Fishing has been your life for as long as you care to remember. You crewed fishing vessels as a youth, studied the use of nets and line, learned basics of seafaring, with an emphasis on coastal navigation. You might have been part of a fishing fleet for a major city or one of the townsfolk in a fishing village, or perhaps a fishery merchant who rose to prominence in the seafood industry.
When you choose this background, work with your DM to determine whether you specialize in deep sea, coastal or freshwater fishing, how extensive your experience is, and what part of the world you plied your trade. How did you you get into in the fishing industry, who were your companions and what type of vessels did you sail?
- Skill Proficiencies: Survival, Perception
- Tool Proficiencies: Fishing tackle, vehicles (water), navigation
- Equipment: A large conch shell, a small knife or basic fishing equipment, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
During your time as a fisherman, you had a specific role to play in your profession. Choose from the options in the table below to determine your role:
| d4 | Specialty |
|---|---|
| 1 | Officer (Captain, First Mate) |
| 2 | Boat crew |
| 3 | Individual fisherman (sea) |
| 4 | Individual fisherman (fresh water) |
You have nautical and fishery experience from your career as a fisherman. This experience allows you to work in any part of the industry such as preparing, salting, and curing fish, cooking fish, catching fish, or working as a sailor aboard vessels similar to those you sailed during your days in the industry. You can invoke your skills to obtain free passage on a fishing or other sea or lake vessel as a favor. In return, you and your companions will be expected to work as crew aboard the vessel and may have to endure a longer or roundabout route to arrive at your desired destination.
Suggested Characteristics
The experience of being on the water and fishing for a living leaves a mark on all fisherman, making them akin to sailors, pirates and other vessel-bound seafarers, creating strong bonds with nature, and fostering a propensity for embellished storytelling.
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