Reading Tides (sage ability)

Reading Tides is an amateur-status sage ability in the study of Oceanography, granting knowledge of tides, currents and eddies along sea and lake shores, largely by observation and the feel of the water. In particular, this includes falling and rising tides inshore, inclusive of the time of year and other factors, allowing the character special knowledge relating to sailing, boating or fishing.

The best fishing is managed when a rising tide pushes against a bay mouth, bringing with it an abundance of baitfish and catch, enabling the best possible yield. Recognizing not only the time of day, but the specific point of land at which to fish at a specific point of time, this is part of the knowledge the character has. The skill only finds the fish, however — it will impart no special ability to catch fish, so that the character should be viewed as an unskilled angler.

The knowledge will also provide safety from currents where it comes to swimming, ensuring that the character does not venture into areas subject to riptides or undertows.