So you can run without Running and drive a car without Driving, but if you want to run long distances or sprint efficiently or control a car in a chase you need the appropriate skill. This is clear.
But with swimming: "- - roll against Swimming skill any time you enter water - -", "On a failure, you inhale water! Lose 1 FP" (B354). Until you drown or make the roll. And without the Swimming skill you do this roll at HT-4. This means that the Average Joe that has not invested in Swimming is almost as good as dead if he dares to enter a body of water.
This seems a bit harsh. I know that the swimming skill is not common in some parts of the world if there are no natural bodies of water available but it seems like a more or less "default" skill in places with water. And as the "official" skill treshold is swimming the distance of 200 metres - which means that if you can make 50 metres you can't officially swim - it seems even harsher that without the skill you have a good chance to drown before making even 15 metres.
Or am I assuming too much of non-swimmers? Is a large percentage of them people that can't swim even two metres (because of panic etc.)? Or should the skill roll kick in after a couple of seconds if the character enters water willingly and in a controlled way?
It would seem weird to make every single character (or something like 85% anyway) in a modern setting with bodies of water available to have the Swimming skill. It would feel redundant (like having Running for sprinting five metres). I am thinking of using the skill just as Running (you can swim to save your life in calm water, at least for something like 5 metres) but if you want to catch something or swim in a strong current you need the skill.
From Wikipedia:
"In Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia and Finland, the curriculum for the fifth grade (fourth grade in Estonia) states that all children should learn how to swim as well as how to handle emergencies near water. Most commonly, children are expected to be able to swim 200 metres (660 ft) – of which at least 50 metres (160 ft) on their back – after first falling into deep water and getting their head under water. Even though about 95 percent of Swedish school children know how to swim, drowning remains the third most common cause of death among children."
So in a game set in Nordic countries should everyone just have Swimming or should it be treated like Running? Of course there is still a number of people who can't swim (for valid reasons), but Walking isn't a skill just because some people have conditions that prevent them from walking.
From a character creation perspective "basic swimming" does not occur to me as a skill. I wouldn't list it under my own skills if I had to describe myself. Just as I wouldn't list Running.
The issue came up when an unconcious NPC fell from a canoe and I checked the suggested roll for attempting to save his life. HT-4 plus -5 for lifesaving, even when the guy was "like right there". If played by the book the NPC wouldn't have had a chance. I know lifesaving is dangerous and hard, but that hard even in calm water. If only the PC had had the Swimming skill...
Swimming is hard
But with swimming: "- - roll against Swimming skill any time you enter water - -", "On a failure, you inhale water! Lose 1 FP" (B354). Until you drown or make the roll. And without the Swimming skill you do this roll at HT-4. This means that the Average Joe that has not invested in Swimming is almost as good as dead if he dares to enter a body of water.
This seems a bit harsh. I know that the swimming skill is not common in some parts of the world if there are no natural bodies of water available but it seems like a more or less "default" skill in places with water. And as the "official" skill treshold is swimming the distance of 200 metres - which means that if you can make 50 metres you can't officially swim - it seems even harsher that without the skill you have a good chance to drown before making even 15 metres.
Or am I assuming too much of non-swimmers? Is a large percentage of them people that can't swim even two metres (because of panic etc.)? Or should the skill roll kick in after a couple of seconds if the character enters water willingly and in a controlled way?
It would seem weird to make every single character (or something like 85% anyway) in a modern setting with bodies of water available to have the Swimming skill. It would feel redundant (like having Running for sprinting five metres). I am thinking of using the skill just as Running (you can swim to save your life in calm water, at least for something like 5 metres) but if you want to catch something or swim in a strong current you need the skill.
From Wikipedia:
"In Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia and Finland, the curriculum for the fifth grade (fourth grade in Estonia) states that all children should learn how to swim as well as how to handle emergencies near water. Most commonly, children are expected to be able to swim 200 metres (660 ft) – of which at least 50 metres (160 ft) on their back – after first falling into deep water and getting their head under water. Even though about 95 percent of Swedish school children know how to swim, drowning remains the third most common cause of death among children."
So in a game set in Nordic countries should everyone just have Swimming or should it be treated like Running? Of course there is still a number of people who can't swim (for valid reasons), but Walking isn't a skill just because some people have conditions that prevent them from walking.
From a character creation perspective "basic swimming" does not occur to me as a skill. I wouldn't list it under my own skills if I had to describe myself. Just as I wouldn't list Running.
The issue came up when an unconcious NPC fell from a canoe and I checked the suggested roll for attempting to save his life. HT-4 plus -5 for lifesaving, even when the guy was "like right there". If played by the book the NPC wouldn't have had a chance. I know lifesaving is dangerous and hard, but that hard even in calm water. If only the PC had had the Swimming skill...
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