Swimming Uses Agi?

[tHEhERETIC]

Originally Posted by Acolyte

While preparing my Seraph of Jordi for rknop's PbP game, I read into the Swimming skill, which I don't think I ever have before. The associated characteristic is Agility.

This I do not agree with. Swimming is much more about physical strength and stamina than dexterity. Since IN wraps stamina (what would be Constitution or a Stamina stat somewhere else) and prowess into Strength, that seems overwhelmingly like the appropriate statistic to use.
...

Speaking as an ex-swimmer, one who is horribly out of shape anymore...heh heh heh, I know too well what agility means to swimming. More to the point, how swimming anything but the backstroke requires careful timing to keep from inhaling water. Timing isn't quite the same as agility, true, but it's closer to that than strength.

So I disagree with

The timing and coordination aspects (which are definitely Agi-based) really only come into play when making your speed as fast as possible...or when swimming fly.

when the swimming is even remotely competitive. Exhale in water, inhale above water--I'm thinking breaststroke and crawl in particular. It doesn't take a whole lot of strength to get your face out of the water--though it takes some, especially after the 2nd or 3rd lap--but get that timing wrong and hackcoughspit.

Though it's hard to deny that cardiovascular fitness is a huge factor in swimming/stamina, I'd say that would affect how long you can swim, not whether. I'm not a big fan of rewriting book rules, just playing by intuition. And mine tells me, use Agility to determine whether the MC can swim. In a competitive situation I'd then possibly compare an average of Str/Agil to see whether A catches B.

Then again I use a slightly different mechanic on character vs character bits anyway...

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

Speaking as an ex-swimmer, one who is horribly out of shape anymore...heh heh heh, I know too well what agility means to swimming. More to the point, how swimming anything but the backstroke requires careful timing to keep from inhaling water. Timing isn't quite the same as agility, true, but it's closer to that than strength.

But it might be even closer to Precision (a stat that I personally would rename Focus, if it weren't already being used for a sorcerous ritual). Perhaps it should be either Focus or Agility, where you either have the timing down or else enough natural coordination that the timing doesn't become an issue?

Acolyte, I'll go with you in one area: most people in the modern world have seen someone swim (thanks to television) and a lot of places in the developed world offer swimming classes. That's why almost everybody gets a default. But my own experience living more than 1,000 miles away from the nearest large body of water has shown me that untrained people are usually *lousy* swimmers. They thrash about very inefficiently and probably wouldn't last more than a handful of seconds outside controlled conditions.

Honestly? I would give a +2, maybe even a +4, to swimming attempts in the average city pool, where the water's comfy, there's no waves, good lighting and everything is set up to give a swimmer help. (In GURPS, I'd give it a +4 for routine conditions.) But out in the ocean, or even a fair-sized lake? Nuh-uh.

Frankly, I think most people put one point into Swimming skill and swim in areas they can handle. Or for "costal folk" like you, make that two points. ;)

(EDIT: Also, I seem to recall your Jordite uses a whale vessel. The sources I have immediately available tell me whales are very agile swimmers.)