Reversing a Petrifying Gaze

[A_Gray_Phantom]

I'm planning a murder mystery in my campaign, and the big reveal is that the murderer is going to turn out to be a gorgon (I refuse to call it "a Medusa") that is disguised as a mime. My question is this: how does one reverse the petrifying gaze?

I ask because there's certainly a chance one of the players will be turned to stone, but also because there's going to be an NPC that they're going to discover that has been petrified.

The obvious solution is Stone to Flesh, but what else works? Dispel Magic? Break Enchantment? Remove Curse?

Thanks in advance!

[The Glyphstone]

There's also Stone Salve, aka Stone To Flesh In A Can.

[Thurbane]

Break Enchantment specifically works. There is a note in the PHB that didn't make it to the SRD, just to clrify a bit further:


This spell frees victims from enchantments, transmutations, and curses. Break enchantment can reverse even an instantaneous effect, such as flesh to stone. For each such effect, you make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level, maximum +15) against a DC of 11 + caster level of the effect. Success means that the creature is free of the spell, curse, or effect. For a cursed magic item, the DC is 25.


Costs: Sometimes characters incur costs on adventures. A character turned to stone by a basilisk may need a break enchantment spell, and it costs at least 450 gp to pay a cleric to cast that spell. (See Table 7–8: Goods and Services, page 128. A cleric must be at least 9th level to cast break enchantment, which is a 5th-level spell). The default policy is to pay these costs out of the treasure found on the adventure, as a sort of “adventurer’s insurance,” and then to split whatever’s left.

[A_Gray_Phantom]

There's also Stone Salve, aka Stone To Flesh In A Can.

Ooh! Good to know! Thanks!:smallbiggrin:

[A_Gray_Phantom]

Break Enchantment specifically works. There is a note in the PHB that didn't make it to the SRD, just to clrify a bit further:

Oh my gosh! Thanks! I was using the SRD so no wonder I didn't see this! Thanks!! :smallbiggrin:

[Segev]

As a warning, the moment statues start showing up, people are going to suspect a medusa. (I know you want to call her a "gorgon," and I sympathize, but your players are almost certainly going to call her a "medusa," not the least because, in D&D, a gorgon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/gorgon.htm) is a totally different - and, I believe, unique to D&D - monster that looks like a metal cow and breathes a cloud of green petrifying gas as a breath weapon.)

What's the murder that starts it off? Because the most obvious murder method she'd have would be petrification, which is a dead (pun unintended but gleefully used) give-away. Does she shatter the statue to gravel and dispose of it elsewhere? Murders look like missing persons cases without a corpse.

Not denigrating your plot nor suggesting anything, but it just occurred to me that a Maedar (the male medusa from 2e; not sure if they got reprinted in 3e) could use sculpting and his stone to flesh touch to make a kidnapping look like a murder: carve (or, if the guy is famous or vain enough that there are extant ones, steal) a statue of the target, turn it to flesh (this explicitly creates a "corpse," after all), and leave it where you kidnapped the victim from.

...this also raises interesting questions about using stone to flesh to create wearable goods, since petrification and its refersal works on clothing and items worn, typically. Use stone to flesh on a statue wearing clothes, and....


But back to your murder mystery. What's the mimedusa's method and motive?

[Diarmuid]

Additionally, make sure you are very up to date on the rules around gaze attacks and how they are used/who they effect/what steps can be taken to mitigate/avoid them.

[Rijan_Sai]

...not the least because, in D&D, a gorgon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/gorgon.htm) is a totally different - and, I believe, unique to D&D - monster that looks like a metal cow and breathes a cloud of green petrifying gas as a breath weapon.)

There's at least one other game series (https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Gorgon) that uses them...

I'm sure that those more knowledgeable them myself have answered... just keep in mind that Stone to Flesh (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/stoneToFlesh.htm) does include a DC 15 Save-or-Die.

[weckar]

There's at least one other game series (https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Gorgon) that uses them...

I'm sure that those more knowledgeable them myself have answered... just keep in mind that Stone to Flesh (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/stoneToFlesh.htm) does include a DC 15 Save-or-Die.

Also zelda.

[A_Gray_Phantom]

As a warning, the moment statues start showing up, people are going to suspect a medusa. (I know you want to call her a "gorgon," and I sympathize, but your players are almost certainly going to call her a "medusa," not the least because, in D&D, a gorgon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/gorgon.htm) is a totally different - and, I believe, unique to D&D - monster that looks like a metal cow and breathes a cloud of green petrifying gas as a breath weapon.)

What's the murder that starts it off? Because the most obvious murder method she'd have would be petrification, which is a dead (pun unintended but gleefully used) give-away. Does she shatter the statue to gravel and dispose of it elsewhere? Murders look like missing persons cases without a corpse.

Not denigrating your plot nor suggesting anything, but it just occurred to me that a Maedar (the male medusa from 2e; not sure if they got reprinted in 3e) could use sculpting and his stone to flesh touch to make a kidnapping look like a murder: carve (or, if the guy is famous or vain enough that there are extant ones, steal) a statue of the target, turn it to flesh (this explicitly creates a "corpse," after all), and leave it where you kidnapped the victim from.

...this also raises interesting questions about using stone to flesh to create wearable goods, since petrification and its refersal works on clothing and items worn, typically. Use stone to flesh on a statue wearing clothes, and....


But back to your murder mystery. What's the mimedusa's method and motive?

Thank you for understanding my pain. I understand why Medusa is the most famous of her siblings, but what I don't understand is why a robotic cow ended up getting the name "gorgon." That's ridiculous.

Anyway, most of the villains in my games tend to have very complicated motives. I have a Kobold Bard set up as the main villain, and he's looking for a fountain of youth to gain immortality and help unify all Kobold tribes. (Think Redcloak, but more flamboyant.) Another villain is a time-traveling Illithid Savant who's stalking the PC's through time in order to gain their powers and prevent the end of the world. The latest villains they've encountered are sentient undead attempting to overthrow a theocracy of Wee Jas.

The "Medusa" is, straight up, a serial killer. Nothing special. What sets her apart is that she's disguised herself as a human mime, and has learned to blend in with humans. She likes being part of the circus, though, especially because she likes the attention. Like the Medusa of ye ancient mythology, she's also plagued with extreme envy.

So she goes around murdering other performers who she perceives are better than her. She goes about this with sabotage, poison, and has learned to minimize her petrifying gaze to act like a "Hold Person" spell. One of her first victims was a lion tamer she froze in the middle of an act.

Another potential victim will be a trapeze artist. She'll cut one of the eyebolts for the rigging. Whether or not the trapeze artist survives depends entirely on whether or not the cleric can be bothered to heal her.

So she rarely turns anyone to stone. The big clue, though is that she's a fakir. One of her skills is walking on broken stones instead of broken glass. I know for a fact one of my players knows that fakirs are supposed to walk on glass, not stones. This will hopefully connect the dots later when they do find a statue of a former party member in the bungalow of a different suspect.

Other clues I'll be dropping along are scheduling disputes, failed performances, and romantic conflicts.

And that's the gist of it. I just want a normal villain with simple motives for once, and I want the players to be the heroes that take her out. If they accomplish this, then the circus becomes a resource for them.

Let me know what you think. I'd be happy to take any constructive criticism.

[Segev]

The "Medusa" is, straight up, a serial killer. Nothing special. What sets her apart is that she's disguised herself as a human mime, and has learned to blend in with humans. She likes being part of the circus, though, especially because she likes the attention. Like the Medusa of ye ancient mythology, she's also plagued with extreme envy.

So she goes around murdering other performers who she perceives are better than her. She goes about this with sabotage, poison, and has learned to minimize her petrifying gaze to act like a "Hold Person" spell. One of her first victims was a lion tamer she froze in the middle of an act.That's an interesting feat for a Medusa to have.


Another potential victim will be a trapeze artist. She'll cut one of the eyebolts for the rigging. Whether or not the trapeze artist survives depends entirely on whether or not the cleric can be bothered to heal her.Okay, so being a murderess has little to do directly with being a serpent-haired, stone-gaze monster.


So she rarely turns anyone to stone. The big clue, though is that she's a fakir. One of her skills is walking on broken stones instead of broken glass. I know for a fact one of my players knows that fakirs are supposed to walk on glass, not stones. This will hopefully connect the dots later when they do find a statue of a former party member in the bungalow of a different suspect.Why does she use stone? Medusae don't have a particular invulnerability to it, and the fakir act doesn't really "work" with the mime act.

What does she do to prevent people from accidentally meeting her gaze? How does she hide her hair?


Other clues I'll be dropping along are scheduling disputes, failed performances, and romantic conflicts.Good for suggesting motive for the murderess.


And that's the gist of it. I just want a normal villain with simple motives for once, and I want the players to be the heroes that take her out. If they accomplish this, then the circus becomes a resource for them.That's cool, and sounds like a nice change of pace. As a possible red herring, have the first time suspicion falls on her, her secret as a stone-gazed killer come out, and have her act ashamed, embarassed, and like she keeps it secret and tries NOT to turn people to stone. It's true: she does try not to. Not for the implied reason of actually being a good person, though, but because it's way too easy to trace "statues" back to "Medeusa."


Let me know what you think. I'd be happy to take any constructive criticism.One thing you might do is have snake bites be a murder method. Especially if there's a new snake charmer in the circus of whom Medeusa is jealous for attention. Maybe said charmer does a harem-girl type act as part of her schtick and is drawing more male gazes that the murderess feels belong to her, AND she has another person she wants to kill. So she holds them with her modified gaze, and bites them to death with her snakes after leaving some hints that this other person was in some way in a romantic falling out involving the snake charmer. Either after the same guy, or into each other and had a falling out.

Don't leave particular clues involving stone; I think having the fact that she accidentally - possibly genuinely, or in self-defense - turns somebody to stone and has that revealed to the party would be a good way to have her double-cross their suspicions. They found her secret and have sympathy for it; they are less likely to look deeper until things point back to her again. (She keeps her snake hair concealed even after the reveal; leave it to the party to bring that up and the poison bites that frame the snake charmer.)

[Thurbane]

There's at least one other game series (https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Gorgon) that uses them...

Gary Gygax had a thread over at Enworld where he used to answer questions: one of them was the origin of the Gorgon monster in D&D. Apparently it comes from an old bestiary where it's description pretty much matches the D&D metallic bovine.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/icywv.jpg

[Rijan_Sai]

Thank you for understanding my pain. I understand why Medusa is the most famous of her siblings, but what I don't understand is why a robotic cow ended up getting the name "gorgon." That's ridiculous.
From the page I linked:

This creature has its origins in Edward Topsell's zoological text, The History of Four-Footed Beasts (1607). One entry refers to the "strange Lybian Beast" or the "Gorgon". Topsell describes the creature as such:
"It is a feareful and terrible beast to beholdd, it hath high and thicke eie lids, eies not very great, but much like an oxe or bugils, but all fiery-bloudy, which neyther looke directly forwarde, nor yet upwards, but continuallye downe to the earth, and therefore are called in Greeke Catobleponta. From the crowne of their head downe to their nose they have a long hanging mane, which maketh them to looke fearefully. It eateth deadly and poysonfull hearbs, and if at any time he see a bull or other creature whereof he is afraid, he presently causeth his mane to stand upright, and being so lifted up, opening his lips and gaping wide, sendeth forth of his throat a certaine sharpe and horrible breath which infecteth and poysoneth the air above his head, so that all living creatures which draw in the breath of that aire are greevously afflicted thereby, loosing both voyce and sight, they fall into leathall and deadly convulsions."
So really, I have no idea!! :smallbiggrin:


(Plot Synapsis)


(Further Ideas)
I love so much of this!


Also zelda.
Wha...? :smallconfused:
Assuming you mean The Legend of Zelda series, where is there a semi-mechanical, poison/petrification breathing bull? (I don't remember that one! :smallwink:)

EDIT:

Gary Gygax had a thread over at Enworld where he used to answer questions: one of them was the origin of the Gorgon monster in D&D. Apparently it comes from an old bestiary where it's description pretty much matches the D&D metallic bovine.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/icywv.jpg
And there is the original book! (So the wiki page isn't wrong... good to know!)
Given the quoted text, though, it still doesn't really explain the specific name "gorgon," nor the petrifying breath...

[weckar]

Wha...? :smallconfused:
Assuming you mean The Legend of Zelda series, where is there a semi-mechanical, poison/petrification breathing bull? (I don't remember that one! :smallwink:) Majora's Mask Goht and his derivatives later.

[Thurbane]

And there is the original book! (So the wiki page isn't wrong... good to know!)
Given the quoted text, though, it still doesn't really explain the specific name "gorgon," nor the petrifying breath...

I think it's safe to say Uncle Gary took some poetic license with the creature and its powers...

[DrMotives]

I think it really goes back to Pliny the Elder. Anther big quadruped that turns you stone is the catoblepas, which depending on who is depicting it may be a long-necked pig or more like a cow. But Pliny added some monstrous pizazz to Ethiopian buffalo, and here we are with a cow that petrifies you with a deadly gaze / breath, depending if it's a catablepas or gorgon.

[A_Gray_Phantom]

I think it really goes back to Pliny the Elder. Anther big quadruped that turns you stone is the catoblepas, which depending on who is depicting it may be a long-necked pig or more like a cow. But Pliny added some monstrous pizazz to Ethiopian buffalo, and here we are with a cow that petrifies you with a deadly gaze / breath, depending if it's a catablepas or gorgon.

Really, this whole thing sounds like the two monsters got mixed up, but nobody ever bothered to correct it, and now the Catoblepas has the name "Gorgon," and the gorgons are all called "Medusa." :yuk::sigh:

[A_Gray_Phantom]

That's an interesting feat for a Medusa to have.

Okay, so being a murderess has little to do directly with being a serpent-haired, stone-gaze monster.

Why does she use stone? Medusae don't have a particular invulnerability to it, and the fakir act doesn't really "work" with the mime act.

What does she do to prevent people from accidentally meeting her gaze? How does she hide her hair?

Good questions! I'm a professional circus performer IRL, and I can assure you that you can't really get work unless you have lots of different skills, or you do one thing really, REALLY well. The killer, who calls herself Mr. Spooky (she's a cross dresser), isn't really good at much at all. I'm ruling her natural armor helps prevent any injury the stones would cause, though I can say that she might have some stone salve on hand if you think she needs some form of damage reduction. She also does some other things like a bed of nails, and human blockhead, but really she has very little talent. This only spurs her to lash out at others.

As for preventing the gaze, she's discovered that the heavy makeup helps prevent the gaze attack from activating. To top this off, the former team member (a former player in our group) she's going to petrify has a hat of disguise. This makes her snake hair look like a bunch of messy dreads. (Imagine a messy tarantula atop her head.) The whole getup allows her to blend in with society, but does nothing to improve her attitude. She's still a vile, jealous monster who wants to be the center of attention, and will kill anyone who gets in her way.



Good for suggesting motive for the murderess.

That's cool, and sounds like a nice change of pace. As a possible red herring, have the first time suspicion falls on her, her secret as a stone-gazed killer come out, and have her act ashamed, embarassed, and like she keeps it secret and tries NOT to turn people to stone. It's true: she does try not to. Not for the implied reason of actually being a good person, though, but because it's way too easy to trace "statues" back to "Medeusa."

That's an idea. If the players somehow figure out she's a monster before I'm ready for the final showdown, I could try to play that sympathy card. Thanks.

As for the red herring, I have a perfect NPC for that. Months ago (IRL) the players freed a bunch of slaves from a gruesome fighting arena in a pirate hideout. One of the slaves, though, was very, very evil, and had a cell all to himself. The players never saw him draw a weapon, but did witness him murder a man with a hug. (He has hidden blades everywhere.) This one NPC creeped out the entire party, and after they all escaped, this guy just walked off without a word. I've got a whole tragic backstory for him, how him and his sister were kidnapped and sold into a Battle Royale style gladiatorial match. He just got so good at killing he couldn't be killed himself, but also couldn't escape.

This guy is going to show up as the knife thrower, so when dead bodies start popping up of course the party is going to start suspecting him. Mind you, none of the victims are going to have knife wounds on them, so as long as the party has their thinking caps on they should be able to rule him out as a suspect. If not, then they might arrest or kill the wrong person, and the murders will continue as they did before.



One thing you might do is have snake bites be a murder method. Especially if there's a new snake charmer in the circus of whom Medeusa is jealous for attention. Maybe said charmer does a harem-girl type act as part of her schtick and is drawing more male gazes that the murderess feels belong to her, AND she has another person she wants to kill. So she holds them with her modified gaze, and bites them to death with her snakes after leaving some hints that this other person was in some way in a romantic falling out involving the snake charmer. Either after the same guy, or into each other and had a falling out.

Wow! That's actually a REALLY good idea! The former party member was a sorceress who specialized in disguise, and magical domination. It'd make sense she'd eventually take Charm Monster as a spell. So that works out.

This PC turned NPC can't die, though. (That is, I don't want her to die.) She has a book that the party's NPC rogue needs, so I'll hide her petrified body somewhere as a clue. Long story, but the sorceress also had an artifact that let her have loads more mind control. When the players finally figure out who the murderer is, I want them to fight her in the middle of the ring, with a crowd watching, as the other circus performers are forced to defend her against their wills.

And the reason why she can't mind control the party (besides one of them can't be mind controlled anyway) is because she's not attuned to the artifact like the sorceress is. She's only able to get a few of the other performers to reluctantly defend her.



Don't leave particular clues involving stone; I think having the fact that she accidentally - possibly genuinely, or in self-defense - turns somebody to stone and has that revealed to the party would be a good way to have her double-cross their suspicions. They found her secret and have sympathy for it; they are less likely to look deeper until things point back to her again. (She keeps her snake hair concealed even after the reveal; leave it to the party to bring that up and the poison bites that frame the snake charmer.)

Ehhh... I've done the double-cross thing before. If I keep it up it'll get played out, and I don't want the players to be constantly paranoid all the time. (I've already hit them with 2 Mimics in a haunted house recently.) When it gets revealed that the murderer is a (ugh) Medusa, I want the party to have that moment of realization where they connect all the dots and go, "OOOOOH!" I'm known for pulling off these sorts of huge payoffs, so I'm curious to see if I can pull this off, too.

Also, I don't want this to be either too easy, or too obscure. The snake bites, the rubble, and the interpersonal relationships should lead the party to eventually conclude it's her. The smoking gun will be the statue they find of their former friend. This is going to feel very rewarding for the players if they put it all together.

[A_Gray_Phantom]

Oh, and to answer "why does she use stone?" Well, really, I want there to be a clue. Beyond that, if she's asked about it she'll brag that stones are more painful than glass, which is true.

I'm basing this off of a nasty sideshow freak I used to know that specialized in stuff like this. I once saw them swallow a bunch of razor blades and twine, then spat the twine with the blades all looped through it. (Still not entirely sure how they pulled that off.) They also did their glass trick with Lego blocks instead. Said it HURT, like WAY more than glass. Ouch!

[Segev]

If she’s using stone and it’s a clue, she should probably make her rubble out of former victims. It’s a way of disposing of it and literally walking all over them.

[Psyren]

There's at least one other game series (https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Gorgon) that uses them...

I'm sure that those more knowledgeable them myself have answered... just keep in mind that Stone to Flesh (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/stoneToFlesh.htm) does include a DC 15 Save-or-Die.


Also zelda.

*chiming in*
Heroes of Might & Magic has both Gorgons (metal cow) and Medusas (snake hair women.) Both can petrify foes.

[Remuko]

*chiming in*
Heroes of Might & Magic has both Gorgons (metal cow) and Medusas (snake hair women.) Both can petrify foes.

can confirm. love those games.

[Feantar]

Really, this whole thing sounds like the two monsters got mixed up, but nobody ever bothered to correct it, and now the Catoblepas has the name "Gorgon," and the gorgons are all called "Medusa." :yuk::sigh:

When it comes to the metal bull, I agree. On the subject of Medusa / Gorgon though, it's a bit more complicated. See, if the D&D Medusa(s) were actually named Gorgon, they'd have to be immortal - since Medusa was the sole exception to this rule (in the same way that, while some humans are bald, humans can be said to have hair as a rule). So Medusa is a somewhat good compromise.

But then again, Stoned Snake Lady would do:P

[Thurbane]

I always chuckle when I see this pic in Rules Compendium...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/55/8b/2d558b054670eb29932b2b52df5be184.jpg

[Rijan_Sai]

Majora's Mask Goht and his derivatives later.

Huh... forgot about that one! (Although I checked, and didn't find anything else in the series after MM that came close to that!) (Unless you count the 3DS version as a different creature...)


I always chuckle when I see this pic in Rules Compendium...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/55/8b/2d558b054670eb29932b2b52df5be184.jpg

~Everybody must get stoned! [/Bob Dylan]
*Looks up the image in RC*
And of course, that picture is found near "Mounted Combat: Combat While Mounted" (pg. 89) as opposed to the more logical (given what's presented) Breath/Gaze Attacks! :smallbiggrin:

[Thurbane]

And of course, that picture is found near "Mounted Combat: Combat While Mounted" (pg. 89) as opposed to the more logical (given what's presented) Breath/Gaze Attacks! :smallbiggrin:

I think it's reprinted from a module, but I'm not sure which one.

[Feantar]

I always chuckle when I see this pic in Rules Compendium...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/55/8b/2d558b054670eb29932b2b52df5be184.jpg

Meh, it's missing a cockatrice animal companion.

[Psyren]

Meh, it's missing a cockatrice animal companion.

The cockatrice would be its familiar; a basilisk would be the animal companion

[Rijan_Sai]

Meh, it's missing a cockatrice animal companion.


The cockatrice would be its familiar; a basilisk would be the animal companion

That's it... I have a new villain for a future campaign!


I think it's reprinted from a module, but I'm not sure which one.

Oh I'm sure of that! Every single picture in that book is! (Now I do want to try and find it, though!)