Stoned With Medusa

The Bargaining Process

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This is a deal, not a plea for help. They give enough info to be valuable but withholds full details unless properly negotiated.     Snaz Gorefist. L/E Female, Goblin Medusa
A survivor, not a schemer. Pragmatic, patient, and aware of her curse. She treats herself like a lady, not a weapon. Snaz doesn’t beg, doesn’t ask, doesn’t soften the terms. She offers value for service.  

• Keeps movement controlled, reducing risk of eye contact.
• Speaks rarely, letting Stitch the Pitch handle details.

  Stitch the Pitch. L/N Female, Goblin Lawyer
Stitch loves Snaz. Despite that influence, she is here to do her job and ensure a real deal. Stitch reads aloud in exhausting detail.   The Contract
Remove the Fomorian and its lackeys. Maintain the safety of three statues: a woman dressed in knight's armor, the dragonborn with the missing arm, and the halfling bard.   Persuasion, Intimidation, or Deception, modifiers & risks:  

• Try to strong-arm her: -5 to rolls
• Demonstrate tactical thinking: +5 to rolls

Snaz’s Bargaining Chip. For a bonus, the knight is a noble who came to slay the medusa. There is a large reward for her return.

Results
The duo will offer varying results. Snaz’s valuables are in a hidden locked location. She will need access to them.  

Under 15: Adequate payment in gold and gems.
15-19: Petrification and anti-petrifaction resources.*
20-24: A selection or two from her cache of items.*
25+: Her bargaining chip.

 

Trip Through the Badlands

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The trip takes three days. It is hilly with short sight-lines.   Encounter. A Cyclops ate hallucinogenic cactus and a Couatl showed up. The celestial then also ate the plant. Characters who eat it must make a DC 13 WIS save.  

Success: Advantage on their next attack or save.
Failure: Lose a night’s sleep.

Chooch. C/N Male, Cyclops
Laid-back, philosophical, and trying to open his “second” eye to reach enlightenment.   Herald. L/G Couatl
Speaks in riddles with no answers.

Galeb Duhr Ambush

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On the way to the Medusa’s lair, the characters must pass through a series of hills consisting of large earthen basins.     Encounter. The Fomorian crafted 2x Galeb Duhr to serve it. They are roughly made and extra aggressive. They ambush when characters are in one of the basins. Will pursue.  

DC 14 Arcana/Nature. Reveals resistances and senses.

Tactics

• They are indistinguishable from normal boulders.
• The terrain allows them to roll through multiple times.
• They have already used Animate Boulder, creating 2x extra Galeb Duhrs. This ability requires Concentration.
• The first two to attack will be the animated creatures.

 

Stone Fomorian

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When Snaz used her Petrifying Gaze, the Fomorian’s Evil Eye absorbed it, and made the creature something entirely new.   Encounter. 1x Fomorian has taken control of a Medusa’s lair. It has additional abilities and weaknesses as listed. Note: If there are too many characters for a single monster, add an additional 1x Stone Giant that the Fomorian crafted from rock.   Additional Abilities & Weakness

• Evil Eye also has the effect of Petrifying Gaze.
• Condition Immunity: Petrification.
• Has the same Lair Actions as a Medusa. See reference.
• Due to the stone, it has Resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks.
• Due to the stone, it is Vulnerable to Thunder damage.

Tactics
The Fomorian begins at the top of the battlefield. It uses its gaze, the terrain, and durability to create bad positioning.   Statues
The three statues are where you choose. Place them in danger where they can be saved, creating the most fun and tension.

Rewards

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Medusa Payment. Payment based on bargain. Appropriate gold for the character’s power. Gems should include diamonds for greater restoration material components.   Medusa’s Blood Poison (Condensed).* When a creature ingests this poison, it must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the creature is instantly petrified. Otherwise, a creature that fails the save begins to turn to stone and is restrained. The restrained creature must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn, becoming petrified on a failure or ending the effect on a success. The petrification lasts until the creature is freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.   Snake Scale Serum.* Made from the ground scales of a Medusa’s head snakes. As an action, rubbing this serum on a creature removes the effects of Petrification.   Medusa Caches.* Snaz Gorefist has multiple caches of magic items hidden throughout her lair, encased in petrified vaults that block magical detection. Without her innate magic, the only way to access them is through anti-petrification effects to free the contents from the stone. Depending on the bargain, the party may gain access to specific caches. If they attempt to search on their own, finding them is extremely difficult.   Use Magic Item tables in the DMG as needed. Add sundries.  

• Cache #1. 2 rolls on Table A
• Cache #2. 2 Uncommon on Table B
• Cache #3. 1 roll on Table B & 1 Uncommon on Table C
• Cache #4. 2 Uncommon on Table C
• Cache #5. 2 rolls on Table A & 1 Rare on Table C

  Pascal Cactus. Harvested cactus loses potency after 3 days. DC 13 Wisdom saving throw to gain future insight.  

Success: Gain advantage on your next attack or saving throw.
Failure: You are unable to sleep or rest for 24 hours.

Noble’s Return. The knight statue is Lyra Dahlwood. She comes from a noble house. As a reward they will provide gold and a family heirloom of a +2 magic weapon or lower quality.

Snitch the Pitch

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L/N Female, Goblin Lawyer   Roleplaying Snitch the Pitch
Personality Trait. “I speak slowly to ensure I don’t mess up.”
Ideal. “Professionalism. Goblins are stereotyped so I will be the example the world needs.”
Bond. “My license is my proudest achievement.”
Flaw. “I am equally terrified and aroused by Snaz.”

GM Advice

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The bargain should feel like a real negotiation. Keep it back and forth to make it an engaged roleplaying session. If the characters fail negotiations, they may still find her hidden caches if they investigate, although difficult. Snaz will lean into whatever narratives benefit her. If the characters play up the noble rescue, she won’t correct them, willing to play along.   Galeb Duhr fight. Remember Concentration. The first two attackers are summoned duplicates, masking the real threats.

Snaz Gorefist

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L/E Female, Goblin Medusa   Snaz was gifted with beauty beyond compare. To the goblins of Crammin, she became a living sex symbol. She made a wish and something unknown answered, turning her into a medusa.   Roleplaying Snaz Gorefist
Personality Trait. “I am a controlled specimen of a being.”
Ideal. “Merit. That which is capable is worthy of me.”
Bond. “A contract made is forever.”
Flaw. “I believe others don’t trust me, even when they do.”

The Medusa’s Lair

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A medusa’s lair is often decorated with the petrified bodies of creatures that raised arms against the medusa or its followers. The lair is typically a rich repository of knowledge, with lore both worldly and esoteric filling books, scrolls, tablets, or stranger archives—such as magical crystals that hold captured memories or the voices of those long dead. You can use this lair and the lair actions described for any medusa.   Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the medusa can take one of the following lair actions; the medusa can’t take the same lair action two rounds in a row:   Petrifying Wave. Up to three creatures the medusa can see within the lair are partially turned to stone. Each target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a target’s speed is reduced to 0 and can’t increase. On a successful save, its speed is halved. The target’s speed returns to normal on initiative count 20 on the following round.   Sudden Stonework. The medusa creates a wall of stone on a solid surface it can see within the lair. The wall can be up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick. Each 5-foot section of the wall has an AC of 17; 30 hit points; vulnerability to thunder damage; and immunity to poison, psychic, and slashing damage. A creature in the wall’s space when the wall appears is pushed to the nearest unoccupied space on one side of the wall and must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the medusa chooses the side. On a successful save, the creature chooses the side. The wall disappears when the medusa uses this lair action again or when the medusa dies.   Undulating Surface. Solid surfaces within the lair ripple like a snake’s coils. Up to three creatures the medusa can see within the lair can move up to 30 feet along solid surfaces without provoking opportunity attacks. If a creature moves along a surface such as a ceiling with no way to remain there (for example, sufficient handholds), it falls at the end of this movement.