Medusa

A medusa is a monstrous and hateful creature that is capable of petrifying any creature that meets its gaze.

Description

Typical medusae have scaly skins of either pale or earthy color. THeir eyes glow with an intense red color and, instead of hair, their heads are covered in a mass of 1-foot-long living venomous serpents. Despite those features, from large distances they can easily be mistaken as ordinary humans. For that reason, it is common for medusae to hide their features behind hoods or veils.   People cursed into becoming medusae are always female, and males who fall prey to the curse die instead.

Variants

An uncommon variant of medusa known as a greater medusa has the lower torso of a snake and its entire body covered by thin scales, with a total body length of 20 feet. THey produce considerably more potent venom, which renders even their skins harmful to the touch. They also use their innate poison to coat their weapons and arrows.   Even more powerful than greater medusae are the noble and royal medusae. Noble medusae are significantly larger, stronger, and have an extra pair of arms sprouting from their torso. Royal medusae are the strongest of all medusae, and bear six arms total and highly potent venom and abilities of petrification.   An extremely rare variant of male medusa are known as a maedar, which lacks the head serpents and the petrifying gaze of regular medusae, but possess great physical strength, sometimes have a poisonous weakening gaze, can animate stone by imparting some of their life energy into something known as a glyptar, and can cause stone to form into flesh.

Personality

Most medusae despise their own powers and view their abilities as a curse. They direct their frustration and anger outwards, seeking to petrify any living creature they encounter, and only use restraint when hunting for food or when searching for a mate.

Abilities

The glowing red eyes of a medusa are feared for their petrifying power. Anyone within a range of 30 feet of a medusa who looks at its eyes can be transformed into lifeless stone within seconds, at the medusa's discretion. Some variants of medusa have a more powerful and longer-reaching petrifying gaze. It is possible to resist the power through extraordinary physical resilience, or by averting one's eyes away from the medusa's. The petrification is permanent, unless revered with magic.   A medusa's vision and petrifying gaze also reaches into the ethereal and astral planes. In the Border Ethereal, as a result of the plane's obscuring nature, the creature's features can only be recognized at dangerously close distances: its bright red eyes can only be seen from 30 feet or less, while the serpents are only visible from a distance of less than 12 feet. Although a medusa's gaze affects creatures in the Ethereal, its head snakes and physical attacks have no effect on ethereal targets.   A medusa is immune to the petrifying gaze of other medusae, but is susceptible to be turned into stone by its own gaze, for example when looking at its own reflection in a mirror or other reflective surface. Even after death, a medusa's eyes retain their power for several days, becoming weaker as the corpse decays.

Combat

A medusa's typical strategy is to lure potential victims within the 30-foot range of its gaze and then induce them into looking in its eyes. If the victims manage to avert their eyes in time, the medusa folls up with powerful attacks from its head serpents, whose venom is potent enough to severely poison or even kill a creature. If none of these strategies succeed, medusae are also competent with a number of weapons, such as knives, short swords, shortbows, and longbows. Many medusae are considered skilled archers and some greater medusae are known to coat arrows with their poisonous saliva or blood.

Society

Medusae prefer to live alone or in small groups, but they desire treasures and dominance over other humanoid societies. It is common for a group of medusae to seek to rule a rural community as a reclusive royal family, or for a lone medusa to become a crime lord or the leader of an assassin's guild. They are typically seen in the company of creatures who are immune to their gaze, such as grimlocks and gargoyles, though they are also known to gather humanoid servants. Medusae and maedar form monogamous relationships and usually mate for life, forming a powerful emotional bond that borders on obsession.   Medusae typically make their homes in dark caves or large abandoned structures. Their lairs progressively fall into a state of disrepair, riddled with shadowy overgrowth, hiding places, and obstacles, usually inhabited by nests of venomous serpents. While they enjoy keeping the petrified statues of their victims as trophies or decorations for their lairs, some medusae also destroy most of their victims' remains in order to make their lairs less immediately recognizable by wary adventurers.   It is common for medusae to associate with equally powerful or stronger creature. In particular, medusae hold yuan-ti in high regard, so small groups of medusae and maedar often ally with them to work together.   As a result of their ability to perceive and influence the Ethereal Plane, a few medusae make their home in the Border Ethereal. The gaze from an ethereal medusa can just as easily petrify a victim in the Prime Material Plane, which makes them terrifying opponents. Earth half-elemental medusae are also known to inhabit the caves of the Elemental Plane of Earth.

Religion

Medusae respect primordial deities of earth, but they do not worship them. Rather, religious medusae tend to worship naga deities or yuan-ti deities, and some still grasp at human or elvish deities that they followed in their prior life if they were transformed from such a race.

Ecology

Physiology

Medusae eat sparingly and have small appetites. Mated couples of medusae and maedar usually feed by the use of the maedar's ability to turn broken fragments of petrified victims back into flesh. Among vegetable sources of food, medusae are particularly fond of shriekers and other fungi.

Reproduction

Medusae can reproduce by mating with maedar or with either humans or elves. If mating with a human or elf, a female medusae produces a clutch of between two and six eggs that produce offspring that are human or elves 99% of the time. The fate of the human or elf after mating with amedusa is usually death by petrification.   If a medusa and a maedar mate, the eggs produce medusa or maedar offspring in more cases, with around 85% of the young being female medusae rather than maedars. As such, maedars are very highly valued within medusae communities, but they are also extremely rare. Even if a greater medusa mates with a maedar, most of the offspring will be standard medusae, and only 5% of the females born this way will be greater medusae. If a royal medusae mates with a maedar, only a single egg will be laid. If this egg forms a female, it will always be a noble medusa. It is unclear how royal medusae are born or created.   Medusae lay their eggs within one month of mating, and the eggs have an incubation period of eight months. Young medusae hatchlings resemble human baby girls with green stubby tendrils growing from their heads, which come alive as serpents once they reach two years of age. Young medusae mature at the same rate as humans, and acquire the ability to petrify others upon reaching adolescence.

Uses

The blood of medusae has special properties that allows it to reverse the process of petrification. In order for it to work, the blood needs to be mixed with special herbs and be applied to the petrified creature's mouth or lips by a skilled healer. It can only reverse the condition if the victim had been petrified within 24 hours, and can only reverse the petrification if the blood of the petrifying medusa is used. If the petrification was caused by a normal medusa, any greater, noble, or royal medusa's blood can reverse the petrification, and each is more potent than the last, being able to unpetrify victims within 48, 96, or 192 hours respectively. Medusa blood can also be used to craft potions of human control and potions of mammal control. Older medusae are capable of brewing potions that can restore petrified creatures, which they trade amongst themselves to and employ to restore creatures petrified by accident.   The venom from a medusa's snakes is renowed among assassins for its potency. It is one of the material components require to scribe a scroll of protection from petrification. Each scroll requires 1 fluid scruple of venom, in addition to other ingredients. A medusa's eyes can also be used as an ingredient for the scroll.   The head snakes themselves can be harvested to produce potions of reptile control. However, they are rarely harvested due to the horrible stench that emanates from them after death.   The stone from petrified corpses of medusae victims, when pulverized, can be used as a material component for spells that contact denizens of other planes. This practice, however, tends to be restricted to evil priests.

History

Notable Medusae