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JadedDM
2013-08-17, 12:34 PM
I was wondering something.

A black dragon's breath weapon is a stream of acid. Black dragons can breathe underwater indefinitely.

But can a black dragon use its breath weapon underwater? I'm assuming the water would dilute the acid, but would it still be partially effective? Or would the water render it useless, forcing the dragon to rely on claws and teeth instead?

The reason I ask is in one of my current games, the party is on a ship being attacked by three young black dragons. While two are making passes in the air, attacking artillery and crewmen, the third dived into the water and will attempt to scuttle the ship from beneath. It occurred to me that the party may attempt to dive into the water and fight the dragon, and that got me wondering if it's breath weapon would be viable or not.

Avnomke
2013-08-17, 01:37 PM
The acid would linger in the water, continually damaging anyone in the same area. It would slowly become more and more diluted, but over the course of the battle, it wouldn't dilute enough to truly dissipate.

JadedDM
2013-08-17, 02:01 PM
So kind of an acidic...cloud, of sorts? Anyone in range takes damage each round, but the damage lessens each round, as well?

KillianHawkeye
2013-08-17, 05:17 PM
Generally, water is only a problem for fire attacks. Acid breath should probably function as normal despite the conditions.

Mr Beer
2013-08-17, 06:45 PM
I would probably rule that it goes into an "acid cloud" as mentioned above. It gets everyone in a much wider area but reduce the damage a lot, at least 50% and likely more. I wouldn't do ongoing damage, mainly because I'm lazy.

Kalirren
2013-08-19, 03:22 PM
Acidic water in water mixes slowly, compared to acid in air. I'd reduce the damage 50%, yes, but it stays in the affected area for 2d4 rounds...

Also, as long as we're killing catgirls, the heat of dilution of some acids is pretty nasty. Consider adding 25% fire damage.

Winds
2013-08-19, 03:31 PM
Viable answers. To be yet lazier, rule that the acid it spews is more gel-like and viscous, and could simply be propelled through the water the same way...perhaps decreasing the save DC by one or two to account for the thicker medium?

Quorothorn
2013-08-19, 04:22 PM
"Water Breathing (Ex)

A black dragon can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use its breath weapon, spells, and other abilities while submerged. "

No dilution required: it works the same as on land, full stop.

LibraryOgre
2013-08-20, 02:03 PM
Assuming you're in 3.5, of course, Quorothorn. Other editions and games might be a bit different.

Lacking such a clear statement, I'd be inclined to look at how other Acid Effects interact with water for that edition.

Mr Beer
2013-08-20, 04:26 PM
Acidic water in water mixes slowly, compared to acid in air. I'd reduce the damage 50%, yes, but it stays in the affected area for 2d4 rounds...

Seems overpowered, it's going to do say 250% normal damage over 5 rounds? I guess players can move out of the acid cloud but the dragon can presumably breathe a couple of times and make the whole area one big corrosive cauldron.

The Glyphstone
2013-08-20, 04:51 PM
As far as 3.5 goes, Draconomicon already has the Lingering Breath metabreath feat, which does 100%+50%+25%+12%+6%.....damage over progressing rounds until it hits 0 or a successful Reflex save. This is only a bit more, though innate, and limited to being useful underwater. So not really that overpowered.

Alejandro
2013-08-20, 08:59 PM
The PCs should be scared of drowning, too. Either they just hold their breath, in which case they probably can't stay down there long enough to kill a dragon (worse if the dragon grapples and drowns them) or, if they're breathing water, breathing in a nasty water/acid mix would badly damage them.

Big Fau
2013-08-20, 09:39 PM
A dragon's breath weapon is a supernatural ability, and only fire-based SUAs are ever affected by being underwater.

The Glyphstone
2013-08-21, 11:42 AM
There is that too. If we were talking about a bunch of alchemical acid vials, many of these solutions would make sense, but this is an explicitly magical spew of corrosive liquid, not simply a natural concoction of PH6.9 or lower. Seewhatididthere