Sahuagin 5e: Blood Frenzy, Shark Telepathy and Raids from the Sea

The sahuagin is a CR 1/2 aquatic raider (100 XP) with AC 12, 22 hit points, a 40-foot swim speed, two attacks a turn and two traits that define it. Blood Frenzy gives it Advantage against any creature that's missing hit points, so the first wound draws the whole pack. Shark Telepathy lets it command sharks within 120 feet. The 2024 rules rename it the Sahuagin Warrior, give it acid and cold resistance and a bonus-action Aquatic Charge, and change its type from Humanoid to Fiend, which shuts off Hold Person and opens it up to Protection from Evil and Good.

Table of Contents

• •Sahuagin Stat Block (2014)
• •The Sahuagin Warrior in the 2024 Rules
• •How Sahuagin Fight
• •How Many Sahuagin for a Level 2 to 5 Party?
• •How Players Beat Sahuagin
• •Sahuagin Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Sahuagin Stat Block (2014)

The 2014 sahuagin bites and then uses claws or a spear. The spear is the better second attack: 1d8 + 1 two-handed against 1d4 + 1 for the claws, and it's one of the few weapons that works normally underwater for everyone. The bite and claws are small (3 damage each).

Look at the senses too. Darkvision 120 feet and Perception +5 (passive 15) mean that in dark water or on a moonless beach, sahuagin see the party long before the party sees them. And Limited Amphibiousness sets their clock on land: they can breathe air, but must be submerged at least once every 4 hours or suffocate. A sahuagin raid on a coastal village has a time limit.

The Sahuagin Warrior in the 2024 Rules

What matters at the table:

• •Aquatic Charge doubles its reach in water. With a 40-foot swim speed plus a 40-foot bonus-action charge, a 2024 sahuagin can close 80 feet in one turn as long as it's swimming at someone. Retreating underwater doesn't work against them.
• •The damage is about the same. Two claws for 4.5 each in 2024 and bite plus two-handed spear for 9 total in 2014 come to the same 9 damage on two hits.
• •The Fiend type flips spell choices. Hold Person, Charm Person and other Humanoid-only spells can't target a 2024 sahuagin. Protection from Evil and Good, which covers Fiends in both editions, gives Disadvantage to its attacks against the warded creature. Against a 2014 sahuagin it's the other way round.

How Sahuagin Fight

Blood Frenzy picks the target for them. Any creature that doesn't have all its hit points gives every sahuagin Advantage on its attacks. A full-health creature is attacked normally. The math against a level 3 character with AC 16:

Run the frenzy like sharks: the first character to get hit becomes the target for every sahuagin that can reach it. Four sahuagin piling on one wounded character average about 23 damage a round. A cleric healing that character back to full hit points turns the frenzy off; healing them to anything less doesn't.

Bring the sharks. Shark Telepathy turns every shark within 120 feet into part of the raid. The SRD sharks:

A hunter shark plus four sahuagin all attacking the same bleeding character with Advantage is the whole sahuagin fantasy in one round.

Fight in the water. Out of water, a sahuagin is a CR 1/2 humanoid with 30 feet of speed. In water, it's on its own terms:

• •2014 underwater rules: a creature without a swim speed has Disadvantage on melee weapon attacks unless using a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear or trident. Ranged weapon attacks automatically miss beyond normal range and have Disadvantage within it, unless the weapon is a crossbow, a net, or a thrown weapon like a javelin.
• •2024 underwater rules: a creature without a swim speed has Disadvantage on melee weapon attacks unless the weapon deals piercing damage. Ranged weapon attacks automatically miss beyond normal range and have Disadvantage within it.
• •Both editions: anything underwater has resistance to fire damage.

So the fighter with a longsword attacks at Disadvantage, the wizard's Fireball does half damage, and the sahuagin attack normally (or with Advantage) from below in the dark.

Retreat to water. Sahuagin are raiders. When a raid goes badly, they drag a captive into the surf and leave. Players chasing them into deep water are playing their game.

How Many Sahuagin for a Level 2 to 5 Party?

Using the 2024 XP budget (SRD 5.2.1) for four characters:

Underwater, these fights are harder than the budget says. Drop a step if the party lacks water breathing or swim speeds. The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator) treat 4 sahuagin + 2 reef sharks as 600 × 2 = 1,200 effective XP: Deadly at level 2 and Hard at level 3.

The 2014 SRD has only one sahuagin stat block. If you want a leader, use a stronger creature in the same role (a cult fanatic reskinned as a shark-priest works), or the stat block generator to build one.

How Players Beat Sahuagin

• •Fight on land. Out of water they lose their swim-speed advantage, and Limited Amphibiousness means they can't stay away from water for more than 4 hours. Lure them ashore, or defend from a position above the waterline.
• •Stay at full hit points, or protect who isn't. Blood Frenzy keys off any missing hit points. Put the wounded character behind the line and keep a healthy front-liner in the way.
• •Use the right weapons underwater. Spears, tridents, javelins and shortswords in 2014, any piercing weapon in 2024. Crossbows are the 2014 ranged answer. Lightning and cold are fine underwater, but against 2024 sahuagin, cold and acid are resisted.
• •Check the type before casting. Against 2014 sahuagin, Hold Person and Command work. Against 2024 sahuagin (Fiend), Hold Person and Charm Person fail, and their weakest save is Charisma (−1).
• •Light up the dark. Their darkvision is 120 feet. Faerie Fire on a group swimming at you gives your side Advantage and takes away the dark.
• •Kill the sharks' leader. Shark Telepathy is a sahuagin trait, not a leash. Once no sahuagin is within 120 feet, the sharks go back to acting like sharks: they still attack whatever is bleeding, but no longer on command.

Sahuagin Encounter Ideas

The lighthouse. Sahuagin raid a fishing town every new moon. The lighthouse keeper has been keeping the light dark on those nights in exchange for a share of the plunder. The party arrives the day before the new moon.

Wreck salvage. The party dives on a sunken merchant ship for its cargo. Four sahuagin and a hunter shark claim the wreck. The hull is cramped (no room for the shark inside), and the cargo hold has an air pocket where the party can catch its breath and fight on its terms.

The four-hour march. Sahuagin have taken prisoners inland, two hours from the sea. They need to be back in water within four hours. The party can chase them, or get ahead of them to the only stream on the way, where the raiders have to stop.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a sahuagin in 5e?

CR 1/2 (100 XP) in both editions. The 2014 sahuagin and the 2024 Sahuagin Warrior both have AC 12 and 22 hit points.

How does Blood Frenzy work?

The sahuagin has Advantage on attack rolls against any creature that doesn't have all its hit points. In 2014 it applies to melee attack rolls. In 2024 it applies to all attack rolls.

What can Shark Telepathy do?

It lets a sahuagin magically command (2014) or control (2024) any shark within 120 feet using a limited telepathy. In play, that means sharks join the sahuagin's attack and follow their tactics.

Are sahuagin Fiends in 5e?

In the 2024 rules, yes: the Sahuagin Warrior is a Medium Fiend. In the 2014 rules, sahuagin are Medium Humanoids. That decides whether Hold Person can target them and whether Protection from Evil and Good protects you.

Can sahuagin breathe air?

Yes, but they must be submerged at least once every 4 hours to avoid suffocating. That trait, Limited Amphibiousness, is the same in both editions.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.