Let’s Convert the Monster Manual: Sahuagin, Salamander, Satyr, Giant Scorpion, and Sea Hag

Here are some monsters that I think most of us have used. Sahuagin raiders on a port town is a classic.

Sahuagin Warrior: Init +2; Atk spear +3 melee (1d8+1) or claw +3 melee (1d3) or bite +1 melee (1d6); AC 12; HD 2d8+2; MV 25’ or swim 50’; Act 1d20; SP control sharks, grapple ships; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +5; AL C.

Sahuagin Mutant: Init +2; Atk spear +3 melee (1d8+1) or claw +3 melee (1d3) or bite +1 melee (1d6); AC 12; HD 2d8+2; MV 25’ or swim 50’; Act 2d20; SP control sharks, grapple ships, four arms; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +5; AL C. (Four arms.)

Sahuagin Mutant: Init +2; Atk spear +4 melee (1d8+2) or claw +4 melee (1d3+1) or bite +2 melee (1d6+1); AC 12; HD 3d8+3; MV 25’ or swim 50’; Act 1d20; SP control sharks (6 HD), grapple ships, psionic attack (120’ range, 1d8 dam, Will DC 13 half); SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +5; AL C. (Larger, shark-attuned, psionic.)

Sahuagin Mutant: Init +2; Atk spear +5 melee (1d8+3) or claw +5 melee (1d3+2) or bite +3 melee (1d10); AC 12; HD 4d8+4; MV 25’ or swim 50’; Act 1d20; SP control sharks, grapple ships; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +5; AL C. (Larger twice, feral bite three times.)

Cunning and savage fish-folk, the sahuagin hate everybody. Especially aquatic elves…perhaps by extension all elves. They attack ships. They work well with sharks, which they can command, so perhaps they don’t hate everything. The sahuagin are subject to mutation, sometimes having four arms. They are also, apparently, sometimes far more human-like and at other times far more fish- or shark-like in their skeletal structure.

Elves have always gained their magical powers by making pacts with supernatural entities – powerful demons, nature spirits, fey lords, and eldritch beings from the dawn of time. Thousands of years ago, on the Isles of Sahua, there was a group of elves whose devotion to the shark-god, Kuawangu. They fed slaves to the sharks in His sacred pools, and in return they gained the bounty and protection of the seas.

Sahua is long gone, brought beneath the waves in a fiery volcanic cataclysm. Some say that there was a schism between the followers of jealous patrons, and that the followers of Kuawangu were transformed to carry their lord’s vengeance against all others. Some say that the elves of Sahua turned from the shark-god, and He wreaked the destruction of their islands, elevating the sharks from His sacred pools to rule the watery palaces where proud elven folk once strode. Whatever the truth may be, Sahua is gone, and the Sahuagin swarm where ancient charts once placed the island chain.

Sahuagin are tall, slender humanoids with green scaled skin, shark-like teeth, and sharp claws. They favor tridents as weapons, but, like elves, avoid the use of iron and steel. This may be an indication of their elven ancestry, or it may be because such metal rusts quickly in the salty brine of their ocean home. Their scales are darker toward their spines, fading to a green-white on their bellies. Only a careful examination can determine the gender of a non-pregnant female sahuagin, or an unaroused male.

Sahuagin warriors can control up to 2 Hit Dice of sharks each. They are capable of using strong lines of seaweed fibres and animal sinews to grapple ships from below. The sahuagin holding each line adds drag to the ship, slowing it until it is brought to a stop. The sahuagin then board the ship, slaughtering all aboard before sinking the hapless vessel.

Sahuagin mutants call themselves “Scions of Kuawangu”, and claim that their mutations are the result of the Shark-God’s divine bloodline. When rolling up a small band of sahuagin, the judge may use 1d30 to see which are mutated. Alternately, roll 1d10 and use the numbers in parenthesis for whichever sahuagin you decide are mutated.

Die Roll                 Mutation

1-20                       None

21-24 (1-4)          Additional pair of arms. +1 Action Die, and it is possible to wield a second trident.

25 (5)                     Extended fish tail. +20’ to swim speed, -5’ to land speed.

26 (6)                     Larger. Increase HD by 1d8+1. Increase melee attack rolls and damage by +1.

27 (7)                     Shark-attuned. Can control double the normal HD of sharks.

28 (8)                     Feral bite. Bite damage increases by +1d on the dice chain. Worse, wound continues bleeding for 1 damage each round until staunched (requires 1 minute) or magical healing is applied.

29 (9)                     Psionic. Enlarged head and brain. Can make a psychic attack for 1d8 damage within 120’. Will save (DC 1d20 + sahuagin’s HD) for half. If this is rolled more than once, increase damage by +1d on the dice chain.

30 (10)                  Multiple mutations. Roll 1d3. Ignore future instances of multiple mutations. Or don’t, and make a truly terrifying adversary.

Taken from this post.

Salamander: Init +6; Atk claw +5 melee (1d4) or bite +3 melee (1d8) or by weapon +5 melee (by weapon + 1d3 heat); AC 16; HD 6d8; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP heat (1d8 each round to all within 20’; Fort DC 12 for half), cold vulnerability (+1d12 damage per die), immunities (fire, non-magical weapons, sleep, and charm), death throes; SV Fort +3, Ref +12, Will +8; AL C.

Salamanders are fire spirits, which are often armed with red-hot metal weapons – usually spears, but this can vary by individual. They are so hot that even getting close to them is damaging, but this also makes them extremely vulnerable to cold.

A slain salamander simply winks out of existence unless bound to the Lands We Know. A bound salamander turns into a warm pool of glistening liquid – its essence, which can be used as a power component for fire-based spells. A bound salamander leaves 2d3 doses of this substance behind, each of which can be used to grant a +1d3 bonus to a fire-based spell when cast.

Modified from this post.

Satyr: Init +2; Atk by weapon +2 melee (by weapon) or kick +1 melee (1d3) or pan pipes; AC 13; HD 3d6; MV 40’; Act 1d20; SP pan pipes; SV Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +2; AL C.

Faun: Init +3; Atk by weapon +0 melee (by weapon); AC 13; HD 1d8; MV 40’; Act 1d20; SP stealth (+6), iron vulnerability; SV Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +1; AL N.

Satyrs are male creatures half-human and half-goat, which embody human passions of gluttony, lust, fear, and rage. Although they may use weapons, a satyr carrying pan pipes (a syrinx) can use this instrument to cast charm person, scare, or sleep with a +8 bonus to the spell check.

Satyrs are not automatically antagonistic, but they are prone to licentiousness, rudeness, and violence as the mood strikes them. 

Fauns are similar to satyrs, but smaller, less volatile, and more civil in both their attitudes and behavior. Fauns are very hard to spot in natural environs, having a +6 bonus to any attempts at stealth. They are vulnerable to iron weapons, taking double damage from any weapon made specifically of iron.

Both of these creatures featured in November 2022’s Faeries of the Twilight World, and both will be included in the upcoming Cyclopedia of Common Faeries.

Giant Scorpion: See the core rulebook, page 425. The Cyclopedia of Common Animals includes scorpions, scorpion swarms, and monstrous scorpions which are closer in size to those in the Monster Manual.

Sea Hag: Init +0; Atk dagger +1 melee (1d4) or death gaze; AC 13; HD 3d6; MV 30’ or swim 40’; SP death gaze (3/day, 1d6 damage plus DC 13 Will save or die), weakness (1d4 temporary Strength damage, DC 13 Will negates); Act 1d20; SV Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +5; AL C.

These fey creatures are so hideous that, on seeing them, creatures must succeed in a DC 13 Will save or suffer 1d4 Strength damage for 1d4 turns. They can be found in dismal and unlovely shallow seas and shores, where they seek to slay mortal creatures and consume them. The weakness they cause aid in drowning victims, and three times each day they can gaze upon a creature within 30’, causing 1d6 damage and requiring a DC 13 Will save to prevent the victim from simply dying.