PDA

View Full Version : Can beholders drown?



Demidos
2011-02-05, 11:26 PM
Hi All,
I was just having a discussion with my DM about whether or not beholders could drown. He has the book (i think) lords of madness, (or some other book, i dont really know) that details beholder anatomy, complete with a diagram of its insides. As the diagram didnt include lungs, he claims that I cant use the spell Drown on them. This is more of a interesting thing than a real dispute, but I thought it would be interesting if anyone in the Playground actually knew any rules about it!
Thanks!:smallbiggrin:

Jarian
2011-02-05, 11:32 PM
Aberration Type

An aberration has a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mindset, or any combination of the three.


[...]


Aberrations eat, sleep, and breathe.

One diagram does not a rule make.

Demidos
2011-02-05, 11:34 PM
Wowwwwww.....that was AMAZINGLY fast! Ok, thanks!:smallbiggrin:
I guess im right
Now that we finished killing all the beholders:smallfurious:

Worira
2011-02-05, 11:40 PM
More specifically, beholders do have a lung. It's labeled 5 on the diagram, and while it doesn't work exactly the same way as human lungs, having it filled with magical water would still be problematic for them.

Dr.Epic
2011-02-05, 11:47 PM
If they have lungs, need to breathe, and can't breathe underwater, then yes, they can drown.

Kuma Kode
2011-02-05, 11:53 PM
If they have lungs, need to breathe, and can't breathe underwater, then yes, they can drown. Only the last two actually need to be true to kill a creature by submerging them in water. Statistically speaking, if they're of a creature type that breathes, and does not have any water breathing ability, whether explicit or implied by the aquatic or amphibious subtypes, they can drown.

Getting technical about a creature's anatomy is more trouble than it is really worth, especially if it's not applied equally across the board.

Worira
2011-02-05, 11:55 PM
The thing is, the drown spell explicitly functions by filling a creature's lungs with water.

Kuma Kode
2011-02-06, 12:02 AM
The thing is, the drown spell explicitly functions by filling a creature's lungs with water. Ah. Well then, for the purposes of that spell, yes, the creature would need lungs, but not to drown in general.

I still stand by that using an anatomy chart for one particularly kind of creature but generalizing everything else is problematic.

yldenfrei
2011-02-06, 12:15 AM
The thing is, the drown spell explicitly functions by filling a creature's lungs with water.

But then again, what does "lung" mean? Does it explicitly refer to that particular pouch looking organ? Or can it refer to any other part which facilitates breathing, more specifically air storage, in a creature be it a pouch or a membrane or something else entirely? :smallsmile:

RAI, the Drown spell's basic premise is conjuring enough water to impede air-breathing in an enemy. Say you are battling a human with no lungs, and for some reason his respiratory system is facilitated through his esophagus. You can still "drown" him by filling his esophagus with conjured water.

TL;DR, as long as a creature breathes air and not water, it can drown. It just requires a little more imagination to explain how. ^_^

Demidos
2011-02-11, 12:10 AM
Cool.
Thanks!!!!!!!
You guys are awesome:smalltongue: