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Torek
2007-06-03, 05:42 AM
Hi all!

I have a question concerning the spell Water Walking.

In the spell description it says that you 'can' walk on water.

So if you fall of a 100 foot cliff into the water, can you willingly go underwater?
Or does the spell hamper this and you fall onto a hard surface instead of the softer water?

A friend of yours fell into a pool and sank to the ground.
Can you walk over the pool to his watery grave, deliberatly dive down and then activate the spell again to be borne upwards at 60 foot per round again?

Starsinger
2007-06-03, 05:44 AM
I seem to recall the 3.0 PHB saying something that vaguely could've been about this... but I say, sure. As long as your feet were the last things to hit the water.

Zaeron
2007-06-03, 07:07 AM
Most beneficial spells can be surpressed when their effect would not be beneficial. I would rule that the spell could be 'switched off' or 'switched on' as a free action, by whoever it has been cast on.

However, in one of my games, I had a player who possessed the Sandals of Water Walking that can be found in the DMG's wonderous items section. For him, I ruled that they only worked when his feet were in contact with the water. If he had, say, been tripped while on the water, I would have ruled that he started sinking.

It made them somewhat less useful, but it made more sense to me and the rest of the group, as well. And it made him a lot more careful about using them - once your feet have been knocked out from under you and you're sinking, it's very hard to get them underneath you again.

Matthew
2007-06-08, 02:03 PM
Water Walk
Transmutation [Water]
Level: Clr 3, Rgr 3
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Targets: One touched creature/level
Duration: 10 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

The transmuted creatures can tread on any liquid as if it were firm ground. Mud, oil, snow, quicksand, running water, ice, and even lava can be traversed easily, since the subjects’ feet hover an inch or two above the surface. (Creatures crossing molten lava still take damage from the heat because they are near it.) The subjects can walk, run, charge, or otherwise move across the surface as if it were normal ground.

If the spell is cast underwater (or while the subjects are partially or wholly submerged in whatever liquid they are in), the subjects are borne toward the surface at 60 feet per round until they can stand on it.

I would say that falling 100 ' onto a body of water would result in plunging through it, regardless. You only treat it as normal ground for the purposes of walking, running, charging or otherwise moving across the surface.

RTGoodman
2007-06-08, 04:00 PM
If you're trying to "turn off" the ability in order to go underwater and prevent taking falling damage, realize that you still take falling damage regardless of whether or not you land on water or land (though it is lessened).


Falling into Water

Falls into water are handled somewhat differently. If the water is at least 10 feet deep, the first 20 feet of falling do no damage. The next 20 feet do nonlethal damage (1d3 per 10-foot increment). Beyond that, falling damage is lethal damage (1d6 per additional 10-foot increment).

So falling 100 feet means you'd take 6d6 lethal damage and 2d3 nonlethal damage.

Closet_Skeleton
2007-06-08, 04:31 PM
I managed to hurt myself in Morrowwind by wearing boots of waterwalking and then jumping off a canton in Vivec onto some water. But that's a differant game.

silentknight
2007-06-08, 06:08 PM
My vote: You can go underwater. In fact, I would let you make a Swim check to overcome the effects of the spell. If you fail you stay at the surface. It wouldn't prevent you from drowning, especially if your caught in the jaws of an alligator, but that almost never happens.:smallbiggrin:

Damionte
2007-06-08, 06:56 PM
I say you hit the water. Unless your velocity was greater than 60feet. In which case you still hit the water hard but sink the difference of your velocity -60.

That's assuming you activated the boots before you hit the water.

If using the spell, I condider under it's effects if you cast it before you hit the water. In which case you'll take damage as if hitting ground. I would not allow temporary supression of the spell, as most spells that can be suprressed say as much in thier discription. this one does not. So if you supres it prematurely the spell is negated.

Matthew
2007-06-10, 11:17 AM
The Spell only allows you to treat water as ground for the purposes of walking across it, not for the purposes of falling into it. It seems fairly clear cut to me.