The Sahuagin in OD&D look like, well, fish monsters. Big old fish eyes, a mouth full of hundreds of razor sharp teeth and long, pointy ears. The ears may have been indication that they have some background as elves, but it could also just be coincidence. They have two arms which end in two pincer like protrusions and webbed feet which provide balance when on solid ground and assist in swimming. Finally, they have a simple scaly tail, which helps with movement and direction plus acts as a giant club.

Their ears are very sensitive as they can pick up underwater sound within a range of ten miles. Which seems like they are constantly having a headache, wouldn’t that much noise overload the Sahuagin? Maybe that’s why they are grumpy. It goes on to further clarify that: “sensitive ears that can pick up underwater noise as slight as a boat's oars cutting through the water at ranges of ten miles.” Not sure how they filter all that noise out so that they don’t go insane. Though, interestingly they point out that the ears of a Sahuagin can’t pick up on any noise of any swimming creature… so not sure what to make of that.

Moving on to their eyes, which are also extremely sensitive, they can see up to a half mile underwater. Bright light will negatively affect them, but it’s vague on how much. It’s does say that their eyes are so sensitive that it keeps them 100 feet underwater and they will only go up further up and onto land when it’s night time or stormy. No sunny days at the beach for these guys.

While the Sahuagin primarily attacks with weapons, when disarmed they get a total of 6 different attacks to choose from. Their claws act like pincers, and they each do 2-12 points of damage. Their feet can grab a creature and then act as claws which can also do to 2-12 points of damage each while the creature is grappled. The teeth are razor sharp and can be used to grab on or render flesh can also do 2-12 points of damage. Finally the Sahuagin can attack with its tail. Just to mix it up, the tail acts like “a pile driver-like punch similar to that wielded by a giant (club damage times two)”. This attack also does 2-12, just so we don’t get confused. Though, according to the chart, they only get 1 attack per round… so really this is all just for flavor.

The Sahuagin don’t use their “natural attacks” often, as they are usually armed with a poison tipped trident and a barbed net. The Trident has a deadly poison on it, although the description does not describe what kind of poison or what type of damage it does. The net will trap the character and the barbs will also do damage, how much we are once again left to wonder… but my money is on 2-12. Being the intelligent creatures that they are, they will attempt to trap the character in their net, and then attack with the trident from a safe distance Once the character is bloodied, the Sahuagin’s only friends, those pesky and angry sharks, will go into a blood frenzy and attack. If you find yourself in this situation, its probably about now you should draw up a new character.

The sahuagin travel in large groups, and have communities of thousands of sahuagin where they will bring back their still-live prey. This is so they can feed on them later, torture them or hunt them down at a more convenient time. They place their captives in cells that are specially equipped for air breathing creatures. Enjoy the air while you can, because you are most likely going to be used as entertainment in short order. Characters may have to fight Sahuagin warriors, sharks, or be pitted against one another; all in the hopes of providing a great spectacle for the captors. The twisted bastards have also been know to let their prisoners “escape”, only to be hunted down and killed in a very painful way for sport. Hopefully you have something to get you out of there fast, because you’re most likely 500-1000 feet underwater and sharks have been known to swim fast.

Finally, our last tidbit is that there is one king that rules over all the Sahuagin, and he has nine princes to help him rule as he sees fit. Anyone can challenge the king for the right to become king, but the king is usually extremely strong and mutated, all Sahuagin have a 1% chance of being born with four arms, so you better be sure that you know what you are doing. The strongest usually win, but it needs to be in conjunction with being smart and cunning. Oh and if you lose they kill you, probably torturing you to death before they do.

1e - Sahuagin (Sea Devils)