PDA

View Full Version : Homebrewing a Medusa Race



Caduceus
2007-10-25, 08:14 PM
Alright, I need help designing a medusa race that will likely only see use by one player in my group.

Don't worry about the stone gaze, she's already decided to be blind, having had the character's eyes removed previous to the campaign's beginning. I've ruled that it counts as a flaw, and allowed her Blind-Fight for free so that she doesn't immediately die, and to reflect her adaptation to blindness. The snakes are nonpoisonous, and she won't be seeing through their eyes (her decision). I'm ruling that she can specify a square to attack with them, and the snakes use their own eyes to aim. However, having it as a natural attack makes it so that she, even at higher levels, will only be able to do that once per round, dealing 1d4 damage.

My thoughts regarding the ability scores are that she ought to have +2 Cha and Wis, -2 Str.

The character is planned to be a sorcerer.

Thoughts?

Abjurer
2007-10-25, 08:17 PM
You should give her +1 natural armor, due to her scales.

DanielLC
2007-10-25, 10:48 PM
There already is a medusa (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/medusa.htm) race.

Caduceus
2007-10-25, 11:10 PM
I'm fully aware of there being a Medusa monster. I'm trying to adapt that to a race, like those provided in the PHB, so that the player can play her as a sorceress at low levels and not be completely gimped for wanting to play an interesting character.

Kellus
2007-10-25, 11:45 PM
Sthenos

The sthenos are a race descended from the hideous medusas. Scholars have puzzled over why such a race would ever have relations with other humanoid races, but the sthenos stand as testament to these liaisons.

All sthenos are female. They are in reality a throwback, and can come from almost any family which has been tainted by medusas sometime in the past. Often the condition skips many generations before finally manifesting itself in a stheno child. Sthenos have no community to speak of, since they are born in isolation to each other. Their most common alignment in lawful evil, and as such are more likely to view other sthenos as rivals or competitors than as potential allies.

Racial Ability Adjustments: +2 Cha, -2 Con, -2 Dex. Sthenos are physically imposing, but frail compared to other creatures.
Size: Medium. As Medium creatures, sthenos have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Speed: Stheno base land speed is 30ft.
Skills: Sthenos have a racial +4 bonus to Intimidate checks due to their imposing nature. It takes a -4 penalty all other Charisma-based checks.
Head of Snakes (Ex): A stheno’s head is a writhing mass of snakes due to their medusoid ancestry. When the sthenos takes a full attack action, the head snakes may also make a melee attack at a -5 penalty. This attack deals 1d4 piercing damage, and may be used to channel poison (see below).
Snakesense (Ex): The stheno’s headsnakes grant her blindsense to 5ft.
Poison (Ex): A stheno’s headsnakes can deliver poison through her bite once per day. This poison has a save DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the stheno’s hit dice + her Con modifier, and causes 1d4 Str damage on a failed save. As secondary damage, it deals another 1d4 Str damage.
Spell-like Ability (Sp): Once a stheno reaches 12 hit dice, it has matured sufficiently to call upon some of the powers of the medusa in its history. It may at this point use flesh to stone as a spell-like ability once per day. The save DC for this ability is Cha-based.
Favored Class: Sorcerer
Level Adjustment: +0

How's this?

Caduceus
2007-10-26, 07:33 AM
Wow. That's better and quicker than I was expecting. Thank you. I have reservations about the flesh to stone and the poison, but once per day for the poison and once per day for the Sp at 12 HD don't seem that bad. She probably won't use either one, though.

I'll run that by the player and she and I will hash out the details of the character.

Again, thank you for your help.

DanielLC
2007-10-26, 03:39 PM
Why are all sthenos female? There are male medusas, although technically they're maedar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29).

DracoDei
2007-10-26, 06:40 PM
And this way the character doesn't have to be blind.

Caduceus
2007-10-26, 11:42 PM
And this way the character doesn't have to be blind.

To be perfectly honest, I never told her that her character had to be blind. It was entirely her decision, for story reasons.

In her character's past, she was set upon by a group of overzealous paladins of the Silver Flame who decided to do Eberron a favor and sew shut the eyes of a young medusa, preventing, in their eyes, countless petrifications. An evil act with good intentions. They fell soon after.

Since that event, she has realized magical potential and striven to go against the dark reputation of her people. Neutral Good.

DracoDei
2007-10-26, 11:56 PM
Just make sure you are aware of the cost to get Regeneration cast (I have no idea what this number is, I just know that the player and you should both be well aware of it in such a case)...

Mewtarthio
2007-10-27, 12:26 AM
Sthenos have no community to speak of, since they are born in isolation to each other. Their most common alignment in lawful evil, and as such are more likely to view other sthenos as rivals or competitors than as potential allies.

Why LE? I'd expect the monstrous freak of the family to tend towards Chaotic.

Kellus
2007-10-27, 01:40 AM
Why LE? I'd expect the monstrous freak of the family to tend towards Chaotic.

It's just in their blood. They're diabolical and domineering by nature. The fact that they're generally outcast and reviled doesn't help any.

Songs4Drowning
2007-10-28, 07:47 PM
Aww, I dun want her to see. That would be no fun at all. Besides, how can you say no to this hotness?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/darthmaulnda/medusafinished.jpg

Plus, that toga's short. She needs blind fight for groping party members! O.O XD

DracoDei
2007-10-28, 09:27 PM
Your pick. It is logical from a story perspective either way...

Oh, nice picture too!