble back behind the tanks, and shoot the hydra with my bow"

Me: "Make a tumble check to avoid attacks of opportunity"

Player: "Natural 2....uh, 14"

Me, to another player that also DMs: "Is a 14 high enough?"

DM2: "Nope"

Hydra: "Yummy", after 7 attacks of opportunity dropped the player well below -10.

Skaros

 

[the_mighty_agrippa]

the pride before the fall...