Canonfire! Forums-viewtopic-Undead and the places below the wter line

Fri Apr 14, 2006 4:59 am Undead and the places below the wter line

A thought, for which I would like opinions- Can “normal” undead survive underwater?

I know there are sea zombies and sea ghouls, but could normal ghouls (say, out of a graveyard in the middle of Bissel) survive underwater? What about ghosts? And wights? Etc. and etc.

Again, I’m not wondering about the specialized (i.e. sea) variety, just the normal, run-of-the-mill undead.

Thanks.

Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:45 am Re: Undead and the places below the wter line

Fri Apr 14, 2006 6:39 am

I guess it might also depend on how long you are talking about. Water is very corrosive.

Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:30 am

Especially salt water. I was not aware of salt being "bad" for them. I am more curious about the magical aspects of sea water- some undead like vampires can not cross moving water, since they need some type of mundane structual base for their unholy presence (I'm guessing on that last part, but it sounds good), and sea water is usually moving.

Another question- what about fiends, demons and devils? Would it depend on how powerful they were?

Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:07 am

I see no reason that undead couldn't survive underwater for a relatively short time - weeks, probably. But if all undead could do so, why would there need to be races like Drowned Ones, lacedons, and velya? Those three races can probably swim faster, but really they could just be normal zombies, normal ghouls, and normal vampires.

I think it's probably reasonable to say that they risk falling apart if they dwell underwater for too long.

Fiends need to breathe air, according to the current Monster Manual, so only the explicitly aquatic or amphibious ones - hydradaemons, wastriliths, hezrou, etc. - can exist underwater for long without special magic or equipment.

Those fiends who are also gods do not have to breathe air, and we can safely say they can remain underwater as long as they want. If Demogorgon wants to live in an octopus's garden, more power to him.

Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:59 pm

First of all, greetings to all of you (new user, ya know)...

Now moving on the subject, although I will not denny that perhaps dwelling underwater can be pretty harmful to most undead if they do it for long periods of time, I believe that their marine varieties exist because movement while underwater is difficult for creatures lacking a good Swim skill or a Swim Speed - so, a lacedon is much more dangerous in underwater enviromnents than the standard ghoul.

Tue Apr 18, 2006 5:20 am

What about incorporeal undead? I wouldn't think that they would have any problem in an aquatic environment but I can't think of any published adventures with them. Heck, if you were deep enough those with daylight problems would be set.

Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:05 am

I dunno - the Ethereal Plane is somewhat alien to ours, as you can bypass even solid materials.

IMHO, This may suggest that moving in water while in the E. Plane is a even easier, if you consider that if one can cross walls with ease, entering water is even easier.