Planar Adventures for Dummies: History of gorgons IV: medusa in gaming

In past posts I went over the myth of the gorgon sisters, the catoblepas and how they were conflated within D&D. In this post I will focus on the evolution and usage of the medusa within fantasy gaming. D&D has a long history of taking singular monsters from world mythology and turning them into an entire race of monsters, typically mangling the background and properties of the original monster in the process.

Evolution of the medusa

In earlier editions of D&D, the medusa was a seemingly natural race of all-female monsters that reproduced by coupling with human males. Additional supplements introduced male counterparts with inconsistent traits. There are also "greater medusae" which are bigger, meaner and have a serpent tail instead of legs. Various supplements and third party products attempted to give more detailed versions of medusa history and culture. Often, medusae are described as the descendants of the original Greek gorgon Medusa. (Medusa and her sisters were called gorgons. The gorgon in the MM is actually an amalgam of the bronze bull, catoblepas and gorgon from Greek mythology. Topsell's bestiary misused this term in reference to the catoblepas, Gary Gygax read it and now we are stuck with a venomous iron bull labeled "gorgon.")

5e introduces medusae as a type of Faustian bargain instead: the medusa makes a deal with a fiend, gets beauty for a while and then becomes ugly. (I never found the idea of medusae as a race who all live in caves decorated with statues of their victims plausible, so I am in no hurry to revive it.) It is not explained what the fiend gets out of this or why the medusa would take what is obviously a bad deal. This removes any possibility for tragic medusae, which I find unfortunate.

In the article "Turned to Stone," James Wyatt suggested making the medusa a unique monster as with their mythological source. If there were more than one, this should have a special explanation. Chris Rolang similarly suggested literally transplanting Medusa herself from mythology. There are several variants of the original myth, as it was passed down orally, so there is not any single correct version to stay faithful to.

I think it would be more interesting to give medusae multiple possible origins that make more sense than a weird Faustian bargain. A given medusa might be the child of a primordial monster, a cruel narcissist punished for their vanity, or a humble victim of beauty granted eternal revenge. As monstrosities, they cannot reproduce or at least not conventionally. Alternately, entire tribes and bloodlines may be cursed through heredity. Therefore, much like the minotaur's curse, seeking a cure is a viable adventure!

The medusa's gaze

Are the medusae vulnerable to their own gaze? 5e suggests that the gaze is controllable except when the medusa sees her own reflection. Yet the exact mechanics seem to vary by edition and setting. In mythology and the Percy Jackson books, Medusa's gaze petrified even after her death. In Clash of the Titans, Medusa could control her petrifying gaze by transforming. In Eberron, the medusae cannot look at one another lest they be petrified. In episodes of Once Upon a Time and Tales from the Dark Side, Medusa is petrified by seeing herself in mirrors. It's up the GM's discretion, I guess.

Alternative roles

Although the medusa is typically a monster, whether naturally occurring or cursed, one could take a page from older traditions and posit that the gorgons are protectors of the sacred places. Tutelary monsters that serve the oracles. Maybe a medusa could be the oracle herself?

Alternately, medusae could be tragic victims. There is no shortage of romance stories featuring them, after all, and they are often lumped in the category of "cute monster girl."

In the Scarred Lands campaign setting, for example, medusae are on the side of the gods (the nominal "good guys" of the setting). They use their gaze to work as assassins and similar roles.

Medusa variants

As a very old monster in fantasy gaming history, the medusa has accumulated a number of variants.

Greater medusa

The "standard" medusa was a humanoid with snakes for hair, sometimes pretty and sometimes not. In Greek myth the gorgons had many monstrous features like brass wings, brass claws, beards, etc. At some point D&D supplements and 3pp introduced their own take on this concept, typically a medusa variant with a name like "legendary medusa," "brazen medusa," "greater medusa," "snake queen," "true gorgon," "stheno" or "euryale." These greater medusae are typically larger and stronger than their sisters and always display extreme mutations such as a serpent tail in place of legs, functional wings and/or brass claws.

Medusa's head

In Greek myth the goddess Athena mounted Medusa's head on her shield, creating the Aegis. Seeming based on this concept, some supplements introduced the concept of a severed medusa's head that has been reanimated as a flying monster. It generally has a simple name like "medusa head" or "headsman's medusa."

Male medusa

In Greek myth the gorgons had an unclear gender. Sometimes they were female, other times both male and female. In D&D they were pigeonholed as exclusively female. As I said above, male variants were later introduced. Sometimes they had unique powers, other times they did not. I counted at least three male counterparts: one which was bald and could turn stone to flesh and was virtually infertile (known as a "maedar" or "medusan"), one which was bald and had a venomous gaze, and one which had snake hair and petrifying gaze like the females.

Half-medusa

Seemingly absent in official D&D, some 3pp introduced the concept of half-medusa. Potentially any humanoid race could have half-medusa children, but obviously humans were the most common. They generally had weaker medusa traits, such as patchy snake hair or a merely venomous gaze (particularly playable versions), although in some cases they could be promoted to full medusa. One variant had all-female medusa, with only half-medusa being both male and female.

Speaking of hybrids, Book of Templates Deluxe Edition 3.5 also introduced a half-gorgon or "demigorgon." The same book called the half-medusa "padrafyte" for some reason.

Relation to other monsters

In there a relationship between the catoblepas gorgon and the gorgon medusa? Maybe the gorgon medusa steadily transforms over time until she resembles the catoblepas gorgon. Maybe the catoblepas gorgon is a representative of the gorgon aex or "terrible goat" of Greek myth. Maybe the catoblepas gorgon is raised as a steed by the gorgon medusa.

In the study of real cnidarians, "hydra" and "medusa" refer to different stages of the life cycle. Is there a similar relationship between the monsters of the game? Were Medusa and Hydra siblings born to the same monstrous parent, as Rolang attests?

Maybe the medusa's snakes can drop off and live independently. Maybe they can metamorphose into basilisks, cockatrices, hydras, amphisbaenas, etc or crossbreed to produce a variety of scaly monsters. Maybe any number of reptilian monsters may trace their lineage to the mythical Medusa herself.

According to Greek myth, Medusa was the mother of Pegasus and Chrysaor. Is there a similar relationship between the monsters of the game? Do medusae ride pegasi as steeds?

Medusa riding gorgon

Relevant Sourcebooks

Exotic Encounters: Medusas, Necromancers of the Northwest
In The Company of Medusa, Rite Publishing
Legendary Races: Medusa, Purple Duck Games
Mythic Monsters: Greek, Legendary Games
"True Gorgon," Tome of Horrors Complete, Necromancer Games, Inc.
Wyrms & Warlocks: Medusa's Hunger, Goblinoid Games

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Wednesday, June 26, 2019

History of gorgons IV: medusa in gaming