Gorgon 5e: Petrifying Breath, Charges and Why It Isn't a Medusa

In D&D 5e a gorgon is not a snake-haired woman. It's a CR 5 Large Monstrosity with horns, hooves, AC 19, 114 hit points and a Petrifying Breath (Recharge 5–6) that exhales a 30-foot cone of gas: fail two Constitution saves and you're stone until Greater Restoration or similar magic frees you. Between breaths it charges, gores for 18 damage and tramples whoever it knocked down. The 2024 rules make it a Construct, raise the breath DC from 13 to 15, and make the charge knock targets prone with no save. The snake-haired one is the medusa.

Table of Contents

• •Gorgon Stat Block (2014)
• •The Gorgon in the 2024 Rules
• •How Gorgons Fight
• •Gorgon vs Medusa vs Basilisk
• •Running a Gorgon Encounter
• •How Players Beat a Gorgon
• •Gorgon Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Gorgon Stat Block (2014)

AC 19 is the number players notice first: a +7 attacker hits only 45% of the time. Trampling Charge works like this: if the gorgon moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and hits it with its Gore (+8, 18 damage) that turn, the target makes a DC 16 Strength save or is knocked prone, and the gorgon can attack it with its Hooves (+8, 16 damage) as a bonus action.

The Gorgon in the 2024 Rules

AC, HP, Gore damage, CR 5 and 1,800 XP are unchanged. The 2024 gorgon is meaner: its breath petrifies more often, the charge always knocks down, and Trample works on any prone creature next to it, not just the one it charged.

How Gorgons Fight

Breathe first. The cone hits everyone clustered near the door. A character with Constitution +2 and no save proficiency fails DC 13 half the time and DC 15 on a 12 or lower (60%). Two failures are needed, so each such character in the cone has about a 25% chance (2014) or 36% chance (2024) of being turned to stone. Recharge 5–6 brings it back about one turn in three.

Charge while it recharges. Against AC 18, the +8 Gore hits on a 10 or higher (55%):

Against a wizard (Strength −1, no proficiency) the 2014 save fails 80% of the time, so a 2014 gorgon should charge the casters.

Back up and do it again. The charge needs 20 feet of straight movement. With a 40-foot speed it can back off 20 feet and charge on the same turn. It provokes an opportunity attack when it leaves reach, and with AC 19 it accepts that trade.

Gorgon vs Medusa vs Basilisk

Averting your eyes or fighting blindfolded counters a 2014 medusa or basilisk. Neither does anything against a gorgon's breath. For the lowest-level petrifier, see the cockatrice.

Running a Gorgon Encounter

One gorgon (1,800 XP) is Low for four level 5 characters under the 2024 budget (Low is 2,000), but petrification makes it play harder than that. For four level 6 characters, two gorgons (3,600 XP) are Moderate (over Low at 2,400, under Moderate at 4,000).

Under the 2014 guidelines in our encounter calculator, one gorgon (1,800 XP) is only Easy for four level 5 characters (Medium starts at 2,000), and two (3,600 × 1.5 = 5,400) are Deadly. The math undersells a monster that can take a character out permanently.

Before you run it, check whether the party can reach Greater Restoration. If no one can cast a 5th-level spell, put a scroll or a temple in reach, or the breath becomes a permanent character loss.

How Players Beat a Gorgon

• •Spread out. A 30-foot cone catches a clustered party. Spacing out 15 feet or more cuts how many characters one breath can catch.
• •Deny the straight line. Stand where it can't run 20 feet straight at you: doorways, pillars, rubble.
• •Help the saves. Bless adds 1d4 to each Constitution save, and a character only has to pass one of the two.
• •Target its mind. Intelligence −4 and Charisma −2 are its weakest saves. Hold Person won't work on it in either edition; Hold Monster will.
• •Carry Greater Restoration. It ends the Petrified condition in both editions.

Gorgon Encounter Ideas

The quarry. A stone quarry has started producing perfect statues of workers. The foreman has been selling them. The gorgon grazing in the lower pit is the source, and the foreman doesn't want it gone.

The arena beast. A city's fighting pit has bought a gorgon. The party is hired to sabotage the fight, or to win it, while the crowd sits in the cone's range on the lowest benches.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a gorgon the same as a medusa in 5e?

No. In D&D 5e a gorgon is a horned, hoofed monster that petrifies with a breath weapon. The snake-haired creature from Greek myth is the medusa, a separate CR 6 stat block.

What CR is a gorgon in 5e?

CR 5, worth 1,800 XP, in both editions.

How do you cure gorgon petrification?

Greater Restoration ends the Petrified condition. The 2014 stat block says the target is petrified until freed by Greater Restoration or other magic; the 2024 version gives no time limit.

Is the 2024 gorgon a construct?

Yes. The 2024 gorgon is a Large Construct, immune to Exhaustion and Petrified. The 2014 gorgon is a Large Monstrosity, immune to petrified only.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.