Nowhere in the world dwells race as savage and degenerate as the devil men of the deep. Art-less and unfettered, bereft of the fruits of society, the sahuagin live in continual fear of violent death. Only the equally voracious sharks can befriend them. Indeed, a sahuagin would seem to possess the worst characteristics of sharks and humans.

— Tiguran Maremrynd, elven scholar

Devil Men of the Deep

Also known as "Sea Devils" and the "Devil Men of the Deep", sahuagin are marine humanoids who dwell in coastal seas. Although found in temperate climes, they prefer fairly warm waters and do not permanently reside in places where the surface water temperature is less than 60 degrees year round. In fact, their presence in high latitudes is almost always the result of warm currents.

Sahuagin possess an innate ability to communicate with sharks. This communication is fairly simple, as sharks have limited intelligence. Sahuagin can communicate concepts such as "food," "danger," and "enemy". These concepts allow devil men and sharks to fight in a coordinated manner, participate in "reconnaissance" missions, and guard an area against encroachment.

The sea devils' capacity for hate is legendary, though they usually reserve it for rivals before a challenge, their enemies—especially the sea elves—and for magic wielders.

Scholars are often at a loss to explain how the sahuagin, who have a priestly class, can possess such fear and loathing for spell casters of all types. Part of the sahuagin's distaste for magic is simply superstition. As a people who live close to their environment, they respect natural forces. For example, they know that nothing can turn back the tides. They also understand tidal cycles and know that tides are basically harmless, natural events. Supernatural events, on the other hand, prove neither benign nor predictable. The sahuagin regard environmental catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions and sea quakes-as supernatural events whose origins lie in the primordial depths. The sea devils know magic is a manifestation of supernatural power, and as such they automatically treat it and anyone who can wield it, with suspicion.