Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Sahuagin 

This jelly that sets fire sounds really cool, but I can't find mention of it anywhere, can you point me in the right direction?

Am I the only grizzled adventurer who has horrible flashbacks of sahuagin brutally killing and devouring the entire party whenever the DM mentions the ocean?

A hilarious quote from that dragon magazine article you mentioned "Skip Williams suggests that telemarketers make a good model for sahuagin because both tend to strike without warning, tirelessly attack again and again if they don’t immediately succeed, and would gladly consume their own children."

Hundreds?..soon to be...thousands...

Great Vid, but to go from deeply nerdy to full geek: Water isn't just air you swim in, it has some really major physical considerations. Such as acceleration, friction and cavitation. This means some air based weapons just don't work. Such as the whip, the sling, and the net. In air you spin a net above your head, the drag of the net is nothing compared to your feet pushing on the ground so you can accelerate it and throw it. Underwater you can't get the tips of the net up to speed and if you are floating the drag of spinning the net will spin you around in the water. You simply can not get the net weights to accelerate enough to throw it. Tho net traps can work, either dropping them or having 4 swimmer pulling them through the water to ensnare something.

Huh, so that's how you pronounce it. Again, good discussion, good choice of art. The Sea Monkeys reference was hilarious.

I'll be honest. I have a character concept that's a Half-(Sea) Elf Berserker who fears that his rage comes from Sekolah. Your lore really feeds that fear. Outstanding.

Seamus wuz here twice!

Steve Marsh created the Sahuagan? He's not related to the Innsmouth Marshes is he? ;)

Too many fish. We need sea sponge people.

What a coincidence that a guy who invented these deep one like monsters for d&d has the surname of one of most prominent families in Innsmouth where deep ones were rising.

36 minutes on straight up fish people with images.that's why I love this channel

15:27 I love the part about embryotic cannibalism amongst their young. So shark-like. With so much of a connection to sharks, I wonder how Weresharks are viewed in their culture. Or if they would willingly accept that specific form of aquatic lycanthropy. Since they would also thrive in the Nine Hells, I wonder if Fiendish variations are common as well. A 600 yo Fiendish mutant variety with 4 arms would be a sight to behold.

Only the sahuagin can make you thankful for the lizardfolk.

I kind of imagine the Sahuagin and all similar aquatic species would have that gurgling gilly sound when they speak, like Rahab from Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

Thanks for doing a feature on the Sahuagin. 29 years ago, I ran a campaign where we all played as Sahuagin & Locathah, a big underwater war between them that raged on and on.. My main npc (whom I enjoyed voicing & terrorizing the players with) was Klytus, the ancient Tyrant Lord of the Sahuagin (he whom also had the four arms) and was about twelve feet tall. Brought back some memories.

Sahuagin taste like sharks according to Bronze Dragons, Bronze Dragons love the taste of shark meat.

I've got sinister secret of saltmarsh! Great game!

I could listen to that opening theme and waves on loop to go to sleep

I adore the sahuagin as nautical enemies, jumping onto the pc's boat en mass. My favorite part is their mutable nature, you can give them crazy crab claw hands, tentacles on their backs or coral outgrowths as armor, the oceans the limit!

Stephen Marsh is a great guy! I've met him at a couple cons, and he is always the nicest guy. Talking to him is like being hugged by a marshmallow.

AJ you would really like some of the Forgotten Realms collections of short stories like Realms of the Arcane and Realms of the Underdark. In the former, the Sahuagin were created by a Wizard with the unwilling assistance of his Wemic slave. It details the creation and corruption of sea elves as well as the creation of the Malenti in a cool way that really makes sense. Great stuff.

One of my friends was DM for a campaign. He had this Sahuagin priest of.... I forget. some deep sea aspect of a god in shark form. We killed that bastard I dont' know how many times. Each time he was brought back. Either by his own machinations and once these were exhausted, by the machinations of his "bosses". By the end he was some undead slave of some necrotic power.... One of his spells was this ghostly shark's maw that would launch at you. One of the few NPCs I ever really came to hate!

Wow, this is really detailed. Thanks for this. I swear each video helps me become a better dm.

The trenchers in Aquaman pretty much screamed Sahuagin in attack frenzy and appearance.

Best underwater race, good or evil. Very well fleshed out. Great vid. No player should want to run into these if they are played properly by the DM, especially if they're being led by a 4-armed mutant wereshark

I am more than a fish, I am more than an Elf, Death will rise, from the tide! I am Sahuagin! I am DEATH!Hunter of the tide, I, will end your life, Mourn, your fallen brave, Sleep in a sunken grave! Feel the deadly fin, My nets drag you in, Bloodstained sand and gore, All, that's left upon the shore!

Playing through ghosts of saltmarsh. This was so helpful tysm

I wish I had you in my last campaign. These buggers were a major player. I thought I used them to the max, including the faux Aquatic Elf agents. The players settled in the New World (escaping the conflicts of the old world and liking a world inspired by the Maztica book trilogy). The thing is that the New World was already hostile to potential invaders from their old world. They were working at peace. The old world people were getting attacked by Aquatic Elves which... nevermind. Star Trek Cardassian level intrigue given birth by its Romulan mother. Veteran players, they never get simple stories. My Sahuagins were very simple compared to this and they were REALLY complex... or so I thought. In short, great video AJ.

What no image of the Creature from the Black Lagoon? The Sea Monkey ad in the beginning was a great touch. ZI can see them using giant anemones as a defense for their lairs and the High priestesses using the spell Summon Jellyfish Swarm to incapacitate adventurers. Also in addition to nets and tridents/spears they also use jellyfish (Tendril) whips.

I re-watched this because my mind went back to one of the last campaigns I ran. Sahaugins in my campaigns have a true origin akin to my Orcs (and goblin-kind) and Drow, an evil corruption of Elves of their environment (Tolkein inspiration, again). Main differences: Gill-lungs. They have gill slits on their backs too, much like my Aquatic Elves, that are connected to their lungs. Those seal up when they go on land. Land is dry and uncomfortable, but they have no real problems long-term save for dehydration doubling for long treks and time in dry, arid environments. They still speak via their head gills, so the "air" voice is the same. 2 or 4 Arms: They cannot really do much more, mentally speaking, in arm use than 2 armed species aside from basic climbing and claw attacks with the 4 arm form. No arms are "bad", just fine mental control can only be done with one or two at a time like 2 arm species. The 4 arm advantages are more subtle than obvious. 4 arms are also a higher status symbol. 2 armed Sahuagins tend to be tougher with better weapon control and ironically are far better craftsmen. Warm-blooded when required: They are cold-blooded like most fish but barely, they are amphibious and can move fast on land. When they need to be, they switch right to being warm-blooded with all the advantages with that (and back when needed). Any Water Breathing: Salt, Fresh, Chlorinated, Sewer, or even Swamp water, it's all Sahuagin water. They may not like nasty water but they can still breathe it and eventually get used to it. This made them feel a special kindred for Bull Sharks over their other shark affinities. Diabolic Blood: Sahuagins have their exceptionally rare rogues, alignment-wise. Some may even be Chaotic or even Good. None can be Chaotic Good, that is far too far from their nature. As for their faux Aquatic Elf mutations (Maliente, if I spelled that right), that's an encouraged playable race in my campaigns. They are Lawful Evil in nature but players can happily ignore that if they wish, they are rogues to begin with if they are player characters. They almost have the best of Sahuagin and Aquatic Elf in a mixture to be an adventurer. They are absolutely perfectly amphibious, with no hindrances on land or in the water... better than both races in that. They don't have the Sahuagin advantages from their tail, claws, teeth, etc but are as tough otherwise from skin toughness down to the bone. Well, except for retractable claws that they normally keep hidden. Even though they look perfectly Elven, they don't have Charm and Sleep resistances. They also must take care of where they go. Sages are aware of their species as well as Aquatic Elves... and know their species is far more all-environment capable than either species save for those who have magical items (ultra-ultra-rare). Their species is well-known to be, if not killed at birth, born and bred to be Sahuagin spies. So, I homebrewed these guys to be like playing a Drow in 1st Ed without the immediate fear and hate. Oh, and they are Half-Elf in lifespan... far shorter than either species. Well, at least they can start their adventuring career far earlier because they are fully functioning adults really, really, really young. Gotta' love the Sahuagin brain for that boost (and early cap).

This pleases me. I am pleased, and a bit peckish for seafood.

Great video, my players will hate these

My favorite undersea race. Hands down. Have been since I first saw them. Thank you!!! Underwater campaign here I come!!!

Epic video AJ, 36 minutes & 36 seconds. Its seems to me the underwater creatures always have a better back story, than any land creature. It's funny you said they arena fight all the time. That adventure over at DDB is an one-shot arena fight. I never knew the Sahuagin were so violent. I thought the Kuo Toa where badazz's. Thanks AJ, this one is a giant pearl of wisdom and as always have a great day.

I played an old sea elf that had dentures made of the teeth of Sahuagin he killed.

I'd love for these guys to be a playable race in 5e.

Another social cue from Sahuagin, there is no such thing as a smile. You are baring your fangs, it's a challenge. Easy mistake to make but a serious error.

If you were feeling Click Baity, you could beat MrRex to the punch and call it _What They Don’t Tell You About The Sahuagin_

I've been hoping you'd cover the sahuagin! "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" was my first encounter with Lovecraft's work and aquatic horrors have always struck a chord with me.

Huh, the origin I heard was they came from sea elves, either as a curse laid on them or descended from a shark god cult (like Yuan’ti with a snake god).

Melenthi.... Nice concept. I've always used that concept with Illythid (1 in 10,000). They're powerful "human" psionicists that hunt for the Mind Flayers. They avoid sunlight as much as possible but are not harmed by it, hindrance of -2 to everything in the direct sunlight, -1 to indirect. Otherwise they are Illythid.

I cant afford to join right now, but I've been subscribed, and I always leave a like for the best d&d youtuber out there.

These things are pretty terrifying, especially if you are afraid of deep water like I am.

16:45 in Baldur's Gate II there was a King who presided over priestesses

Unless someone's taken piercing or slashing damage, I generally just go with the "someone under half HP is bloodied" bit from previous editions, which is normally just for flavor...unless it's a situation with fuckin' sharks or shark-people. We ran into some of these guys in the Savage Tide campaign I'm in and somehow managed to not have to fight them? Which was weird, but our sorcerer somehow manages to solve lots of situations without violence.

Great video AJ Sea Devils and sea monsters in general have always been sources of mild terror for me ever since I saw Jaws at the age of 6 haha Sharks are both cool and terrifying and make great basis for underwater foes and sometimes fierce friends. I'm thinking of giving my Sahuagin a literal Roman vibe complete with Romulus and Reman origins as that would suit them pretty well I reckon. Sharks and Sekola as a stand in for Wolves and Jupiter.

Sahuagin rock! With an X.

Running the origional saltmarsh modules at the moment, my players had enough problems with there first encounters who knows what these will do when / if they show up!....

That shot at Mr Rhexx though.

A psychopathic cousin of the creature from the black lagoon That's why I see Fishman ass but error have to inspire by the deep ones from HP Lovecraft Or remind me of that 80s b-movie called humanoids from the deep

I understand that there was a lot of content to go through...but I am still pretty bummed that the Darfellan didn't get mentioned considering that the Sahuagin nearly wiped them out and the Darfellan hate them more than nearly any other race as a result

When I think of Sahuagin, I think of Merman from He-Man

Kudos to you for a video well done!! Sahuagin remind me of Merman from Masters of the Universe. I'm curious if he's somehow related. You should do a wereshark/sharkwere lore video for Shark Week!! As always, keep up the great work you do for this channel!!!!

DUDE! I loved this video! I'm just about to make a triton NPC to help my players around the depths and I have a encounter set up with the Sahuagin and watching this really made me excited about it and even gave me a few new ideas so thank you for this helpful video! 🤓🤓🤓

Hmm so grumpy shark boys got it

Another great video thank you.

As underwater threats go, the Sahuagin were always one I wanted to try. I often bring them up when babble on Reddit. I like reading posts for Ghosts of Saltmarsh, and hopes other people have of maritime campaigns, but I always feel like warning them about how dangerous it can be when their essential ship becomes a combat target, since their optimizing and powers rarely change the stats of the stock vessel, and its loss...how long can you swim? Sahugin always seem like a wonderful example, as they can attack from below, and at night, so with stealth. Wonder if they were ever a threat in 2e Red Steel? The Sekolah content was also reminded me of another 2e anomaly I like to read about; the Squark. I'm not holding my breath that 5e will grace us with Dark Sun, but the unique pink, psionic, half shark half giant squid was just so out of nowhere, on the Dune-like world of Athas, and it would be funny to see a specimen like it using its psionic might to control a population of Sahuagin, if they wouldn't just worship in outright, anyway. A wonderful video!

Annnnnd... another reason for me to avoid the water.

Look. AJ. Buddy. Pal. You can be honest with me. Youre actually a connuration wizard that accidently found himself in our reality.

Thanks for the vid sir.

Luvd it

Curiosity question. Is there an underwater variation of the jelly’s, jams and oozes monster family? Or is an aquatic environment incompatible with these monsters biology? If not, i was thinking it would be the perfect environment for them

Very nice

Pretty sure they were Sahuagin in MM 1st Ed. I've had a copy since 82 ish, and I remember no "Shark Kin". The 4 armed mutants were even mentioned. Pedantic? Yeah, some. Otherwise what's the point of having old 1st printings?

11 adventures disliked this video because a Sahuagin slayed them

NOT DRAGONS BUT SOME DRAGONS DO ENJOY MUNCHING ON THEM GIVEN THEY TASTE LIKE SHARK!!

You are incorrect about their origins. they were actually originally a separate species entirely that worshipped a god that poured a lot of their personal essence into making their lives easier. Sea elves feared their power when their god decided to incarnate as a Sahuagin, and invaded their homes, slaying the infant god king by turning him and his 'father' to stone. the remaining members of their people were adopted by Sekolah, who transformed them into his likeness, and erased the memories of their past lives. also, Malenti exist because a bunch of elf mages used magical experiments to try to make sea elf/sahuagin hybrids for unknown reasons related to the great elf schism. the victims who escaped then passed along their tainted genes amongst the general population, and now, whenever sahuagin encampments are too close to sea elves, or if a sea elf enters within a mile of their territory, a combination of magic and sea elf pheromones in the water trigger the birth of Malenti in their ranks.

⚔️Love these Vids 👍⚔️

Nobody: Not a single soul: The bard: *USES SEDUCE*

If a Malenti mated with a were-shark, what might the off-spring be like do you think?

1.) So are the deep sea trenches the underddark of the sea, or is that the bodies of water in the underdark? Is there a difference? 2.) Dose that mean that they are immune to things like a green dragons breath weapon or would it still be absorbed through its gills? 3.) How do the sahuagins relationship to aquatic races compare to goblinoids and/or orcs and their neighbors? 3.) Are the four armed barons the ones that mutate due to doing something with krakins, or are those something else? Also, are they an acceptation to them not liking mutants? 4.) If a land-based were creature infects a sahuagin, would it have no effect or would they become something like a were-shark? 5.) How does he summon demons if he is in the nine hells? 6.) If you touch the shrine, is it certain death from a trap or special magical effect, or just that the sahuagin will kill you if they find out? 7.) Will they serve things like krakin, or try to oppose them?

Question! What if a druid wild shapes into a shark near a sahuagin? Telepathic control saving throw? Happened at tonight's game. I had the sahuagin freak out cuz this particular shark wasnt responding to them.

what if they tie rope at the end of a spear. from under the water an attack is made. a pc get one through his body then dragged into the water. bleeding. frenzy and drowning.

good video AJ

Love the Sea Monkeys ad, that was popular in comics from the 70s and early 80s. Would these critters be the equivalent of The Deep Ones by HPL?

Fish dudes!

You forgot the barbed net. Maybe it's only in the Mel Odom trilogy Threat from the Sea. Much scarier.

Gonna have a full set of deeply nerdy mugs one day.

I don't get the shark origin with regards to the art. They look nothing like a shark as they sport a clearly non-cartilage based skeleton. Any thoughts on that?

What if a Marid and a yellow dragon had a Romeo and Juliet story and lived in a brine pool on the bottom of the ocean being worshipped by these things. High priestess's might pick up salt/brine based breath weapon? ... it's just what came to mind as I was listening to this.

The Murlocs from wow

Man your videos are just awesome, love watching them for years now But what is up with those intros xD

IMPORTANT QUESTION My only player asked me how it is that Dwarven and Elven teeth last so long? Do their cultures have amazing dental plans? Tell us oh wise one.

Check out deep wars if you want see some cool under water terrain and game environments

Since these "sea devils" are LE and their deity dwells in the 9 Layers of Hell, wouldn't they be more likely to summon aquatic devils (or even yugoloths) rather than demons? Or is there some reason they summon demons specifically, like they are looking to avoid being locked into devilish pacts?

I love it, ya I'm actually celebrating getting back with my brother by making a session where your fighting these dudes. I got the idea because I'm ditching our sister and leaving the tri cities to go and move to California with my brother, shes on the boat and all these deep sea devils come out lol, I quit on her

Are they edible? Could a party desperate for food consume them?

Technically swim bladders in fish have the same evolutionary root as lungs in terrestrial animals

How can anything throw a spear underwater?? I know you can shoot one out of a gun, but even a giant shark man shouldn't be able to throw one with any force under water... Right?

Actually running the Campaign for Ghosts of Saltmarsh but setting this in the Inner Sea of Fallen Stars close to the Vilhon Reach for more Psionic influences the players are gonna stumble into and may gain some benefits to fight against the eldritch underwater forces that are attempting to rise out of the bottom of the Abyss itself maybe.

Deepspawn: Do you have any plans on covering them? I used one in an adventure recently (along with a bit of Far Realm for flavor) to great effect. But the write up for them was quite incomplete and left me with loads of unanswered questions. I had to house rule almost half of the Deepspawn write up to answer them. (I used the Monsters of Faerûn 3.5 version as a base). I think they deserved their own entry in Lords of Madness. There's so much you can do with them.

and this is why I hate were-anything. Along with the Sahuagins and the shark gods.

Hey AJ Im about to start a Pirate Adventure in a 5e homebrew setting soon. I really wanted a larger selection of aquatic creatures to use. Any suggestions?

Final fantasy 7 got these in the sewers of midgar

Off topic question because RU-vid refuses to inform me when you are live. AJ would you consider a ghost or banshee to be the soul of a creature trapped in the material plane? And if so does this mean souls can be created by casting True Polymorph on a rock and turning it into an unbound soul. Just an idea for a necromancer character im in the conceptual stages for.

I got here late, but I got here.

So nobility is founded by brutality? Trying to figure out how nobiliy established.

Plus they eat alot of fish, it's very good for your brain

weird buzzing with the audio n this one.