Sahuagin, also known as sea devils or devil men of the deep, are an aggressive aquatic humanoid race that can be encountered in the Spelljammer campaign setting.[1][2][3]
Overview[]
Sahuagin, sometimes referred to as sea devils or devil men,[4] are vicious, predatory fish-men that live in warm coastal waters. They are highly organized and revel in raiding neighbouring communities for food and sport.[3]
Description[]
Sahuagin are typically blackish-green, shading to green on their bellies, with black fins. Their great, staring eyes are a deep, shining black, and are particularly keen. At depths of up to 100 feet underwater, they can see up to 300 feet. For every additional 100 feet, their vision is reduced by 10 feet (i.e. at 500 feet underwater they can see up to 260 feet; at a depth of 1,000 feet they can see up to 210 feet). Their hearing is also remarkably sharp in that they are able to detect the clinking of metal a mile away, or a boat oar splashing at twice that distance.
Sahuagin have tough, scaly hides, with webbed fingers and toes, and their mouths are filled with sharp fangs. About 1 in 216 sahuagin hatchlings is born with an additional pair of usable arms, and is usually black in color, shading to gray. Females are indistinguishable from males, except that they are slightly smaller. Hatchlings are a light green color when born, but darken as they mature, and attain full growth approximately one to two months after hatching.
Sahuagin never stop growing throughout their lives, though death usually claims them before they reach the size of an ogre. Sahuagin leaders are always the biggest and the strongest member of their tribe, and often have four arms. The sahuagin speak their own tongue.[3]
Behavior[]
The sahuagin are cruel and brutal, and live by the credo that only the strong survive. Any injured, disabled, or infirm specimens are slain and eaten by their cannibalistic compatriots, and even imperfect hatchlings are dealt with in the same fashion. This constant weeding out of the weak has resulted in a strong race, however, and any leader is subject to challenge. Such duels are always fought without weapons; only fangs and claws are permitted. The loser of a challenge is always slain, either during combat or afterward. Sometimes the loser winds up as the main course at the victory feast.
The sahuagin are constantly at war with neighbouring aquatic races, including merfolk,[5] sea sprites,[6] tritons, sea elves and hippocampi. They even hate the evil ixitxachitl, and the constant feuding and outright warfare between the two races has indirectly contributed to preventing the ascendance of the spellcasting, manta ray-like race. The only allies the sahuagin have are sharks that they have befriended.[3]
Combat[]
The sahuagin don't wear armour, relying instead on their tough scales for protection in combat. They wear a harness to carry their personal gear and weapons, which can include tridents, spears, nets and daggers, as well as heavy crossbows. Tridents are versatile weapons and are commonly used to hunt and pin prey as well as ward off threatening opponents. Nets are weighted with dozens of hooks that make escape virtually impossible for unarmored victims or creatures not able to grasp and tear. When attacking land-based coastal communities, the sahuagin often replace their nets with three javelins each. Their heavy crossbows are able to function underwater and have a range increment of about 30 feet, but function normally on the surface.
Sahuagin are born predators and are well-equipped with natural weapons. They have extremely sharp teeth, giving them a dangerous bite, while their webbed hands and powerful hind legs end in long, sharp claws and talons, making an unarmed sahuagin an extremely dangerous opponent.
Sahuagin warbands are usually led by a war-chief and his lieutenants. When raiding coastal villages, sahuagin attack en masse, with leaders directing their forces from behind. As long as there is no truly organized resistance, they continue in their plunder and violence. In their natural element underwater, the sahuagin are far more confident. Using the three-dimensional aspect of fighting underwater, they sometimes dive down on a group of underwater opponents, coming in from behind, and swooping down and past them, dropping nets on their intended victims.
When sahuagin attack ships, they swarm up from all sides and try to overwhelm their opponents through sheer numbers. They often grab their opponents and hurl them into the sea, where at least a quarter of the raiding party lurks, waiting to capture their prey or to serve as reinforcements. Some leaders carry a conch shell, which when sounded gives the signal for the group of sahuagin in reserve to enter the fray.
Sahuagin have an almost paralyzing fear of spellcasters, and will focus their attention on anyone who uses spells or spell-like abilities, or even uses a magical item. Sahuagin are also vulnerable to fire-based attacks.[3]
Society[]
Sahuagin prefer to live in warm, salt water environments, at depths between 100 to 1,500 feet. They are extreme predators, and pose a threat to all living things because they kill for sport and pleasure as well as for food. They abhor fresh water, and dislike bright light (including spells like continual light) which can be harmful to their eyes.
Sahuagin society is ruled by the most fearsome warriors, and the pecking order is determined through personal combat. Their "survival-of-the-fittest" mindset has ensured that only the most robust and fittest members of their race survive.[7] Sahuagin communities range in size from small family-based warbands of up to 150 members,[5] to enormous kingdoms ruled by a powerful and charismatic (by sahuagin standards) warlord. Some of the larger kingdoms consist of coalitions of smaller tribes (known as principalities), each ruled by a prince.[8]
Sahuagin cities can range in size from a few hundred of the monstrous creatures to 5,000 or more. When not at war with neighbouring races, these cities often engage in territorial battles with each other. Sahuagin villages and towns are usually constructed of stone, and most of the building are domed. Seaweed and similar marine plants grow around and on these buildings, making them hard to detect. Smaller communities are usually ruled by a baron.
All sahuagin communities have a small population of sharks which obey simple one- or two-word commands. Smaller settlements may have up to 8 sharks, while larger communities may have up to 24 sharks.
The sahuagin want nothing less than full dominion over all coastal regions and surrounding territories, gathering as much wealth and power as possible in the process while maintaining the secrecy and security of their communities. Sahuagin often venture ashore on dark, moonless nights to raid and plunder coastal towns, devastating whole coasts, and destroying passing ships. Any creatures taken alive from raids or when intercepting unwelcome visitors are confined in cells.
Although sahuagin are able to stay out of water for up to four hours, there is no air in the confinement cells in a typical village, but larger communities may special cells to house air-breathing prisoners. The sahuagin often set aside a few prisoners to torture and provide sport – typically a fight to the death between two different creatures in an arena. The bulk of captives are simply killed and eaten. Prisoners seldom escape, though the sahuagin find sport in allowing captives to think that they have found freedom, only to be encircled by sadistic guards while a school of sharks moves in for the kill. The few air-breathers that have escaped the sahuagin usually owe their freedom to the brave intervention of more benevolent sea races, such as the merfolk, tritons or sea elves.
Sahuagin range as far as 50 miles from their settlements. Some enjoy collecting pearls and coral formations, fashioning them into jewelry which is often worn as a status symbol. Sahuagin are fond of wealth, which they use as a measure of influence, and as sacrifices to the gods in exchange for power and other favors. Sahuagin are also fond of eating giant squid and kraken, and their constant predation has kept the numbers of these monsters of the deep down to a safe level. Conversely, these beasts enjoy eating sahuagin, which prevents the sahuagin from overrunning coastal areas.[3]
Sahuagin can be found on most Known Worlds, but notable populations can also be found on the water-worlds of Barbuda,[9] Conatha in Greyspace,[1] and Thalassa.[2]
Religion[]
The sahuagin worship the great devil-shark Sekolah, an elemental force of uncaring viciousness and brutality who drives his chosen people to plunder, slaughter and dominion.[10] Sahuagin religion is dominated by females, and is led by a high-priestess who is always accompanied by a retinue of nine under-priestesses.[3]
Rumors[]
The exact origin of the sahuagin is unknown, though some sages have suggested that they were created from a nation of particularly evil humans by powerful lawful evil gods in order to preserve them when a great deluge came down upon their world. Others claim they are degenerate humans who formerly dwelt on the seacoasts, whose evil and depravity was so great that they eventually devolved into fish-folk and sought the darkness of the ocean depths. The tritons, however, are purported to believe that the sahuagin are distantly related to sea elves, claiming that they were somehow spawned by the drow.[3]
Notable Sahuagin[]
- X'kabantun was a warlord and ruler of the largest and most influential sahuagin kingdom on Conatha in Greyspace.[11]
- T'brinish was a warlord and ruler of one of the smaller sahuagin kingdoms on Conatha. Practically a genius by sahuagin standards, he had come to the realization that keeping a bargain may be even more advantageous than betraying a rival, and had begun cultivating alliances among neighbouring kingdoms.[11]
Signature Spelljammers[]
In general, sahuagin have little interest in, or understanding of, spelljamming technology. However, some of their more cunning leaders have come to realize that off-world visitors represent more than convenient sources of food; that their ships - and their weapons - may hold the key to power and eventual dominance over their rivals.[12] Certain tribes even have ambitions of acquiring spelljamming craft for themselves, modifying them to meet their own requirements, and travelling into space.[6]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Sahuagin article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Sahuagin article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.
- Sahuagin article at Greyhawkonline.com, a wiki for the Greyhawk campaign setting.
- Sahuagin article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nigel Findley, SJR6 Greyspace, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Conatha chapter, pages 43-47
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Thalassa section, chapter 4 Water Bodies, pages 25-27
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Tim Beach et al, Monstrous Manual, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Sahuagin entry, pages 306-307
- ↑ Nigel Findley, SJR6 Greyspace, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Conatha chapter, page 44
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Thalassa section, chapter 4 Water Bodies, page 26
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Barbuda section, chapter 4 Water Bodies, page 31
- ↑ Nigel Findley, SJR6 Greyspace, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Conatha chapter, page 45
- ↑ Nigel Findley, SJR6 Greyspace, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Conatha chapter, pages 44-46
- ↑ Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Barbuda section, chapter 4 Water Bodies, pages 30-32
- ↑ Carl Sargent, DMGR4 Monster Mythology, 1992, (TSR Inc.), ISBN:1-56076-362-0, Gods of the Seas and Skies, page 93
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Nigel Findley, SJR6 Greyspace, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Important NPCs section, Conatha chapter, page 47
- ↑ Nigel Findley, SJR6 Greyspace, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Conatha chapter, pages 45 and 47