Half-Medusa

Aileen wiped the sweat off of her brow, looking around at the rest of the acolytes sweeping up what was left from the noonday rituals. Seeing that most of them were nearly finished, she politely excused herself before putting away her broom and going to her quarters. After locking the door, she retrieved her most prized possession from beneath her straw matress: a leather bound spellbook, bought from a travellng merchant with most of her meagre pocket money. She knew the priestesses would be outraged if they knew her interest in arcane magic, for she had been born marked by brass-clawed Stheno and the arcane was not her birthright. Aileen paged through the book, running her claws over the words and practicing a few simple spells as she had for many weeks in her determination to improve. She was steadily getting better, though she did break a pot with a misfired magic missile. She sighed, tucking the book away and moving to clean up the shards of shattered pottery, wondering how much longer she would have to keep hiding her skills before she could find a way out of the city.

The most common result of a union between a medusa and a humanoid, most half-medusae are found in the medusan theocracy of Ofischora, where they sit in an awkward place within their homeland. Able to rise higher than most humanoids but lacking the freedom to choose what their role is, many half-medusae strain against their assigned place in society.

Marked by the Goddesses

From the moment a half-medusa hatches their place in Ofischoran society has already been decided, for the color of their scales is said to show which of the three Medusan goddesses they have been marked by, and thus their role in Ofischoran society. While the castes are ostensibly equal -- with the exception of the priestesses, who are above all others -- many half-medusae chafe under the inability to decide their own place. While they can be priests and priestesses and rise to high ranks in their assigned place, both privileges many Ofischoran humanoids dream of, they often envy both other Ofischorans for their freedom of choice in life. This leads many half-medusae to leave their homeland, seeking to experience life beyond that which was chosen for them.

Half-Medusa Names

Half-medusae born in Ofischora have ordinary Ofischoran names, along with an epithet that is normally some trait associated with the goddess they have been marked by. Half-medusae who abandon their assigned place in Ofishoran society will sometimes choose to abandon this epithet, or to replace it with one that describes themselves or another deity they have chosen to follow.

Male names: Charalampos, Hypatios, Macedon, Orpheus

Female Names: Agata, Alena, Callisto, Medeia, Parthenia

Epithets: of the Forceful, of the Bronze-Clawed, of the Whispered, of the Clever, of the Gentle, of Emerald Wings

Half-Medusa Traits

Ability Sore Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Alignment. Half-medusae do not display any particularly strong tendencies towards good or evil, but are normally drawn towards either law or chaos depending on whether they embrace or rebel against assigned role in Ofischoran society.

Age. Half-medusae generally age a bit slower than their humanoid parent, and have lifespans roughly 50 percent longer than that of that parent's race. For example, a half-medusa with a human parent would reach maturity in their early to mid 20s and could live to be around 140 years old.

Size. Depending on the race of their humanoid parent, half-medusae can range in size from slightly under 5 feet to nearly 8 feet. Your size is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 ft.

Lesser Petrification. As an action, you may choose a target within 30 feet that can see you and force them to make a constitution saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your constitution modifier (minimum 1). On a failed save, the target becomes restrained. The target may make this saving throw again at the start of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

You may use this feature once, and require a short or long rest before you may do so again.

Venomous. You have resistance to poison damage.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write common and Ofischuran. Ofischuran is a hissing language originating with the medusae, and is used primarily for religious purposes such as prayers rather than normal conversation.

Subraces. The color of a half-medusa's scales mark them as being tied to one of the three medusan goddesses, and decides their role in Ofischuran society. Those with brown, blue, or green scales are associated with Acea; yellow, orange and red scales are associated with Stheno; and grey, black, and white scales are associted with Anatha. These differences are accompanied by some physical differences as well, believed to be blessings from the goddesses.

Acea-Touched

Acea the gentle is the Ofischoran goddess of the hearth, fertility, the harvest, and the winter sun. She is often depicted as a medusa with emerald, bat-like wings and wearing a wreath made of stalks of grain. The patron of farmers, healers, potters, and merchants, she is portrayed as a kind and gentle goddess and is believed to have been the one to convince her sisters to "adopt" the medusae after their original gods abandoned them. The half-medusae marked by her posess a stronger connection to life and nature than most.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Cantrip. You know the druidcraft cantrip.

Blessing of Acea. When expending hit dice to heal during a short rest, you may reroll any 1s or 2s. You must keep the new roll.