Friday, 13 June 2025

Adventure Hooks - Fishing activity for the BREAK!! Tabletop RPG (Freebie)

A lot of people joke that every RPG needs a fishing mini-game. While I think the jury is still out there on that one, I do think it makes a fun downtime activity for BREAK!! - below are some simple rules and a nice list of fish so you can incorporate this into your home games if you so desire.
 
(Special thanks to BREAK!! Discord user Talrey for suggesting a good name for this blog entry) 

Fishing

A pastime, a sport, a way of life - fishing is many different things to the people of the Outer World. Netting a legendary catch is a worthy achievement for any adventurer.

  • What you will need:

    • A Fishing Rod of some kind.

    • At least one unit of Bait.

    • A proper Fishing Site. These are bodies of water (or other liquid) that have fishable things living in it. Rivers,underground lakes, or even an odd artificial pond in an ancient ruin all could be Fishing sites. Fishing sites can be found near settlements, on the way to or within adventure sites, or even be mini-sites of their own.

    •  Time.

      • You may use a Downtime Action or Camping Activity to Fish. 

      • You may fish while exploring an Adventure Site (assuming you have all the tools) but only once per session. This counts as lingering in an area.

      • GM’s Note: These limits are practical ones, meant to stop play sessions from being dominated by multiple fishing attempts! They may be relaxed a bit if you desire.

  • Fishing Procedure

    • Fishing prompts a Deftness or Grit Check (whichever is higher)

    • On a success, roll a result on the Fishing Success Table for the region the Fishing Site is located in.

    • On a Failure, roll a result on the One that got Away table.


Types of Fish

(All fish, regardless of type, can be sold as Trade Goods for the region they were found in or hastily cooked into a Standard Ration unless noted otherwise)

  • Common

    • Common Fish are tasty but otherwise unremarkable. Anyone can prepare them as a Ration (assuming they have a cutting implement and some time).

  • Glopfish

    • Odd, wobbling creatures that produce a disturbingly edible slime. Anyone who can create basic Cooking crafts can extract 1 unit of Goody Goop from it.

    • Yield: Goody Goop (Solid Consumable Material): Items made from Goody Goop have a very distinct odor that is very hard to conceal.

  • Jellies 

    • Boneless and seemingly aimless, these stingy, technically living sacks are a delicacy and rather easy to preserve. Anyone can prepare them as a Treat with a dry place and exposure to sunlight or other source of warmth.

  • Broochfish

    • A strain of aquatic life characterized by their rigid bodies and distinctive shapes. These can be used as materials for Basic Artificing Crafts by anyone with the proper Ability and tools.

  • Gulper

    • Disturbingly stretchy fish that are able to suck in a great deal of water and grow in size. If cleaned out, these can be used as containers for up to 2 Units of a non-caustic liquid.

  • Spine Fish

    • These aggressive fish have long sharp bits about them. These may be plucked off and used as Thrown Missile Weapons. While not made of magical material, they may be imbued as such by someone with the appropriate Ability and tools. 

  • Tubbers

    • Immense fish whose girth is said to be due to their bodies being very mana-absorbent. If prepared as a rations this foodstuff may be imbued by someone with the appropriate Ability and tools, in spite of not technically being made of magical material.

  • Hoppers

    • Small, amphibious creatures that can survive in both land and water. These are easy to take care of and are popular pets among the Outer World’s youth as a result.

  • Cloakfish

    • Often mistaken for fluttering fabric floating around under water, cloakfish hide is a surprisingly durable material when worked into clothing. Those with the ability to harvest parts from creatures can extract 2 Units of Cloakfish hide from one that’s caught. 

    • Yield: Cloakfish Hide (Textile Material) - Outfits made of Cloakfish hide are always a bit slick and shiny. This is considered very fashionable in certain parts of the Outer World. 

  • Shieldies

    • Rare heavily shelled or armored aquatic life. These can be made into Small or Standard shields by anyone who can create basic Forging Crafts. While not technically magical material, they are able to be imbued as if they were.

  • Razormouths

    • These large fish are quite dangerous, most famous for their rows of very sharp teeth and great strength. Reeling one in requires a Might Check in addition to the normal Rolls for fishing.

      • Razormouths can be made into 6 units of Hardy Rations by anyone who can create basic Cooking crafts.

      • There are collectors who will buy them for a Gem if offered.

      • At the GM’s discretion, characters who catch a Razormouth may gain a related Reputation Purview in the locale they were fishing in as per the Change Your Reputation Downtime Action.


Successful Catch Table

The entries below represent the sort of fish that can be caught in each of the regions of the Outer World. Feel free to customize though! Each and every Fishing Site is unique, and could possibly have unique distribution and table entries. 

  • 1-5: Common Fish

    • Wistful Dark - Glumpy

    • Twilight Meridian - Sparklekoi

    • Blazing Garden - Goldscale

    • Buried Kingdom - Spacklefin

  • 6-7: Glopfish

    • Wistful Dark - Puddingplop

    • Twilight Meridian - Mochickeral

    • Blazing Garden - Sunspew Eel

    • Buried Kingdom - Googill

  • 8-9: Jellies

    • Wistful Dark - Inkgob

    • Twilight Meridian - Twinkling Jelly

    • Blazing Garden - Lumeorb

    • Buried Kingdom - Mudmass

  • 10-11: Broochfish

    • Wistful Dark - Amuloach

    • Twilight Meridian - Capfish

    • Blazing Garden - Swimming Disc

    • Buried Kingdom - Floundart

  • 11-12: Gulper

    • Wistful Dark - Mawfish

    • Twilight Meridian - Toothlapia

    • Blazing Garden - Brasscale

    • Buried Kingdom - Lantern-Mouth

  • 13-14:Spine Fish

    • Wistful Dark - Bone Bass

    • Twilight Meridian - Crowned Koi

    • Blazing Garden - Tuskfish

    • Buried Kingdom - Bugeye Splasher

  • 15-16: Tubbers

    • Wistful Dark - Gloom Eel

    • Twilight Meridian - Sage Fish

    • Blazing Garden - Chubbin

    • Buried Kingdom - Bouldergut

  • 17: Hoppers

    • Wistful Dark - Glum Croaker

    • Twilight Meridian - Jumping Koi

    • Blazing Garden - Snaptongue 

    • Buried Kingdom - Wartrock

  • 18: Cloakfish

    • Wistful Dark - Flowmantle

    • Twilight Meridian - Swimming Shawl

    • Blazing Garden - Hoodwinky

    • Buried Kingdom - Ragfish

  • 19: Shieldies

    • Wistful Dark - Crimsonhusker

    • Twilight Meridian - Buckler Bass

    • Blazing Garden - Rondelo Trout

    • Buried Kingdom - Helmollusk

  • 20: Razormouths

    • Wistful Dark - Red Eye

    • Twilight Meridian - Silver Grinner

    • Blazing Garden - Talontooth

    • Buried Kingdom - Tarscale


One that Got Away (Failure)

Player Note!: These results are left open-ended for a reason! You and the Game Master are free to make these as important (or unimportant) as you’d like. They could end up as anything from background noise to an adventure hook.

  • 1-5: Nothing was biting, alas. At least you had some time to relax.

  • 6-8: You got plenty of biting, but didn’t manage to actually reel one in. You could swear one fish was laughing at you. (Bait Lost)

  • 9-10: You actually fell asleep before properly starting - some strange music actually lulled you into slumber.

  • 11-12: While looking for a good place to sit you actually found a hole leading to something very interesting instead - though this made you too distracted to catch anything.

  • 13-14: Someone local was fishing today as well. You hit it off and chatted with them, forging a new Social Bond rather than attending to your fishing rod.

  • 15-16: You didn’t catch any fish, but you did find a bottle with a message in it... 

  • 17-18: You’re sure you would have caught a big one, if something hadn’t scared off all the fish...

  • 19: You hooked something, but it wasn’t a fish… (Bait Lost)

  • 20: You did catch something (roll on the appropriate table) but it turned out to be able to talk, and somehow convinced you to throw it back… (Bait Lost)

New Gear

Bait

Small insects and sliced morsels collected and preserved to be used to lure fish to bite a fisher's hook. These are often idly gathered by locals and sold to travelers and enthusiasts.

  • 1/10 Slot 
  • Cost: 1 Stone
  • GM Note!: Certain types of rations can be used as Bait, at your discretion.  

Fishing Rod (Common Rural Good)

This simple device is required for those who want to go fishing. There are numerous sorts all throughout the Outer World, though it’s said the finest ones are made in the Galvanus Archipelago.

  • Fishing Rod’s are Common Rural Goods, as described in the BREAK!! Core rulebook.  

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