How fast till you can run on water.....

[DarkJester]

How fast would a 120lb person (5.5 or so) have to move in order to run on water? Is it even possible?

 

[dcollins]

It's not possible under core D&D rules.

 

[DarkJester]

Well I didn't think it was covered Just was thinking....

The monk in my group made a comment about it (joking) the other night, with his 100+ speed. It got me wondering.

 

[Piratecat]

Chainmail Bikini's pdf book "Beyond Monks", written by our own James "Gargoyle" Garr, has rules for this!

The rule in this sourcebook is:

Hydroplaning: If your speed is 90ft or more,
you can attempt to move across water when
running by making a Balance check at DC 40. You
must have a head start on land or some other firm
surface of 20ft. or more. If this check is failed, you
immediately begin to sink and must begin
swimming to stay on the surface. If the check is
successful, you may move up to half your running
movement rate across the top of the water. Since
you are running, you must move in a straight line
and you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC. To
continue hydroplaning, make a Balance check at
DC 40 at the beginning of each of your turns.

Seems balanced to me.

If you want it shoot over to rpgnow, linked off of our main page. I really liked it, and for less than $10, I think it's a good buy.

 

[Thanee]

Hmm... a lot faster than you can get usually! Even a 20th level monk with boots of striding and springing does only get a 180' move, which translates to 120' per second running, or 36.576 m/s, or 131.6736 km/h. Not a bad speed at all, really, but hardly enough to run on water!

Bye
Thanee

 

[DarkJester]

Hmm, well, what speed would you need to reach in order to run on water (IRL)? heh

 

[Thanee]

I have no idea, but maybe this link I just found is interesting...

http://quiz.thphy.uni-duesseldorf.de/96/A01.96.html

Bye
Thanee

 

[Piratecat]

Hmm... a lot faster than you can get usually! Even a 20th level monk with boots of striding and springing does only get a 180' move, which translates to 120' per second running, or 36.576 m/s, or 131.6736 km/h. Not a bad speed at all, really, but hardly enough to run on water!

Not really. Real world animals like the basilisk (or jesus lizard) hydroplane across the water all the time, their feet not quite breaking surface tension. I think that's what the DC 40 balance check is for.

"There is a basilisk lizard, Basiliscus vittatus, locally called "cock malalla" or" tul-luk" in Maya, that has the ability to run across the surface of the water without sinking. Also known as the Jesus Lizard, for obvious reasons, slow motion photography has shown that it rears up on its hind legs and moves its legs in a free wheeling manner so quickly, that its feet are not in contact with the water surface long enough to break its surface tension."

Also, see this page on "How fast would a human have to run in order to run on water?" It's a cool explanation. One scientist there estimates about 200 mph, which is faster than most monks can get. But hey, it's a fantasy game!

Finally, the Epic Level Handbook has a Balance check of DC 90 to walk on any liquid.

 

[Thanee]

Yeah, but it probably has neither the weight, nor the awkward shape of a human body!

Bye
Thanee

 

[Xarlen]

This is why P-kitty is the man.