Medusa

Medium monstrosity

Armor Class: 8
Hit Dice: 4 (average 14 hp)
Movement: 90 ft
Attacks: 1 snake-hair bite (1d6 + poison) or gaze (petrification)
Morale: 8
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 400

Description

The Medusa has the body of a woman from the neck down, but her head is a writhing mass of living serpents. She is intelligent and malicious, and she knows exactly what her gaze does to those who meet her eyes.

Special Abilities

Petrifying Gaze: Any creature that meets a Medusa's gaze must save vs. petrification or be turned to stone. The Medusa will actively maneuver to force eye contact.

Serpent-Hair Bite: The living snakes that comprise the Medusa's hair may bite in melee, dealing 1d6 damage. The bitten creature must save vs. poison or die.

Intelligent: The Medusa is intelligent and cunning. She will use her environment, set ambushes, and deliberately try to force victims to look at her.

Tactics / Encounter / Notes

Avoiding the Medusa's gaze (fighting blind or with eyes averted) imposes a −4 penalty to attack rolls and the Medusa attacks as if invisible (+4 to hit). Using a mirror to view her indirectly avoids the gaze penalty but still risks the gaze if the reflection "counts" as eye contact — Referee's discretion.

The Medusa herself can be petrified by her own reflection.

75% chance the encounter is at her lair.

Treasure

Medusa lairs contain Type F treasure.