Sahuagin: Shark Lords

The village was empty, the seagulls were strangely quiet, and all we could hear was the surge of the sea.

An account of the aftermath of a Sahuagin Raid

Lore: Devils of the Deep

Known for mercilessly slaughtering their prey, the sahuagin have more than earned the title of ‘sea devil.’ Dwelling within the dark crevices of the ocean, they consider the sea to be their own and all the creatures within it are the blood sport for their hunters.

Sahuagin worship the shark god Sekolah, though only the females of their tribes can channel the magic powers of their deity. As such, they have tremendous power within their society. Because of their worship, they’re also the kin of sharks; even untrained sharks show respect to the sahuagin. Perhaps that is why the sahuagin are driven to a frenzy by the sent of blood?

If not for the efforts of aquatic elves, the sahuagin might rule over all the oceans. Wars are waged between these two as frequently as the tides rise and draw all life in the seas into the conflict. Sahuagin hatred of their enemies burns so deeply that they’ve evolved to combat their foes; being prone to evolution, sahuagin born near elven settlements may just look like a sea elf. None can explain this phenomenon. Though these children are put to good use as spies and spreaders of chaos.

This lore is rife with storytelling potential! From small encounters, like a raid upon the high seas, to massive campaigns, such as war between sea elves and sea devils! Though you’ll need to get creative and use other, stronger monsters if you want to spin a whole campaign around these guys; weak as they are, they’re not really final boss worthy for any players above level five.

Still, solid lore. If you want cool fish monsters, this is certainly a pick.

Design: The Aquatic Chimera

Why does this section have two illustrations? Were the two extra arms really that important?

I appreciate that this monster isn’t just another bipedal fish. Rather, it’s a chimera of multiple different kinds of aquatic creature. Webbed feet like a frog, carapace armor for the shoulder plates, shark-like body and head, the works. It’s far more interesting than just ‘fish but it walks and talks.’

Sorry, Kuo-Toa. You guys look boring.

Understandably, however, there’s still not much new to these guys. We’ve covered tons of aquatic bipedal monsters up to this point. That idea has been squeezed dry at this point. Still, in that category, the sahuagin place fairly high.

Is it as high as a dragon turtle or a beholder? Nope. But it’s something.

Stats: Salmon, Carp, and Catfish

Three monsters, three sets of stats. It’s like going to a nice restaurant and the only protein you can choose is seafood! Luckily, all three versions of this monster share most of their traits, so this won’t take that long.

So… it’s more like going to a restaurant that only serves catfish.

Firstly are their unique abilities: Blood Frenzy, Limited Amphibiousness, and Shark Telepathy. The first is a powerful buff that gives the monster advantage on all melee attack rolls, provided the target isn’t at maximum HP. The second allows them to breath air and water, provided they spend some time in the water every four hours. And the last does just about what you’d expect it to.

Then there are its combat actions. Which is where the three start to separate themselves.

The base sahuagin is the weakest of the lot. Both its AC and HP are about as low as a level three wizard PC. It has plenty of melee attacks, but none of them do anything beyond basic damage. It’s as simple and cookie-cutter as these monsters can get.

A sahuagin priestess is a bit more dangerous. Its AC is the same, but it does have more HP to make up for it. It has the same melee options as the base sahuagin, minus the spear. In its stead, it’s got a list of spells!

• Cantrips (at will): guidance, thaumaturgy
• 1st level (4 slots): bless, detect magic, guiding bolt
• 2nd level (3 slots): hold person, spiritual weapon (trident)
• 3rd level (3 slots): mass healing word, tongues

Finally, we have the sahuagin baron. Which… is exactly the same monster as the base sahuagin, only it has bigger numbers. The most dramatic change was how it switched the spear out for a trident. This one is clearly supposed to be the big boss, but it falls completely short in that regard.

Honestly, this is only an interesting battle if you include a priestess into the mix. Without those spells, all you’ve got is the most basic slugfest you could get once again. With it, you can make it at least a little more varied and interesting.

Placement

This one went downhill a bit more slowly than some others. It’s lore was pretty strong. Then its design was pretty okay. By the time we reached the stats section, all the wind had vanished from the sails.

With all that in mind, the Sahuagin are going to #91 on the Best of the Bestiary!

1. Beholder
2. Death Tyrant
3. Mind Flayer
4. Dragon Turtle
5. Mummy/Mummy Lord
6. Nagas (all three of ’em)
7. Green Dragons
8. Red Dragons
9. Blue Dragons
10. Black Dragons
11. White Dragons
12. Silver Dragons
13. Couatl
14. Behir
15. Aboleth
16. Sea Hag
17. Lamia
18. Bronze Dragons
19. Brass Dragons
20. Copper Dragons
21. Gold Dragons
22. Chuul
23. Kuo-Toa
24. Gibbering Mouther
25. Kraken
26. Intellect Devourer
27. Chimera
28. Death Knight
29. Fomorian
30. Bone Devil
31. Dracolich
32. Faerie Dragon
33. Gelatinous Cube
34. Lich
35. Peryton
36. Remorhaz
37. Orcs (all four of ’em)
38. Magmin
39. Kobold
40. Kenku
41. Hobgoblins
42. Night Hag
43. Green Hag
44. Black Pudding
45. Ankheg
46. Hook Horror
47. Oni
48. Purple Worm
49. Storm Giant
50. Hill Giant
51. Empyrean
52. Efreeti
53. Grimlock
54. Minotaur
55. Dao
56. Cloud Giant
57. Manticore
58. Drow (all four of ’em)
59. Shadow Demon
60. Modrons (all five of ’em)
61. Marilith
62. Drider
63. Aarackockra
64. Azer
65. Demilich
66. Spectator
67. Gray Ooze
68. Ochre Jelly
69. Hydra
70. Rakshasa
71. Marid
72. Harpy
73. Werejackal
74. Otyugh
75. Half-Dragon
76. Cambion
77. Fire Giant
78. Nothic
79. Pixie
80. Animated Armor
81. Roper
82. Banshee
83. Basilisk
84. Yochlol
85. Bulette
86. Cloaker
87. Darkmantle
88. Doppelganger
89. Revenant
90. Ghoul and Ghast
91. Sahuagin (all three) <————
92. Ettin
93. Medusa
94. Pit Fiend
95. Erinyes
96. Chain Devil
97. Bearded Devil
98. Barbed Devil
99. Spined Devil
100. Ice Devil
101. Mimic
102. Djinni
103. Merrow
104. Nalfeshnee
105. Glabrezu
106. Chasme
107. Grell
108. Barlgura
109. Horned Devil
110. Balor
111. Shadow Dragon
112. Myconids (all four of ’em)
113. Piercer
114. Werebear
115. Lizardfolk
116. Vrock
117. Dretch
118. Pseudodragon
119. Gnolls (all three)
120. Goristro
121. Hezrou
122. Manes
123. Quaggoth
124. Frost Giant
125. Weretiger
126. Werewolf
127. Duergar
128. Quasit
129. Dryad
130. Flumph
131. Goblin
132. Nightmare
133. Rust Monster
134. Wereboar
135. Wererat
136. Githyanki
137. Owlbear
138. Planetar
139. Imp
140. Ogres/Half-ogres
141. Roc
142. Clay Golem
143. Flameskull
144. Displacer Beast
145. Carrion Crawler
146. Githzerai
147. Grick
148. Invisible Stalker
149. Rug of Smothering
150. Bugbear Chief
151. Bugbear
152. Flesh Golem
153. Vine Blight
154. Twig Blight
155. Needle Blight
156. Mephits (all six of ’em)
157. Bullywug
158. Hellhound
159. Ettercap
160. Gas Spore
161. Cockatrice
162. Lemure
163. Homonculus
164. Merfolk
165. Solar
166. Deva
167. Gorgon
168. Hippogriff
169. Griffon
170. Cyclops
171. Centaur
172. Ghost
173. Pegasus
174. Fire Elemental
175. Water Elemental
176. Air Elemental
177. Stone Giant
178. Deep Gnome
179. Dinosaurs (All six of them)
180. Iron Golem
181. Stone Golem
182. Earth Elemental
183. Galeb Duhr
184. Helmed Horror
185. Flying Sword
186. Crawling Claw
187. Violet Fungus
188. Shrieker
189. Gargoyle