Swimming

Swimming Technical Apprentice 200 hours Keeping your head above water; making a wave when you can. Journeyman level allows someone to assist an unskilled swimmer. Speed for a skilled swimmer is one point per skill level. Unskilled swimmers must make Stamina checks every round just to keep their head out of the water to breathe. Mostly they just sputter, flail about, then sink. Failing a check means the character starts to drown. Remember that each additional round has a -2 cumulative penalty for repeated actions. Being encumbered at all (even just normal clothing) reduces your ability to swim effectively. Every three points of skill penalties from armour reduce your Swimming skill by one level. This is rounded up, so that even light leathers reduce a journeyman swimmer to apprentice level. Ghouls and Humans can instinctively "dog-paddle", gaining a +3 on the Stamina check for an unskilled swimmer to stay afloat. Firps and Killian have this skill automatically at least at apprentice level. Dwarves, Ogres, Orcks, Trolls, all Fae, and the rest all sink like non-witches (because they weigh more than a duck).