A medusa was a fearsome and resentful creature capable of turning any living being to stone with a single glance. Its head was crowned with a writhing mass of venomous Snakes, each one about a foot long, and its eyes glowed with an intense red light that could petrify anyone who met its gaze. Though its skin was typically pale or earthy in tone and covered in small scales, the medusa could resemble a Mortalkind from a distance, a deception it often reinforced with veils or hoods.
Medusae were creatures of isolation and dominance. They used their gaze and venom with lethal precision but could exercise restraint when hunting or courting. Their blood and venom were highly prized for magical purposes, capable of reversing recent petrification or forming potent poisons and spell components. Some medusae even learned Spellcraft and ventured into extraplanar realms, such as the Border Ethereal or the Realm of Earth, making their deadly influence felt across worlds.
Most medusae traced their origins to mortal bargains with Fiends, trading fleeting beauty and power for a permanent, monstrous form. Despite their fearsome nature, medusae typically viewed their own powers as a Curse. Those cursed into becoming medusae could be of any sex, and both male and female medusae shared the same deadly abilities and monstrous form.
They preferred to dwell alone or in small groups, often in dark caves or abandoned structures, their lairs filled with shadowed passages, overgrowth, and trophies of petrified victims. Some medusae allied with creatures immune to their gaze, such as Gargoyles, or with powerful mortalkind beings like Serpentfolk, and occasionally even took humanoid servants. Mated pairs of medusae formed lifelong bonds, feeding together and raising offspring as an isolated unit.