Libertad
Hero
Drive-Thru RPG Product Page.
Io Publishing Store Page.
Finally, a sourcebook asking the important questions! Why Slay Dragons When You Could Be FISHING (abbreviated as WSDWYCBF from here on out) is a detailed mini-game supplement for 5th Edition. It converts all matter of fishing techniques to the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, from iconic angling, spear-fishing, trawling, and even magic and explosives. Understanding that the lakes and oceans of fantasy realms can have quite fantastical ecologies, this book covers how such worlds can influence the art of fishing, from various types of real-world and fictional aquatic animals, more exotic methods such as harpoon-equipped submarines prowling oceanic trenches, and stat blocks for when certain catches end up fighting back!
WSDWYCBF isn’t one to treat its fishing minigame as an entirely separate gaming element in campaigns, for there are various in-game benefits to engaging with the sub-system. Harvesting materials from caught creatures can be used to craft equipment, while experience points are rewarded based on the rarity and difficulty of a caught creature. Furthermore, while Fishing Checks typically make use of the Survival skill, specific Fishing Styles are drawn from all of the ability scores save Constitution, allowing a wide variety of characters to participate.
The Introduction of the book covers the basic core components of Fishing, a broad term for catching creatures in bodies of water; or lakes of lava and other such exotic environments. Fishing is considered an Activity, a new term that the book came up with that is done during short/long rests that does not interfere with the rest period. The book uses the generic term “fish” for what kinds of creatures can be caught, and “anglers” for participating PCs and NPCs. The text acknowledges that this is more for convenience, as both terms are more specific and technical in the real world: for example, frogs aren’t fish but can be caught. Activities typically take an hour to do, and Fishing Activities in particular are a six-step process (five, really). First, participating anglers roll initiative to determine what order they resolve their Activity; they all choose an Angling Style determine what ability score they’re using for their Fishing Checks; each angler rolls on the Fishing Table which is basically a d100 “random encounter” table for the environment in which they’re fishing; if the table nets them a fish, they move into a Fishing Encounter where they roll a Fishing Check against a Catch DC based on the fish species to see whether they catch it or it gets away. Some fish are Lunkers, which require multiple checks but have a higher gold piece and experience point value when caught, and some are dangerous enough to fight back and are Combat Catches which are resolved as traditional fights. The next angler repeats the process with their own rolls, and once everyone’s had a turn then the Fishing Activity is over.
What can characters do with caught fish? Well, every fish in this book has an experience point and gold piece value based on their level, which runs from ⅛ to 20. This doesn’t correspond to Challenge Rating or Hit Dice and instead to the overall challenge of catching them, as most fish are individually harmless and the difficulty is based more on rarity, elusiveness, and defensive abilities to wriggle out of hooks/nets/etc. Caught fish can be sold in marketplaces, although dead fish* and incomplete/rotting remains reduce their corresponding price. Anglers can Carve fish as part of an Activity, representing harvesting useful and valuable Fish Parts from them. Carving is a Survival check whose DC and number of Activities are based on the fish’s size and Level. Successfully harvested Fish Parts are the value of the parent fish, but considered to be double in value to fishmongers and for the purposes of crafting projects, so it’s another way to make even more money. Failing the check only grants Fish Parts equal to half the market value of the fish. Combat Catches do not reduce the market value of a dead fish’s remains, which is a nice conciliatory gesture.
*Certain Fishing Styles and other situational factors can risk killing a fish, but generally speaking accidentally killing a catch isn’t something that happens in most circumstances.
The Introduction then provides various optional rules for Gamemasters, such as foregoing rolling checks for Carving and only requiring Activities if speedier play is desired. There’s also some miscellaneous non-optional rules after this based on situation, such as specialized equipment for unusual fishing spots like frozen lakes or lava pits, or anglers who are in it for the sport can release a caught fish to remove 1 Fishing Ordeal. A Fishing Ordeal is stackable condition that represents things going wrong, resulting in a -1 on subsequent Fishing Checks and -5 on the Fishing Table result. There’s also a table of fines for unauthorized or environmentally irresponsible fishing whove value is based on party level, and competitive fishing tournaments provide recommended gold piece values for their prizes also based on average party level.
Thoughts: While the book itself is rather weighty in page count, the core resolution for fishing is actually quite simple, amounting to a rolled random encounter and a Survival check to see if a fish is successfully caught. Carving a caught fish more or less follows this same result, albeit can take a potentially longer time Activity-wise if the fish is Medium or larger. The fines and prizes being based on party level feel a bit too metagamey, as the fines by mid-levels are so prohibitive even for minor infractions that they’d send most people outside the nobility into debt. Another concern that I have is that in spite of the openness of Fishing Styles, being a Survival skill check means that the fishing mini-game is going to be most appealing to those classes and subclasses that can get double proficiency in that skill. Games that don’t use much in the way of non-core options or feats will see Bards and Rogues excel the most and not outdoorsy types. That being said, the book later acknowledges this, so it provides an optional rule under Fishing Styles where a character can train to gain expertise in Survival checks for that particular Style only. But in making that optional and not a default rule seems like an oversight to me.
Character Options
It wouldn’t be a proper mini-game sourcebook without new options on the player-facing side of things! From new lineages,* spells, and subclasses to Fishing Styles and advanced Fishing Techniques, we got quite the number of stuff! So much so that we’ll cover only half of them in this post.
*The book uses the term “folk” instead of races.
There are four new races in this book, all of which are various kinds of anthropomorphic animal beings. They all operate on the Tasha’s method of ability score increases, being +2/+1 to two different abilities of choice, and for sizes the player chooses whether they’re Small or Medium at character creation. And all of them but the Lottle have Darkvision out to 60 feet.
The Raccling are, quite predictably, raccoon-people who originated from the fairy realms and have an inherent curiosity to explore the world and its many mysteries. They have advantage on scent-based Perception checks by default, but their three subraces provide different traits. Lotorites are gourmands with a Climb speed, advantage on saves vs being Poisoned, and can Disengage or Hide as a bonus action and get +5 feet to speed when doing the former. Tanookin are based off of the mystical raccoon people of Japanese folklore and have a natural pouch that can hold an additional 30 pounds of weight for carrying capacity. Once per long rest they can transform into an immobile statue that is very hard to break and has various defensive benefits. The Embertails are the last subrace, having a magical control over fire, manifesting as learning to cast a new fire-related spell at 1st, 3rd, and 5th level not unlike a tiefling’s racial spellcasting, and they can reroll any result of 1 on the damage dice of fire spells they cast.
The Cavis are humanoid capybara whose cultural details depend highly on their subrace. The base race has a natural bite attack that can break through fibrous plants and wooden surfaces over time, they add 10 to their movement speed when running on all fours while their hands are empty, can communicate with Tiny and Small beasts, and once per long rest can make a prayer to spirits who answer in subtle ways no more powerful than a Cantrip or revealing the presence of something hidden. Capya is our first subrace, of semi-aquatic beings who enjoy the simple things in life and are always happy to make new friends, have a swim speed, can carry another same-size or smaller creature while swimming without being encumbered, and a number of times per long rest equal to Proficiency Bonus can add a d4 to an adjacent character’s d20 result as a reaction. Tundrafoot are more cautious than their Capy cousins on account of living in harsh frozen climates, where resources are scarce. They have resistance to cold damage and advantage on saves against the effects of extreme cold, gain proficiency in Nature or Survival, and their vision is unaffected by blizzards and other cold weather conditions. The Starborn are those who have a deeper-than-normal connection with spirits and have fur patterns that tend to look like stars in the night sky. They learn their choice from one of three utility cantrips (Druidcraft, Thaumaturgy, Spare the Dying), are proficient with Navigator’s Tools and can see and navigate by the stars even when the sky’s overcast, and at dawn they roll a d20 and can save up the result to spend on a roll later much like the Divination Wizard’s Portent Dice.
Groakii are humanoid frog-people who have many qualities of their animal kin such as amphibiousness, hatching from eggs as tadpoles, and long tongues. They are divided into two subraces which are based on what environments they traditionally inhabit. The Groakii race by default has a greatly increased jumping distance, can breathe air and water, and as a bonus action can use their prehensile tongue to grab and manipulate objects up to 15 feet away and grapple Tiny creatures with advantage. The Groak’ar is a subrace that primarily lives in trees and grow winglike flaps of skin that let them glide through the air, and are known for building expansive treetop communities that rely on wind power and grow bountiful gardens. They have a climbing speed, once per long rest can cast Spider Climb, and can glide safely to the ground provided they are not wearing heavy armor (medium armor reduces the rate at which they can glide). The Groak’ma are the subrace that primarily lives underwater in various wetlands, whose settlements are mostly submerged, and they mastered various hydro-powered innovations of water wheels, dams, and other structures to empower various technology in their habitats. They have a swim speed, ignore difficult terrain due to mud and water, their jumping distance is even better, and their long jumps ignoring opportunity attacks and reduce fall damage by 10 feet provided they jump from a higher elevation.
The Lottle are our last race, being based off of the axolotl. Like the raccling they have an innate sense of wonder for the world, but they manifest this desire most commonly by traveling, as their fondness for experiencing new things discourages them from becoming too settled in one place. Not all are nomadic, and when lottle do settle down it’s often in small river and lakeside villages. Their default race lets them breathe air and water, they can regrow lost limbs and extremities over 1d4 weeks, learn one Bard cantrip of their choice, and once per long rest can add one more hit die rolled when spending hit dice to heal. Lottle are separated into two subraces: the Hapigo are the most known by other races and are nomadic jacks-of-all-trades that tend to follow occupations that would make them appreciated in wider society. They have advantage on saving throws vs being frightened, advantage on Stealth checks while swimming, and can express magical abilities via emotional support such as Guidance at will for Charisma checks, and cast Heroism and Calm Emotions once per long rest (or appropriate spell slot) each. The Brackilottle are lottle who live in saltwater environments, who tend to be a bit rougher around the edges personality-wise than the Hapigo. They have resistance to thunder damage and advantage on saves against effects which would deafen them, can Dash or Disengage as a bonus action while swimming, and gain proficiency in one saving throw of their choice on top of what is ordinarily provided by class.
Thoughts: Beyond just being “furry” lineages, each of the new races are more benevolently-minded and good-aligned in feel, being quite sociable and teamwork-minded rather than violent and xenophobic. Their cultural details are rather brief in comparison to other races, but as this book is primarily focused on fishing that is to be expected. In regards to their overall power and usability, the raccling’s subraces are strongly geared towards certain builds: the Lotorite’s bonus action disengage and hide will be superfluous for Rogues, but this combined with their Climbing speed makes them very good at using ranged kiting-based tactics. The Tanookin’s statue transformation is of limited use as it makes them unable to do anything while in that form save change back; the Embertail more or less pushes the character into becoming a spellcaster, as their subrace abilities will be wasted if they don’t take advantage of getting spells like Fireball and Flame Strike.
The Cavis’ default traits are overall rather situational, although their bonus speed when on all fours can be good for Monks who don’t have to bother with weapons or held foci/spell components. The once per long rest cantrip-like effect isn’t anything special, and in fact would come off as rather weak if not for the “be pointed towards a hidden thing” that makes it rather useful. The Tundrafoot subrace feels too situational and underpowered in comparison to the other subraces’ much more useful abilities.
The Groakii’s default traits aren’t really anything special, as even the enhanced jumping can fall off quickly in comparison to outright flight or a Ring of Jumping if they don’t find some ability to enhance their base movement speed. As for their subraces, they both have their advantages, with the Goark’ar’s climbing and gliding being quite broadly useful. The Goak’ma’s swimming speed is more situational, but being able to literally jump out of opportunity attacks is a nice feature.
For the Lottle, the base abilities are rather reactive and likely of situational use, albeit both subraces have very strong options. The Hapigo’s limited Guidance for Charisma is great for helping out the party face (less helpful if someone has the actual cantrip), and the Brackilottle’s bonus saving throw proficiency is a clear winner for just about any build.
WSDWYCBF provides us with 12 Subclasses, one for each of the core classes. They’re all organized alphabetically in regards to their parent class, save for the Fighter which is first for some reason, so I’ll be starting with that one in going by the book’s order.
The Battle Angler Martial Tradition represents warriors who blend the maneuvers of angling with more traditional fighting styles, being able to combine fishing rods and hooks with traditional weapons. They are a front-loaded subclass starting out with three abilities: they can convert a melee weapon of their choice once per rest into a rigged weapon which grants it the Reach property for only the Fighter and can remain this way indefinitely. They can also push or pull targets struck with Rigged Weapons up to the weapon’s reach, and a number of times per long rest equal to Proficiency bonus they can knock a Large or smaller creature prone with a Rigged Weapon. At 7th level they double the reach of Rigged Weapons when using Action Surge and gain advantage on their next attack roll, at 10th level they can knock a push/pulled creature into another dealing damage and automatically knocking both of them prone, at 15th they ignore size limits for whatever creatures they can move/knock prone, and their 18th level capstone lets them once per short or long rest cause a target struck with such a weapon to become Paralyzed for one round on a failed Wisdom save.
Thoughts: The Battle Anger is focused solely on melee attacks, but being able to turn any weapon into a reach weapon and imposing forced movement on creatures without a saving throw or contested skill check are really strong options for the Fighter to have. Combined with supplementary choices such as the Bugbear race, the Enlarge/Reduce spell, and other reach-based abilities, this all makes the Battle Angler a very good choice. And as the forced movement isn’t limited per turn or per rest and neither is slamming creatures into each other, the subclass has the potential to do quite a spread of damage to multiple opponents.
The Barbarian Path of the Maelstrom represents those warriors who call upon the fury of the ocean itself to fuel their fighting prowess. Their class features focus heavily on buffs/debuffs, situational damage, and forced movement, and relevant saving throw DCs make use of the Barbarian’s Constitution bonus. Starting at 3rd level they can take one of two Tidal Vortex stances when they enter a rage: Whirlpool pulls Large and smaller creatures within 10 feet towards them, while High Tide pushes them away instead. At 6th level the Barbarian can perform a Cyclone Strike as an action, dealing AoE damage to those within melee range who fail a Dexterity save, and the damage and reach increases by level. Also at 6th, 10th, and 14th levels they learn (and can swap out) Volitions that can further modify their Tidal Vortexes, such as ignoring size limitations of targets, granting temporary hit points to allies within range of the Vortex, imposing the Restrained condition on those who fail the save vs forced movement, etc. Only one such Volition can be applied at a time, so players won’t be able to chain stacking/multiple effects with them. At 10th level the Barbarian gains a broad number of immunities to things that can reduce or negate their speed and movement as long as they’re raging, and their 14th level capstone grants them an at will bonus action that deals lightning damage equal to their rage damage when moving in a line up to 15 feet.
Thoughts: I think that the multi-target close-range AoE is a pretty neat feature, and the Volitions are a good means of stacking on various buffs and debuffs to targets. And since the Tidal Vortex doesn’t take any actions or concentration to maintain as long as the Barbarian is raging, they don’t have to worry about trading it out for base action and attacks or having it forcefully dispelled. But the Cyclone Strike does cost an action, so in order for it to be of better use than an Extra Attack the subclass is at its best in fights with multiple opponents rather than fighting single strong opponents. As all of the Maelstrom Path’s subclass features only work while raging, it has no real out-of-combat or utility uses, but then again that’s never been what the Barbarian class is known for.
The Bard College of Fisher’s Tradition represents mages who rely on the power of storytelling to inspire others and make their otherwise fictional accounts have a bit more effect in reality. Starting out they gain proficiency in Deception, learn some bonus spells that are found later in this book, and can use fishing poles or tackles as spellcasting foci. Via spending Bardic Inspiration as a bonus action, they can grant themselves or an ally the benefits of one of ten Fisher’s Tales, providing a minor boon for the next minute. For example, Tale of the Broken Line grants advantage on the affected person’s attack rolls but enemies have advantage against them, while Tale of the Whopper grants proficiency with a single weapon and said weapon can be wielded as if it had the Finesse property. Tale of the Lakeside Camping is a pretty good use for out-of-combat healing, as it grants a creature recovered hit points per round equal to the Bard’s Charisma modifier. At 6th level they can imagine a Conjured Tale into existence a number of times per long rest equal to their Proficiency Bonus, taking on the form of a floating fish. As a bonus action on the Bard’s part, the fish can help an ally or deal force damage with a tail whip attack. For 14th level capstone abilities, the Conjured Tale moves twice as fast, and the Bard can maintain 2 Fisher’s Tales at a time instead of 1.
Thoughts: The College of Fisher’s Tradition is a rather weak subclass on account that it’s a bit too thinly spread in regards to reinforcing any particular strong points. The various Fisher’s Tales are broad in focus but their abilities tend to not be encounter-defining, and the Conjured Tale’s helper fish pales in comparison to similar companions. Compare this to the Dancing Item from the College of Creation which can deal more damage, Lore’s Cutting Words and bonus spells that can come from any class, or Eloquence’s amazing social skills and allies being able to keep Bardic Inspiration if they fail the roll. Fisher’s Tradition has some stiff competition, and sadly it doesn’t measure up.
The Deep Waters Cleric Domain Represents deities who hold influence over the crushing, cold depths of the ocean floor. The subclass grants proficiency with heavy armor, and a number of times per long rest equal to Proficiency Bonus the cleric can grow barnacles over their skin as an action, manifesting as temporary hit points equal to twice their class level. Their bonus spells center around water and debuffing, such as Bane, Water Breathing, and Hold Person, with Greater Invisibility being the odd one out. Their Channel Divinity manifests as an aura of extreme pressure, being a selective speed-halving and damage-dealing AoE that the Cleric can move up to 30 feet as an action. At 6th level the cleric gains resistance to cold damage as well as a swimming speed. They get a Divine Strike dealing bonus cold damage at 8th and 14th level, and their 17th level capstone is activated as an action up to six times per long rest (based on their Proficiency Bonus), a powerful single-target effect that brings the full force of the deep sea to a single target. This deals force damage along with a host of various debuffs such as grappled, drowning, restrained, and blinded if the target fails a Constitution save.
Thoughts: While not much at low levels, the personal-effect temporary hit points add up over time, and free proficiency with heavy armor is nothing to sneeze at. Their Channel Divinity is a pretty potent means of battlefield control even if it doesn’t do that much damage, and unlike most other kinds of effects it doesn’t require concentration, only ending when the cleric dies or is incapacitated. That being said, the focus on a commonly-resisted damage type and the capstone being potent yet single-target means that it’s not an overall strong domain, eclipsed by existing choices such as Forge and Light.
Circle of the Tides Druid represents those spellcasters whose sacred charge is to protect the waterways of the natural world. Their bonus spells center around weather-based AoE stuff like Control Water, Downpour,* and Call Lightning. Initially they gain access to Wild Shape forms with swim speeds right off the bat and up to Challenge Rating 1, and all their other Beast forms gain swim speeds and can hold their breath for prolonged periods. At 6th level they can impose forced or bonus movement on those who are damaged or healed by their spells (which goes great with Downpour given it can do both), their CR cap for creatures whose swim speed is double their walking speed is their level divided by 3,** and gain a swim speed equal to their walking speed and can breathe underwater. At 10th level they can use Wild Shape to conjure a swirling vortex on land or in sea (stronger in the latter) that imposes forced/restrained movement on those so affected, and can change into swarms of Tiny creatures when Wild Shaping into an aquatic Beast. Their 14th level capstone grants them a fly speed as they can “swim” like they’re in the sea, and their 10th level vortex gets a greater radius, can be selective in targets, and is always treated as being in water.
*a new spell in this book.
**this is the same as a Moon Druid’s CR cap, albeit limited by the above.
Thoughts: The good thing about this subclass is that the bonus spells it gets are pretty good, and being able to impose forced movement whenever they cast a damaging spell makes them good battlefield controllers when combined with AoE stuff. However, the 10th level vortex feature feels rather underpowered on account that its effects can be replicated by lower level “hindering terrain” stuff, if only on a smaller radius. Furthermore, while being able to take on bigger aquatic animal forms is nice, this makes the subclass very situational based on environment, and the Moon Druid is still overall better at that shtick.
The Way of the Octopus Monk is mastered by martial artists who learned the movements of their namesake via observing the animal in its natural habitat. They specialize in limber, quick strikes and grapples, using their ki to supernaturally enhance their agility. They are a very front-loaded subclass, gaining proficiency in Athletics and Acrobatics, a swimming speed, and can spend a ki point as a reaction to counterstrike an attacking creature and move up to 15 feet away from them without triggering opportunity attacks. They can also spend a ki point as a bonus action while grappling a creature, restraining them for the duration of the grapple but the Monk cannot use any Actions while using this trait (but at 17th level they can act normally).
At 6th level the Monk can do an opportunity attack once per round without expending a reaction, and can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed attacks as part of an opportunity attack. They can also contort their body to squeeze into narrow spaces and move at half speed through them. At 11th level they can perform an Octostrike as an enhanced version of Flurry of Blows that lets them spend additional Ki points to trigger additional abilities based on how many of the attacks missed. For example, they get an immediate use of Stunning Strike if two of their attacks miss. Their 17th level capstone makes them immune to the Restrained and Stunned conditions.
Thoughts: Being able to do a reaction-based counterattack is a good use of a Monk’s action economy, as combined with their bonus action Flurry of Blows and default Attack action they can get in a lot of hits. This does cost them heavily when it comes to ki points, and as most of their features require spending such points they’re a subclass that means to be rather conservative with its abilities. Imposing the Restrained condition on a grappled target is an excellent debuff, although as Strength isn’t a useful stat for Monks they are limited in how well they can do this even with Athletics proficiency. As the subclass doesn’t let them ignore a creature’s size like the Battle Angler does, this makes the Octopus Monk rather weak at higher levels when larger monsters become more common.
Thoughts So Far: I really like the base fishing minigame, and how it is simple in execution in being a skill check but avoids becoming too boring and predictable. We’ll cover this deeper in the next post, but it does this via the addition of various types of fish, random encounters based on environment, and special Fishing Styles and Techniques grant characters special ways of evening the odds. The investment in gold and downtime in improving oneself at the minigame is a good means of providing stuff for PCs to spend gold on, but can also be a good investment in getting a lot of that gold back based on the value of fishes they catch.
For the new races, subclasses, and spells, I overall liked the new options and didn’t find too many blatantly overpowered things so far. I do like the new races, even if I felt that some subraces were better choices than others. The Battle Angler is my favorite of the subclasses covered in this post, due to the mental image it conjures and because it looks like it would be fun to play. The Bard and Monk subclasses didn’t look all that appealing, and while the Cleric and Druid don’t look to be able to compete with the stronger core options they do look efficient and thematic for aquatic campaigns.
Join us next time as we cover the rest of the subclasses, Spells, and Fishing Styles and Techniques!
Last edited:
