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Old 09-27-2017, 11:01 AM   #1
Cowrie
 
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Default Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

I'm statting up a swan maiden character and I honestly cannot decide whether her swan form should have the Amphibious advantage or a few points in Swimming as a racial skill. Furthermore, I can't figure out which would be more appropriate for waterfowl as a whole. And if amphibious is more appropriate, how should it be represented that underwater swimming doesn't come as naturally for most waterfowl? (Diving ducks being an exception.)
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Old 09-27-2017, 11:17 AM   #2
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Default Re: Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

I would lean towards amphibious. A duck can, for example, stay on the water indefinitely without risk of tiring out and drowning. Moreover, while a dabbling duck is not overly graceful in the water, my impression is that it isn't much more graceful when walking about on dry land.

A creative solution, of which I may not have considered all the implications, would be to give dabbling ducks Walk on Liquid (refluffed as "Float on Liquid") so they can hang out on the surface all day unimpeded, but need to make swimming rolls like anyone else if they want to dive [EDIT: and suffer the usual non-aquatic penalties to skills while doing so].
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Old 09-27-2017, 11:42 AM   #3
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Default Re: Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

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Originally Posted by ravenfish View Post
A creative solution, of which I may not have considered all the implications, would be to give dabbling ducks Walk on Liquid (refluffed as "Float on Liquid") so they can hang out on the surface all day unimpeded, but need to make swimming rolls like anyone else if they want to dive [EDIT: and suffer the usual non-aquatic penalties to skills while doing so].
I think this is an excellent solution.
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Old 09-27-2017, 11:51 AM   #4
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Default Re: Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

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I think this is an excellent solution.
Personally, I'd aspect it. Walk on liquid is more costly than amphibious, and for good reason. Walk on liquid lets you tap dance on the water. Or you could aspect amphibious to "surface only". either way I'd charge [5].

Actually Amphibious (Surface only -50%) [5] sounds like a good fit.
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Old 09-27-2017, 12:49 PM   #5
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Default Re: Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

Wouldn't swimming be more a skill you add to your normal form whether or not it has appendages for swimming? Humans do not get Tactics just from having a brain, do they?
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Old 09-27-2017, 02:39 PM   #6
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Default Re: Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

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Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
Wouldn't swimming be more a skill you add to your normal form whether or not it has appendages for swimming? Humans do not get Tactics just from having a brain, do they?
Well...kind of yes, actually. At IQ-6.

It does seem a bit questionable to give racial skills for gross anatomy, though. On the other hand, something like a biomod that gave innate buoyancy control doesn't conveniently map to any Advantage I can think of, but wouldn't be too unreasonable to treat as a Swimming bonus, perhaps with a limitation.
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Old 09-27-2017, 05:25 PM   #7
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Default Re: Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

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Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
Wouldn't swimming be more a skill you add to your normal form whether or not it has appendages for swimming? Humans do not get Tactics just from having a brain, do they?
No, but we get Walking from having legs. On the other hand, a person with no legs might need a skill to learn to walk on their hands, probably Acrobatics.
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Old 09-29-2017, 10:38 AM   #8
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Default Re: Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

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Originally Posted by ravenfish View Post
I would lean towards amphibious. A duck can, for example, stay on the water indefinitely without risk of tiring out and drowning. Moreover, while a dabbling duck is not overly graceful in the water, my impression is that it isn't much more graceful when walking about on dry land.

A creative solution, of which I may not have considered all the implications, would be to give dabbling ducks Walk on Liquid (refluffed as "Float on Liquid") so they can hang out on the surface all day unimpeded, but need to make swimming rolls like anyone else if they want to dive [EDIT: and suffer the usual non-aquatic penalties to skills while doing so].
Walk on liquid would be the right choice. Ducks aren't good at swimming as such. They're just buoyant.
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Old 09-29-2017, 12:37 PM   #9
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Default Re: Waterfowl: Amphibious or Racial Swimming Skill?

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Walk on liquid would be the right choice. Ducks aren't good at swimming as such. They're just buoyant.
If they're just buoyant, I'd call it a perk at most (like Cannot Float is a quirk). A 0-point feature, if it gives penalties to diving.
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