Medusas are creatures cursed to live lonely, immortal lives, in fear of their own reflection. As a half-medusa, you have narrowly avoided this fate. Most half-medusa result from a humanoid avoiding the full consequences of their curse. They may evade their fate through magical experimentation, divine interference, wicked bargains, or any number of happenstances. In any case, the end result is the same: they find themselves stuck somewhere between the person they were and the monster they could have become.

In rarer cases, a half-medusa is the offspring of at least one parent who was on the way to becoming a medusa themselves. The parent's curse is passed down in a weakened form to their child, almost certainly dooming them to life as an exile or outcast.

Half-Medusa Traits

Your Medusa curse grants you certain benefits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age. Like Medusas, half-medusas do not seem to age. The true scope of their immortality is difficult to determine due to their rarity.

Alignment. Half-medusa vary based on the nature of their curse. Those who actively pursued the dark dealings that led to their affliction are mostly evil. Those who inherited their curse can be any alignment. They may be less inclined to lawful alignments due to the vilification and ostracization they experience.

Size. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Snake Hair. Your hair is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Dexterity modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Cursed Gift. You gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Insight, Perception, or Stealth.

Restraining Gaze. You can use your action to channel the petrifying power of your curse. When you use your restraining gaze, you can force one creature that can see you and is within 30 feet of you to make a Constitution saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature that fails the save becomes restrained until the end of your next turn, as a thin layer of stone forms around it.

You can use your restraining gaze once and you regain it when you finish a long rest. The number of uses increases to 2 at 6th level, 3 at 11th level, and 4 at 16th level.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice.