If you’ve wanted to give your players a fun game to compete in or perhaps just the opportunity to fish in your Dungeons and Dragons game (or other TTRPG), this article is for you.

We’ve created a free fishing system you can add to your TTRPG games with ease.

TTRPG fishing system guide

Essentially you players can go through any of the following steps as you decide they should.

They would first pick where to look for bait (dirty, foliage, shallow water) which would in turn determine which types of bait they can find.

They’ll roll on the chart matching the area they’re searching and receive one of the options.

The bait will give them a benefit of some kind. It could be a bonus to catch rolls, fish type rolls, or something else.

They would then roll on the fishing success table. This is where they could add a catch bonus if they have one. The fish success table determines if they catch a fish and its size (or special).

You’ll then move to the table that matches the size of fish they caught and have them roll again to determine the rarity of the fish and its point value.

Fish Bait Tables

Searching in the Dirt

Bait Type	Description	Bonus
Earthworm	A common and wriggly bait	+1 to Catch Rolls (d20)
Grubs	Fat and juicy	+2 to Catch Rolls (d20)
Beetles	Small and abundant	+1 to Catch Rolls (d20)
Small Stones	Attracts curious fish	+1 to Fish Type Rolls (d20)
Glittering Moss	Sparkles in the water, enticing fish	+2 to Fish Type Rolls (d20)
Mud Crabs	Small, resilient crabs that attract persistent fish	Allows rolling Catch Rolls with advantage

Searching in Foliage

Bait Type	Description	Bonus
Insect (Crickets)	Noisy and attracts attention	+1 to Catch Rolls (d20)
Dragonfly	Fast-moving, attracts predatory fish	+2 to Catch Rolls (d20)
Spider Webs	Sticky, holds other bait well	Allows combining two baits for cumulative bonuses
Magical Mushrooms	Glows faintly, attracts magical fish	+3 to Fish Type Rolls (d20)
Plant Roots	Aromatic and enticing	+1 to Fish Type Rolls (d20)
Snails	Slow but effective bait	+1 to Catch Rolls (d20)

Searching in Water

Bait Type	Description	Bonus
Frogs	Larger bait for bigger fish	+1 to Catch Rolls (d20)
Small Fish	Common prey for larger fish	+3 to Catch Rolls (d20)
Fireflies	Glowing, attracts nocturnal fish	+2 to Catch Rolls (d20) at night
Shiny Stones	Attracts curious fish	+1 to Fish Type Rolls (d20)
Algae	Common but effective	+1 to Fish Type Rolls (d20)
Bioluminescent Algae	Glows in the dark, attracting deep water fish	Automatically moves catch up one size category

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Fishing Success Table

Roll (d20)	Result	Outcome
1-5	No Catch	No fish caught
6-10	Small Catch	Catch a small fish
11-16	Medium Catch	Catch a medium fish
17-19	Large Catch	Catch a large fish
20	Special Catch	Catch a rare or legendary fish

Fish Type Table with Points

Small Catch

Roll (d20)	Fish Type	Size	Special Properties	Points
1-5	Small Common Fish	Small	None	1
6-10	Small Rare Fish	Small	Slightly magical	2
11-15	Small Enchanted Fish	Small	Faint glow, minor magical property	3
16-18	Small Golden Fish	Small	Valuable, worth more points	5
19-20	Small Legendary Fish	Small	Highly magical, grants temporary benefits	10

Medium Catch

Roll (d20)	Fish Type	Size	Special Properties	Points
1-5	Medium Common Fish	Medium	None	3
6-10	Medium Rare Fish	Medium	Slightly magical	5
11-15	Medium Enchanted Fish	Medium	Faint glow, minor magical property	8
16-18	Medium Golden Fish	Medium	Valuable, worth more points	12
19-20	Medium Legendary Fish	Medium	Highly magical, grants temporary benefits	20

Large Catch

Roll (d20)	Fish Type	Size	Special Properties	Points
1-5	Large Common Fish	Large	None	5
6-10	Large Rare Fish	Large	Slightly magical	10
11-15	Large Enchanted Fish	Large	Faint glow, minor magical property	15
16-18	Large Golden Fish	Large	Valuable, worth more points	25
19-20	Large Legendary Fish	Large	Highly magical, grants temporary benefits	30

Special Catch

Roll (d20)	Fish Type	Size	Special Properties	Points
1-10	Rare Fish	Medium	Slightly magical, glows faintly	20
11-15	Enchanted Fish	Medium	Faint glow, minor magical property	30
16-20	Legendary Fish	Very Large	Highly magical, grants temporary benefits	50

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You can use the point system for in-game minigames or even a competition between the party and a Cloud Giant that just *loves* fishing (that’s what I did in my D&D game!).

Either way, give it a try and let us know what you think of the TTRPG fish system in the comments below!

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