Sahuagin Characteristics

Sahuagin's appear as fish and human hybrids with green skin in a variety of hues. Their skin is made up of thick scales that shade darker along the back and grow lighter in hue and weight as they wrap around to the belly and chest. Some Sahuagins have stripes and speckles along their skin similar to various species of fish, but these tend to fade with age. Their feet and hands are also webbed to aid in in swimming, and they have finned tails that aid in steering them through the water. Lastly, their humanoid heads are also fish-like in appearance, featuring gills, bulbous black eyes, protruding, rounded faces and ears that resemble fins. Most Sahuagin are a bit larger than an average human, standind anywhere from 5'10" to 6'2" and weighing roughly 200 lbs. Sahuagin are sinister and savage aquatic combatants, looking at weaker creatures as beneath contempt, but hold their own code when dealing with an adversary worthy of respect.

History

The Sahuagin have a long history of warring with nearly every neighboring species they come across. Whether it be other aquatic humanoids such as oceanic elves, merfolk, or simply aquatic wildlife, their warlike nature prevents them from maintaining any sort of peaceable coexistence for very long. Inevitably, the primal instincts within the Sahuagin boil up to the surface, and they communally assault and hunt a nearby community of other creatures they consider to be weak and cowardly until they are wiped out. Fortunately for most other humanoids, the Sahuagin frequent watery environs connected to the ocean and only rarely venture to the surface to hunt. As they are built more for swimming and navigating the tides, they only tend to raid on dry land when food is scarce, or they are in search of something specific.

An interesting facet of Sahuagin biology is their history of creating mutant spawn. They lay eggs after mating with each other, but on occasion a hatchlingwill share genetic traits with other nearby humanoid races. Some scholars speculate that the biology of these creatures allows them to absorb the characteristics of other beings through the skin, somehow incorporating this material into their hatchlings.

One in three hundred Sahuagin hatchlings are known to reap the benefits of these strange mutations, and are born with four powerful arms, and a somewhat larger and stronger frame to accommodate these extra limbs. They often become warleaders and champions of their respective tribes, and are feared by their enemies and own kind alike.

Culture

Sahuagin are primarily concerned with the conquering and hunting of the weak for the gathering of resources. They revere the shark as a sort of totem animal that represents their cultural values: To hunt and to feed. If young Sahuagin are born defective or weak in a way that prevents them from being able to assist in collecting for the tribe, they are tossed aside and sometimes even consumed. Sahuagin tribes are war-like, and train their surviving children to participate in their unending assault on lesser enemies. While mostly showing little to no respect for other cultures, the Sahuagin have a code of war that they follow strictly in most cases. This involves the practice of a clean kill that ensures the entire body can be eaten, the total consumption of a foe representing the respect for their power, otherwise the body is simply torn to pieces.

The rare four-armed Sahuagin are revered by their own people, while secretly loathed with seething jealousy by the males of their tribe. They represent the highest pinnacle of Sahuagin potential, and are a constant reminder to the other male fishmen of their lesser status within the tribe. They have their choice of mates, and often take three or four to serve in a harem, a practice that is enjoyed by the opposite sex for the status it brings them, as well as the potential for creating powerful offspring. While they rarely lead a tribe, typically being of lower intelligence than a typical Sahuagin, they are most often seen leading war parties in place of a chieftain. The primal instincts of their brethren tend to make them willing to follow the whims of the strongest and most savage ally before any other.