Medusa

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

Departure from Canon

In the Monster Manual, a medusa is described as “a well-proportioned human” …then as “repulsive” …then as “indistinguishable from a normal human” at a range as short as 30 ft.  And they have an average Charisma of 15.  Charisma is not all about looks, but ugly things are often given low Charisma scores.

I’m resolving these discrepancies and making the medusa a little more dangerous.  I’m also going out on a limb with their origins.  This presentation may contradict some official details, but it supersedes the MM description for the Xaeyruudh campaign.

At a Glance

A medusa is very similar in overall appearance to a human woman, with the obvious exception of her head and some subtler differences elsewhere.  When nude and prevented from disguising herself, she’s easily distinguished from other creatures, but by then it’s usually too late for the observer to flee.

  • The hair on her head is replaced by a mass of poisonous snakes.  She has no other hair, including no eyebrows or eyelashes.  The coloration of her scales, and the snakes, varies according to her habitat: dusty brown or red in the desert, emerald green in the forest, olive drab in the marshes, and so forth.  When living amongst humans or other races, her color approximates the tone of the dominant subrace. If she relocates, from the Raurin to the Lizard Marsh, for instance, her coloration changes over the course of a month or so.
  • Her skin is leathery, and covered with scales – very fine (looking like human skin) on her face, chest, and abdomen, thicker and harder on her shoulders, back, forearms, and legs.
  • Her eyes glow when she’s angered.  Eye color varies widely, but only among the vibrant shades… “chlorine” green, gold rather than brown, ice blue, and so forth.  Medusae who are blind (due to disease or other “natural” condition, not magic) have black eyes.  In all cases the eyes resemble glittery opaque gems, and lack visible pupils.
  • A medusa is an unrepentant carnivore, and she prefers her meals fresh and raw — she will disdainfully discard any leftover meat after a few hours.  She views fruits and vegetables the same way humans look at grass: at least two steps too far down the food chain.  Alcohol is a useful tool for making meals compliant, but a medusa will never get drunk.  “In the wild” a medusa will eat whatever meat she can catch, and drink the purest water she can find.

Some 10% have alluring sultry voices, but most have a slight-to-severe rasp which hampers their seduction of humans without the assistance of magic.

Once past puberty, a medusa can control the petrifying quality of her gaze… before that time it “has a mind of its own” and often frustrates her attempt to find treasure or a meal. A medusa cannot eat petrified victims, and unless she has the appropriate spells, she has no means to turn her statues back into meals.

A medusa has a keen taste for the finer things in life— art, cut gems and fabulous pieces of jewelry, rare coins especially platinum and gold, and extravagant clothing.  She also collects magic items… particularly ones that glitter attractively in addition to performing their functions.

Compassion is alien to a medusa.  She feels nothing resembling affection, for anyone other than herself.  Even her mates and spawn are owned and commanded, rather than loved… love is weak, like fruit.

Like vampires and lamia and other intelligent and cruel predators, a medusa likes to play with her food when she has the opportunity – meaning when she goes into a city, which she thinks of in the same way that humans think about a farmer’s market.  Suitably disguised, she will coyly flirt with whoever catches her eye, gentlemen and ladies alike, sometimes for hours if the conversation is stimulating, before taking them back to her lair-of-the-moment.  Once there, she’ll dally with them, or drop her charade and allow them to fight her, or tie them up and torture them… depending on her mood.  Before the end of the night, however, she’ll sate her hunger.

A young medusa will avoid sleeping in human cities… not that she’s afraid, mind you.  It’s just the stench of humanity; it gets to her, you understand.  However, an older medusa may be more than confident enough, particularly if she has levels in a spellcasting class, to maintain a semipermanent lair in a human city such as Scornubel or Baldur’s Gate or even Waterdeep… although the cold makes Waterdeep less appealing than a cozy buffet like Marsember.

The snakes grow throughout the medusa’s life, averaging a half inch per year of life.  Medusae who can cast spells, and who attempt to live among other races, obviously use magic to disguise the snakes and their own scales.  Those who can’t cast spells will go to any lengths to acquire the means to alter their shape so that they can have access to human and demihuman cities.

The Xaeyruudh Campaign

In my campaign, the medusa were created by the sarrukh.  This will not necessarily mesh with official lore, as noted above, but I think it makes good sense.

First, a medusa clearly has both humanoid and serpentine ancestry; this makes them a prime candidate for being the result of sarrukh genetic engineering. I think it makes sense for the medusae to have once been the personal servants of the sarrukh, since they have arms for wielding tools and a scaly form that the sarrukh would find more aesthetically pleasing than a non-reptilian slave race. Medusae also tend toward lawful alignments, making them more servile than other races.  The naga fancy themselves the favorites of the sarrukh, but I think that’s just ego and wishful thinking.

As the sarrukh empires waned, the medusae remained docile and nearly faded into obscurity with their masters, while the yuan-ti “stepped up” and began building kingdoms of their own.  In time the medusae scattered, remaining few in number and relatively shunned by the other reptilian races… though still greatly feared by kobolds, lizardfolk, and so forth, as the right hands of the ultimate masters.

Medusae venerate “Mother Sss’thasine’ss” — actually Talona since the old serpent deity was destroyed by an elven god in the days of Aryvandaar.  Historically, clerics have been rare among the medusae, for the many centuries since the fall of the sarrukh have made them self-sufficient and excessively proud.  Change is in the air, however, as the sarrukh begin to reawaken.

To Do

  • medusa lairs in the Realms, some individuals
  • successful Knowledge check results

Sources

  • Monster Manual [17755] page 180
  • Serpent Kingdoms: the sarrukh, and the connection between Sss’thasine’ss and Talona, come from Serpent Kingdoms
  • Original stuff: the rest is made up, and still a work-in-progress; constructive input is welcome

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References in The Great Glacier (FR14)

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


At a Glance

A sourcebook; book 14 of the FR series.


Details

The Great Glacier was written by Rick Swan, and first printed in 1992.


References

People
Places
Things
Monsters

Citation


Disclaimer

Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.

The Old Days

Glancing through the Cyclopedia of the Realms (the 1e campaign setting) I was struck again by the difference between the original setting and the modern Realms.  Manshoon is only 16th level, Elminster is only 26th.  The Knights of Myth Drannor, responsible for much derring-do in the Heartlands, are mostly around levels 4-9.  Waterdeep has around 100k residents instead of 10 times that amount.  Dragons are “the most dangerous creatures of the Known Realms.”

I’m not complaining about the development that’s taken place.  We have a whole lot more monsters to play with now, and more spells, and more NPCs, and more more more.  Cool.  I’m just saying those were the good ol’ days, and they have a certain powerful appeal.

And I think part of this appeal is consistent with the Points of Light philosophy; the 1e Realms was more consistent with this idea than later versions have been.  Back then, meaning 1357 DR, “civilization is still a novelty in much of this world.”  What a difference 15 years made.  Three (and a half) rewrites of the game rules inexplicably meant that the world had to be rewritten multiple times.  Part of it was unavoidable… as you crank up the power level of the Light, you need more powerful Darkness in-between.  But it didn’t stop there.

1e: This is the Forgotten Realms. (and there was much rejoicing.)

2e: This is the Forgotten Realms on crack… any questions?

3e: This is the Forgotten Realms on mushrooms… see our cool new maps?

4e: Mushrooms were clearly not enough WiNNiNG!  We’ve come up with (oh, after extensively polling customer opinions, of course, oh yes) a mixture of uh… some stuff, and… well, frankly we have no idea what it is.  But we’re calling it the Forgotten Realms because people buy FR products, and because it’s so badass!  Give us more money!  So we can invent new drugs!  5e will be freakin amazing!

Edit: Just 26 days after I wrote this, 5e was announced, with the accompanying request for player feedback, etc. *sigh*

I’m not criticizing the 4e rules.  Just the changes to the Realms.  Partly because the rules do seem to be decent.  Moreso because I’ve watched a couple of Encounters sessions (Dark Sun, not Realms) but I haven’t played or even completely read the 4e rules.  4e is different enough from the previous versions of the game to warrant having a different name, but I understand wanting to preserve the D&D label.  I’m also not criticizing the writers, who I’m sure were just doing the best they could with the orders they got.  No, this is aimed clearly at the head honchos.  The dolts in charge of turning the Realms into a steaming pile of [expletive deleted].

I don’t know what the creative process at WotC/Hasbro entails, and I don’t really care.  Here’s how it should work, in an easy 1-2-3.  The reality of it can’t resemble the following outline very closely, or we wouldn’t be having these problems.

1. Whoever is in charge of (makes all executive decisions regarding) D&D products at Hasbro plays and likes D&D.  Whoever is in charge of the FR brand (same meaning) is a player and appreciator of lore-heavy settings, because that’s what this setting is.  You don’t put a bike-hater in charge of selling bikes. Did you put a Realms-hater in charge of the 4e Realms? I think you did.

2. The Creative Dept, or R&D, or whatever you want to call it, keeps all ten fingers on the pulse of what Realms Fans want, through participation in forums like Candlekeep and the FR mailing list as well as polls conducted both online and on paper.  “Meet the Creative Dept” events at every Con where WotC makes an appearance, which should be a lot of Cons if you want to sell stuff, are a great time to conduct polls.  By Realms Fans I mean people who spend more than 50% of their game time in the Realms and feel strongly invested in the past, present, and future of the Realms.  Importantly, Ed Greenwood, the guy who wrote the first incarnation of the setting, needs to be part of the Creative Dept, or at least cordially and sincerely invited to participate in as many of their meetings with Authors as he cares to be involved in. Set the man up with his own private jet, or some good videoconferencing equipment; your choice. I get that you bought the Realms and you own the trademarks now… however, that does not change the fact that our loyalty is to him, not to you, and you’d be doing yourself a favor if you stopped publishing things he doesn’t like… because he has a knack for writing what we’re going to like… and you clearly do not.

3. When designing a new product, three forces come together in two stages.  First, the Hasbro guy/gal meets with the Creative Dept.  They arrive at a concensus regarding the type and scope of the product; hard/soft cover, pagecount, and which facet(s) of the Realms the product is going to cover.  Then the Creative Dept meets with the Author(s) and the Hasbro guy/gal butts out; they’ve had their say and their services are no longer required.  The Creative Dept presents the Author(s) with the guidelines (hardcover, 157 pages, about Waterdeep, for instance) and the polling data indicating what Realms fans like and dislike.  Together, they then iron out the details of what goes in the book.  Then the Creative Dept shuts up and lets the Author(s) discuss ideas to everyone’s satisfaction.  Quickly, the meetings end, and the Author(s) go to do what only Author(s) should be doing… writing.

I know, I said 1-2-3, but here’s a bonus.

4. When a new system of rules changes the game to the point where it’s basically a whole new game –like 4e– you don’t muck up an existing campaign setting, particularly a lore-rich one.  Worldshaking events in a lore-rich world are guaranteed to piss everybody off and guess what… justifiably so.  We’re right to be pissed off, and you are wrong.  You want to blow everything up?  Make a new world for it.  Worst case, if your finances are so screwed up that you can’t pay a designer to spend 30 minutes inventing a new world for you, then muck up something you haven’t touched in years.  Like Ravenloft, or Spelljammer, or Blackmoor.  Then watch in amazement as the people who really like your new rules and appreciate this revitalizing Kaboom you just dropped on an old setting start flocking to the new product line.  Meanwhile the players who are invested in the lore-heavy settings and enjoy them for what they are can continue to enjoy new products written for their setting.  This works best if you stop filling Setting products with ruleset-specific junk.  Note: those who love the new rules can and will modify your lore-heavy settings to use the new rules, and write fanfic and netbooks which you could theoretically license for a nominal royalties fee.  Everybody wins.

Specifically, with regard to the Realms, the following decisions were criminally misguided: the success of the plot to murder Mystra, the elimination of many other powers, the destruction of various nations and individuals across Faerun, the return of Netheril and Myth Drannor, and… I’ll undoubtedly expand this list as I read more of what used to be the Realms.  If you really want to glom Abeir and Toril back together again (the original cloning/separation and now the reunification are arguably also misguided) then have them meld on one of the previously unexplored continents, thus opening up new lore instead of killing existing plotlines.

I’m not condemning change itself.  There’s nothing wrong with innovation.  Creativity is good.  The 4e rules are innovative.  The 4e changes in the Realms —speaking as someone who’s played primarily within the Realms since the release of the gray box— are horristupidbad.

Departures

I think it’s a scientific fact, or it could one day be, that I can’t write anything without deviating from what’s already been written about the subject.  I’ve been known to disagree with things on first glance, and the longer I look at something the more the chance of divergence rises.  So.  Not only is this blog not representative of any official direction for the Realms, even within the context of the pre-4e Realms, but it’s likely to flat-out change things.  Unapologetically.  This post is going to be a list of specific points upon which the Xaeyruudh campaign’s vision of the Realms is significantly different than the published one.

  1. Imaskar is older in my world… something like 7,000 years older.  The fall occurs around the same time; this just means that they were here longer.  Also, Imaskar’s domination spread a little further in my version.  Certain events in the timeline have been dramatically recast… the god-blocking shield and the giant portals that summoned millions of people come to mind. Oh, and there was no crossover —of humans or deities— from Earth to Toril.
  2. The current year is 1365 DR, and the Time of Troubles didn’t happen. In this campaign, Ao has control over individual Powers’ access to the Realms, rather than over the Powers themselves. So if I were to acknowledge the Time of Troubles it would look more like Ao locking the cosmic “door” granting godlike beings access to the Realms. It’s worth noting that some non-deific entities (Gargauth, etc) have found ways to “sneak” into the Realms in passive defiance of Ao. Powers who wish to be active in the Realms following the ToT could indicate this desire by sending an avatar to Toril and searching for the symbolic Tablets of Fate. The “door” will be reopened when the Tablets are returned, and those who aided in the search or at least were present on Toril may be part of the post-ToT pantheon. Those who elect not to be involved will have similarly made their desires clear. But I’m killing the ToT completely, so none of that is an issue.
  3. The God-Kings of Mulhorand and Unther are native to the Realms (as opposed to powers like Mystra who “reside” outside the Prime Material). Therefore, the God-Kings would be unaffected by the ToT, even if the ToT were to happen in my game, which it is not. They are not governed by Ao’s rules for the Faerunian pantheon. Also, while we’re on the subject of the God-Kings, they will not be leaving the Realms en masse as they do in the official timeline.
  4. The 3e map is garbage. The only redeeming features of this map are that (1) it was blown up (in Dragon Magazine) onto four glossy-ish poster maps, and (2) the mountains and oceans are better than previous maps. The hills are crap, though. My point here is that you don’t cut sections out of a map just to save a few pennies by crunching a 2-poster map down to one sheet of paper. You simply don’t. It’s a mutilation of the game world, which is always a bad thing. It’s also a cardinal sin as far as cartography is concerned. Even if you ignore those facts, it foments arguments over which maps to use in each campaign, which means it’s negative rather than positive for DMs and players. Even from a corporate point of view, the monetary motive is completely transparent, and anything that makes you look greedy is a stupid decision. Players and DMs made a stink about it as soon as we saw it but since profit was priority #1, obviously no corrected map was forthcoming in 3e. 4e made things even worse, and there’s no reason to believe that 5e will take us back to the original map. The Xaeyruudh campaign will rely on 1e/2e maps.
  5. Shade will not return to Faerûn in this campaign. If it did, it would be destroyed, all lifeforms enslaved and the city itself shattering into rubble and raining down from the sky. This would occur both due to the story of the campaign calling for it and because I think it would be a pleasant contrast to the way the shadovar were handled in the official Realms. That’s not to say the shades won’t be around in my campaign… they will. However, the city/empire of Shade will not be. The shades cannot be successful in rebuilding Netheril as suggested in published 3e/4e, partly because the phaerimm aren’t idiots in this campaign, and also because there are unforgivable sins in the Realms and Karsus’ Folly was one.  On the other hand, their imperialistic nature and callous cruelty and subversive techniques also probably lay the foundation for the most effective argument for bringing the shades back… they add to the darkness, rather than being a point of light.  Another large threat for the PCs to face.
  6. Speaking of the phaerimm… they’re not idiots in this campaign. The Sharnwall remains in place, though there are rumors that holes have been poked in it, the attack described in that one trilogy didn’t happen, and they remain the horrible nightmare that most folks don’t even know about. They’re also involved in the plot, so… not many details will be spilled just yet.
  7. Unless otherwise noted, all 4e changes to the Realms are tossed out. This won’t have much impact since the campaign is set 114 years before the 4e timeline starts up, but it means that the future has not already been written. Something relevant to the foretold “blue fire” will most likely occur at the appropriate time, but it won’t be the lunacy that heralds 4e.

That’s all I can think of, for now… I’m sure this post will get edited again in the future…

Weapon Proficiencies

This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

At a Glance

I’m making a few changes to weapon proficiencies, for the Xaeyruudh campaign.  They shall appear here because this blog is here partially for players in said campaign.  Also, I’m open to thoughts and feedback from anyone on this subject and most others.

This is still a work-in-progress; additions and clarifications are needed.

Changes

  • Bows are simple weapons.
  • Crossbows are martial weapons.
  • Sap is an exotic weapon; only rogues and halflings are automatically proficient.
  • Scythe is an exotic weapon.
  • Various weapons traced to particular cultures on Earth are exotic weapons outside corresponding cultures in the game world. This category includes: kama, kukri, nunchaku, sai, shuriken, and siangham.
  • Staff is split into two proficiencies; a Simple proficiency for single-weapon use and an Exotic proficiency for use as a double weapon.  All classes can use it as a single weapon; only Monks start with the double weapon proficiency.
  • Expanding on the idea of bastard swords, there are 1.5h axes, clubs, flails, hammers, khopesh, maces, picks, and spears.  The clubs, maces, and spears are simple if used 2h and martial if used 1h.  The axes, flails, hammers, picks, and swords are martial if used 2h and exotic if used 1h.
  • There are double hammers and double khopesh.  All double weapons are exotic.
  • The khopesh and all derivatives are exotic weapon proficiencies for all characters who don’t select one of the Mulhorand-specific regions at character creation.  Unther isn’t close enough; Untheric forces use straight-bladed swords.

By Class

Barbarians: no change in proficiencies; still all simple and martial weapons. [refer to PH 25]

Bards keep proficiency with crossbows; they lose proficiency with whips. [refer to PH 28]

Clerics keep proficiency with crossbows.  Clerics who choose the War domain gain proficiency with their patron deity’s “favored weapon” (and the associated Weapon Focus feat) regardless of whether the weapon is Simple/Martial/Exotic. [refer to PH 31]

Druids gain proficiency with bows and falchions. [refer to PH 34]

On a related note, the prohibition against druids utilizing metal armor and shields is lifted; letting them use metal weapons but not metal armor is inconsistent.  They cannot use wildshape while wearing any full suit of armor, but that was probably already true.

Fighters: no change in proficiencies; still all simple and martial weapons. [refer to PH 38]

Monks gain proficiency with bows, scythes, sickles, and whips; they lose proficiency with crossbows. [refer to PH 40]

Paladins: no change in proficiencies; still all simple and martial weapons. [refer to PH 44]

Rangers: no change in proficiencies; still all simple and martial weapons. [refer to PH 47]

Rogues keep/gain proficiency with all crossbows (including repeating crossbows). [refer to PH 50]

Sorcerers: no change in proficiencies; still all simple weapons. [refer to PH 54]

Wizards gain proficiency with slings; they lose proficiency with crossbows. [refer to PH 56]

By Race

I’m adding this consideration, to expand/modify various notes such as “gnomes treat hooked hammers as martial weapons.” In each case, all members of these races have proficiency with the noted weapons, regardless of their class.

Dwarves are proficient with all axes and hammers.
Elves are proficient with all bows and swords.
Gnomes are proficient with all picks and hammers.
Halflings are proficient with all crossbows, net, sap, and sling.

Summary

Simple Weapons
1h and 2h clubs, maces, and spears
1.5h simple weapons used as 2h weapons
bows, dagger, dart, javelin, morningstar, sling, and staff (used as a single weapon)
kama, kukri, nunchaku, sai, shuriken, and siangham (in appropriate cultures)

Martial Weapons
1h and 2h axes, flails, hammers, picks, and swords
1.5h simple weapons used as 1h weapons
1.5h martial weapons used as 2h weapons
crossbows (except repeating crossbows), polearms

Exotic Weapons
1.5h martial weapons used as 1h weapons
double weapons (including staff)
repeating crossbows, sap, scythe, sickle, whip
kama, kukri, nunchaku, sai, shuriken, and siangham (outside appropriate cultures)

Questions for the Ages

Why would anyone think a bard should automatically be competent in whip use?  I mean, sure, some of them are undoubtedly kinky, but… every single first-level bard?  That thought puts a whole new spin on the taproom.

Disclaimer

Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the United States and other countries. This blog is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC.