Winds of Chaos

tl/dr:
Since Swim is an advanced skill, does a character without it lack any ability to move when in deeper water and would therefore just drown after some time without external help?


In the basic rule book on the pages 117f it says that one difference between a basic and an advanced skill is, that you can test a basic skill even if you have zero advances in it, you just use the appropriate characteristic instead for the test. Advanced skills however can not be substituted if you have no advances in it, if you don't have the skill, you simply cannot do this. For most advanced skills this makes sense, if you have never heard of laws, no amount of intelligence will make you gain knowledge out of thin air.

Quote from the book (page 118):

You may only Test an Advanced Skill if you have taken at least one Advance in it. If you have not, you cannot attempt to Test the Skill. So, no matter how intelligent you are, you will not understand the finer points of law without the Lore (Law) Skill.

Would this apply in that way to Swim? Let's say a character without Swim jumps into the village pond. The pond is too deep to stand and the pond bank is too far away to grab it with their hands. What can they do? They cannot make a test for Swim since they lack the skill, and since it is an advanced skill, it cannot be replaced with something else. Am I missing something here or does the character lacks any kind of agency in that situation and would simply drown without external help?

It feels weird to me, because in reality, even though swimming is definitely something you need to learn, not everyone who never learned it just drowns when they get in a body of water. Some do, but others manage to at least manage to move a few meters to get back to land, or can keep their head above the surface for a bit. My gut feeling would say to replace in that case Swim with a very difficult athletic check, to at least give the player a chance to do anything about their situation. But I don't find any rule in the book about substituting an advanced skill with a basic one.

How do you handle this in your groups? Am I overlooking something, or is it Rules as Written that a character without Swim literally cannot move in deep water and just starts drowning?

As for the first edition of WFRP, characters without swimming skill start to sink after a number of rounds equal to their their T bonus. Then, they lose 1 W per round. When they reach 0 W, they're drowned.

To have a system a bit closer to reality, I would ask to the character who doesn't know how to swim a WP test, to ensure he doesn't panic.
1. If he doesn't panic:
a) he could stay calm and immobile for a number of rounds equal to his T bonus, waiting for any help;
b) or attempt to move, after a successful athletic difficult test (if the water is quiet... a more difficult test, is the water isn't, according to its actual state...), at the third of his prudent speed (or at half of what he would with the swimming skill), for a number of rounds equal to half of his T bonus; The athletic check have to be made each round. Except if the success is impressive or more, the character becomes extenuated;
c) or mitigate both (each round to move costs him 2 × T bonus in his delaying death pool; each round to wait costs him T bonus, in his delaying death pool).
After having spent his whole T bonus pool, the character start to sink and cannot move any more. He loses 1 W per round. When he reaches 0 W, he's drowned. Only a fate point might save him.

2. If he panics, the character is unable to move, and immediately loses 1 W for the round. He could however make another WP test for the next round. Would he succeed that new test: vide 1. ; would he fail again: vide 2.. When he reaches 0 W, he's drowned. Only a fate point might save him.