Cala'diel (5e Campaign Setting)/Activities/Fishing

As DM, you should inform the players that they have the option to fish any body of water they are near. This activity can be preformed by characters of any level. You decide if the area they are in has creeks, bogs, ponds, or any other place suitable for fishing. If so, then fishing is available to them. As DM, make sure you decide, not the players.

Fishing

It's okay to eat fish 'cause they don't have any feelings. There are two ways to use these rules, the simple and the advanced rules.

Resources

This activity requires at least one hour of effort from a character, plus the character needs to own or have access to at least a Tackle Kit. Unless the DM allows other means, such as a spear or net. This one hour of time may come from a short rest or long rest, assuming the spot they are fishing is the same place as the rest.

The simple rules

Making the check

The player must make a series of checks, with a DC determined by the DM. Part of this DC could come from the type of fish they are hoping to catch. It might involve the type of place they are fishing in. Perhaps they type of bait they are using.

To start the player makes a Intelligence(Nature) check to get a feel for where fish like to hang out. The second check is a Wisdom(Perception) check that involves watching the line and not losing focus. The third is a Dexterity(Fishing) check that actually involves the act of fishing.

Results

Successes	Value
0	That was terrible! You broke your tools and wasted one hour of your life. You lose your tools, (or owe people money that lent them to you) plus your delayed one hour. (This means the short or long rest is either extended by one hour or they decide to not wait a extra hour, denying you the benefits of the rest.)
1	I guess the fish just are not biting today.
2	Fish get!
3	You're awesome at this! You get a fish and make another fishing check, continue to catch fish for each successful check to a max of five fish.

The advanced rules

These rules are designed for players who want a more robust fishing experience. These rules have unique rewards and should be introduced to the player's in the story. This setting uses the character Feshli Rokkorah as a gateway to this system. As the DM make sure you ask the players if they are interested in a system that rewards fishing, cooking and potion making. All three of those activities will benefit from this advanced rule set. If your players are interested in including fishing then introduce them to her as soon as possible. Make sure when they meet her for the first time she is overflowing with excitement in introducing new people to the hobby of fishing. Read her NPC page for more information on her, but the main take away is that fishing is her life and she is more than happy to talk the player characters ears off about it.

Getting Started

There are hundreds of locations to fish and hundreds of fish to catch. If your players decide they want to fish you need to guide them to water, however not all water is equal. Perhaps your players are seeking a specific fish for a specific meal or potion. Sure finding water is easy and so is catching any random fish, its the journey of landing the perfect catch that is difficult. As the DM it is your job to listen and guide your players to their white whales.

Characters can't just look at a lake and say to themselves "I know the exact fish in this lake!" They need to fish in it to unlock the mysteries of the deep. NPC's in the area who have fished the lakes can help narrow down their search however. So if you do decide to use the advanced rules for fishing make sure that local taverns and NPC's know what type of fish are near by when asked. As DM you can now bring the world around the players alive by bringing fish into the conversation. Nothing make a world feel more immersive than a barkeep talking about how they made their famous fish dish and where they caught the fish.

So with that in mind you need to know what lives in the waters near the players. Use the finding fish section to help you make your decision. You also use region maps of the area your players are currently in.

Making the check

The player must make a series of checks, first adding up all modifiers to their roll, and then subtracting the effect to roll by the intended fish the player is hoping to catch. The first check is a Intelligence(Nature) check to find the best spot for the intended fish. The second check is a Wisdom(Perception) check that involves watching the line and not losing focus. The third is a Dexterity(Fishing) check that actually involves the act of fishing.

Results

Each check has a result. The nature check is made first.

Successes	Value
1	You got distracted by something and never made an attempt to fish, plus you forgot your tools where you attempted to fish. (No more checks needed)
2-14	This spot looks as good as any. You have no idea how to fish for this specific fish. (Make the next check with disadvantage)
15-19	Your confident that your intended fish would be in this spot. (Make the next check)
20+	You think you spotted your fish in the water at this spot! (Make the next check with advantage, or double proficiency bonus if already granted advantage)

Next is the results of the Perception check.

Successes	Value
1	You got distracted by something and missed your change at landing a fish, losing your tools. (No more checks needed)
2-14	You failed to set the hook in the fish's mouth. (You may try one more time, but not again if this result happened before)
15-19	Nailed it. The fish is on. (Make the next check)
20+	It jumped out of the water to get your bait! That was for sure the fish you wanted. (Make the next check with advantage, or double proficiency bonus if already granted advantage)

Finally the Fishing check.

Successes	Value
1	You lost the fish and broke your tool. (No more checks needed)
2-14	It's a fish, was it my intended fish? (Consult chart for the fish you caught, then start again with the nature check! Max 5)
15-19	You landed your intended fish! (Make another perception check and consult the result chart again! Max 5)
20+	You landed your intended fish, plus you think you saw another swimming right behind it! (Make another fishing check with advantage (or double proficiency bonus if already granted advantage) and consult the result chart again! Max 5)

Example:

Here is an example of how fishing would work. In this example lets say a third level character has a 14 intelligence, a 13 wisdom, a 12 dexterity, proficiency in nature, and some fishing gear. This would give the character a +4 to nature, +1 to perception, and a +4 (Fisherman's vest and Angler's tackle kit) to fishing checks. This player is wanting to catch a vivic bass. A vivic bass grants a -4 to all checks made to catch it. This character rolls a d20 and gets a 16 as a result. Using the character's skills given above we see that they would add +4 to the result, however a vivic bass grants a -4 penalty, resulting in a net zero gain. Using the result table for nature checks this character feels confident in the spot they have selected to fish. They proceed to the perception check rolling a 15. Taking their +1 and subtracting the -4 results in a net loss of three, making the perception check a 12. The result chart says that they failed to set the hook but they may try again. The second roll is a 18, taking the -3 again results in a 15, a success this time. Moving on to the final check, the fishing check. They roll a natural 20, natural 20 always grants a automatic highest result on the chart. They have caught a vivic bass and can make a second fishing check, this time with advantage! The second fishing check is made with advantage and yields a 5 and 15. Taking the higher score of 15, adding the +4 from their skills and subtracting the -4 still results in a 15, landing a second vivic bass and granting another shot at more fish, this time however they are going back to perception checks. Rolling a d20 results in a 9. Using the net -3 results in a 6 for the perception check. The chart says they have failed to set the hook but may try again, however since they have already had this result once before, their dice rolling is over. This fishing trip resulted in two vivic bass for the character.

Finding Fish

Need to know what fish are where? This section will give you everything you need to know for both the simple and advanced rules sets. First the oceans are listed, then the continents. All you need to do is click on the section where your players are looking to fish and find them something to catch.

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• Cobalt Ocean
• Silver Ocean
• Stryf Ocean
• Tiamat Ocean

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• Athlon
• Eskzor
• Evokra
• Ibrna
• Reedan

Name	Effect on Roll	Effect on Meal and Potion
Athlon Bluegill	-2	Animal Handling +1
Athlon Large Mouth Bass	-3	Insight +1
Athlon Crappie	-2	Nature +1
Ashby Bream	-3	Investigation +1
Red Carp	-4	Perception +1
Athlon Sturgeon	-7	CON +2
Silver Trout	-5	Athletics +1
Arcane Salmon	-10	CHA +2
Cobalt Char	-7	Arcana +1
Vivec Bass	-4	Stealth +1
Vivec Sunny	-3	Perception +1
Cobalt Cod	-6	Deception +1
Bloody Barracuda	-7	STR +2
Holy Mackerel	-9	WIS +2
Steel Tuna	-5	Sleight of Hand +1
Armored Bonito	-5	Survival +1
Cobalt Bass	-4	Religion +1
Wondering Sole	-6	History +1
Keen Marlin	-7	Increase critical hit threat range by 1
Runic Bass	-10	INT +2
Cobalt Swordfish	-7	Advantage on melee attacks
Cloaked Shark	-7	DEX +2