Sahuagin

Across fog-shrouded coasts or endless ocean swells, an ominous drone sounded on a conch shell chills the blood of all who hear it. This is the sound of the sahuagin hunting horn-a call to raid and battle. Coastal settlers refer to sahuagin as "sea devils," for sahuagin have no compassion in them, slaughtering the crews of ships and decimating coastal villages.

Devils of the Deep

Sahuagin are a predatory, piscine race that ventures from the ocean's black depths to hunt the creatures of the shallows and shore. Though they dwell in the deepest trenches of the ocean, sahuagin view the entire aquatic realm as their kingdom and the creatures in it as blood sport for their hunting parties.
The self-styled rulers of sahuagin ocean domains are massive mutant males that grow second sets of arms. They are terrible foes in battle, and all sahuagin bow down before these powerful barons.

Way of the Shark

Sahuagin worship the shark god Sekolah. Only female sahuagin are deemed worthy of channeling the god's power, and priestesses hold tremendous sway in sahuagin communities.
Sahuagin are driven into a frenzy by the smell of fresh blood. As worshipers of Sekolah, they also have a special kinship with sharks, which they train as attack animals. Even untrained sharks recognize sahuagin as allies and don't prey on them.

Elven Enmity

The sahuagin might control the oceans if not for the presence of their mortal enemies, the aquatic elves. Wars between the two races have raged for centuries across the coasts and seas of the world, disrupting maritime trade and drawing other races into the bloody conflict.
So intense is sahuagin hatred for the aquatic elves that the sea devils have adapted to combat their ancient foes. A sahuagin born near enough to an aquatic elf community can enter the world as a malenti-a sahuagin that physically resembles an aquatic elf in every way. Sahuagin are prone to mutation, but whether this rare phenomenon is a result of the wars between the sahuagin and the aquatic elves-or whether it preceded or even began the conflict-none can say.
The sahuagin put the malenti to good use as spies and assassins in aquatic elf cities and the societies of other creatures that pose a threat to sahuagin. The mere shadow of the malenti threat incites paranoia and suspicion among aquatic elves, whose resilience is weakened as the prelude to an actual sahuagin invasion.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Ok so there is an enormous 106 page 1997 Monstrous supplement which goes into WAAAY too much detail about sahuagin culture and anatomy and oh my god it is just insane and I can't be fucked. Not right now. One day maybe.

In the Sea of Fallen Stars

Sahuagin have long been the greatest known enemies of the deep sea, primarily because every race either above or below the waves has come under attack by the sea devils at some time during their history. While not as numerous in Serôs as the koalinth or merfolk, sahuagin are among the top five races in terms of sheer population in the Inner Sea depths. As this population was maintained in the Alamber with only about 30% of the territory of Serôs, many expect a population explosion among sahuagin as they now freely roam the Inner Sea again.
The Serôsian sahuagin, due to the enclosed and isolated nature of the Inner Sea, developed minor cosmetic differences from their Outer Sea counterparts, though they affect none of their abilities. The anterior fins (what many humans and other races see as ears) are slightly larger and do not anchor at two points on the sides of the head. The fins radiate out at the side of the head, peak as normal, but then the rear part of the fin flows back along the skull to merge with the dorsal fin at the top of the sahuagin's shoulder blades.
In terms of coloration, Inner Sea sahuagin tend toward more blue-toned scales than others, leading to many sahuagin of turquoise or teal coloration, and even some rare sorts of a near-navy-blue color. They also do not lose their hatchling markings (mottled scale colors of greens, blues, and such) half the time, but all sahuagin darken with age. Thus, in contrast to Outer Sea sahuagin, those sea devils of the Alamber Sea appear to be striped or speckled more often than their counterparts. There are still solidly colored sahuagin which account for 60% of the sahuagin population.
The mutant population of sahuagin, the malenti, is larger than the norm. Also more prevalent, though still quite rare due to their being devoured amid the hatchling dens or to sharks upon birth, are four-armed sahuagin. Those with the strength to survive often become the harshest and strongest of the sahuagin, as the constant challenges to their right to live prepares them for constant combat.
Sahuagin have a tightly controlled and regimented society focused on little more than conquest and hunting. Their worship of Sekolah the Uncaring puts them among the most ruthless and merciless of all beings in Toril, as anything that is not sahuagin is no more than meat to be consumed. Their society centers on the village and the baron that rules over it. All hunting parties and raiding bands answer first to their own lieutenants and chieftains, then the baron of the village (one out of nine), then the local prince (who is also one out of nine), and finally to the sahuagin king.
Kurrimal is the only country of sahuagin within the Inner Sea, and many sahuagin still swim the waters of the Alamber even down to the boiling seas near the volcano and the site of dead Vahaxtyl. Hundreds or thousands of sahuagin remain amid the distant reaches of Serôs, both reveling in the freedom of the hunting and seeking to establish new territories and build a kingship for themselves.

Average Height

6 ft (1.8 m)

Average Weight

200 lb (91 kg)