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Medusa 5e: Stats, Petrifying Gaze and How to Fight Her
A medusa is a CR 6 Medium monstrosity with AC 15, 127 hit points, a poisonous snake-hair bite and a gaze that turns characters to stone. In the 2014 rules the gaze is a passive trait: every creature that starts its turn within 30 feet and can see her eyes risks a DC 14 Constitution save, and failing by 5 or more petrifies on the spot. In the 2024 rules it becomes a bonus action (Recharge 5-6) that hits a 30-foot cone with a DC 13 save, takes two failures to petrify, and can no longer be avoided by looking away. Both versions can be turned against her with her own reflection.
Petrifying Gaze.When a creature that can see the medusa's eyes starts its turn within 30 ft. of the medusa, the medusa can force it to make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw if the medusa isn't incapacitated and can see the creature. 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. Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid the saving throw at the start of its turn. If the creature does so, it can't see the medusa until the start of its next turn, when it can avert its eyes again. If the creature looks at the medusa in the meantime, it must immediately make the save. If the medusa sees itself reflected on a polished surface within 30 ft. of it and in an area of bright light, the medusa is, due to its curse, affected by its own gaze.
Actions
Multiattack.The medusa makes either three melee attacks--one with its snake hair and two with its shortsword--or two ranged attacks with its longbow.
Snake Hair.Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) poison damage.
Shortsword.Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Longbow.Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Petrifying Gaze, 2014, exactly as written:
•Trigger. A creature that can see the medusa's eyes starts its turn within 30 feet of her. If she isn't incapacitated and can see that creature, she can force a DC 14 Constitution save. It costs her nothing: no action, no reaction, no limit per round.
•Fail by 5 or more: the creature is instantly petrified.
•Fail by less than 5: it begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It repeats the save at the end of its next turn. Failure petrifies it, success ends the effect.
•Duration. Petrification lasts until the creature is freed by the Greater Restoration spell or other magic.
•Averting eyes. Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes at the start of its turn to skip the save. It then can't see the medusa until the start of its next turn. If it looks at her in the meantime, it must make the save immediately.
•Her curse. If the medusa sees herself reflected on a polished surface within 30 feet of her, in an area of bright light, she is affected by her own gaze.
The odds matter. A character with a +2 Constitution save rolls 7 or lower 35% of the time, which is an instant statue. Add the 20% who fail by less and then fail again, and one unprotected turn near her petrifies that character about 46% of the time. A fighter with +6 cuts that to about 22%. That is per turn, every turn.
The Medusa in the 2024 Rules
The 2024 medusa (SRD 5.2.1) keeps her AC, hit points and CR, trades the shortswords and longbow for claws and a Poison Ray, and rewrites the gaze.
Medusa
Medium Monstrosity, Lawful Evil
Armor Class 15
Initiative +6 (16)
Hit Points 127 (17d8 + 51)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
10 (+0)save +0
DEX
17 (+3)save +3
CON
16 (+3)save +3
INT
12 (+1)save +1
WIS
13 (+1)save +4
CHA
15 (+2)save +2
Skills Deception +5, Perception +4, Stealth +6
Senses Darkvision 150 ft.; Passive Perception 14
Languages Common plus one other language
Challenge 6 (XP 2,300; PB +3)
Actions
Multiattack.The medusa makes two Claw attacks and one Snake Hair attack, or it makes three Poison Ray attacks.
Snake Hair.Melee Attack Roll: +6, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) Piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) Poison damage.
Poison Ray.Ranged Attack Roll: +5, range 150 ft. Hit: 11 (2d8 + 2) Poison damage.
Bonus Actions
Petrifying Gaze (Recharge 5–6).Constitution Saving Throw: DC 13, each creature in a 30-foot Cone. If the medusa sees its reflection in the Cone, the medusa must make this save. First Failure: The target has the Restrained condition and repeats the save at the end of its next turn if it is still Restrained, ending the effect on itself on a success. Second Failure: The target has the Petrified condition instead of the Restrained condition.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
2014 Medusa
2024 Medusa
Gaze
Trait, every turn, anyone within 30 ft. who can see her eyes
Bonus action, Recharge 5-6, 30-ft. cone
Save
DC 14 Con; fail by 5+ = instant petrify
DC 13 Con; two failures to petrify
Averting eyes
Allowed
Not in the text
Melee
Snake Hair + 2 Shortswords, +5
Snake Hair + 2 Claws, +6
Ranged
2 Longbow shots, 13 damage each
3 Poison Rays, 11 poison each, 150 ft.
Darkvision
60 ft.
150 ft.
Saves / Initiative
No proficiencies
Wisdom +4, Initiative +6
What this means at the table:
•The gaze is rarer but harder to dodge. The 2014 gaze fires on every nearby creature every turn, but players can opt out by looking away. The 2024 gaze fires roughly one round in three (plus the first round, when it starts charged) and nobody can opt out except by staying out of the cone.
•No more instant statues. A +2 Constitution save fails DC 13 half the time, so two straight failures happen 25% of the time per exposure. That is less lethal than 2014, and it leaves a full turn for allies to react.
•Her damage went up. Two claws and the snake hair at +6 average 39 damage if all hit, against 28 for the 2014 melee routine. The Poison Ray has a flat 150-foot range and deals pure poison damage.
How the Medusa Fights
2014: make them look away, then punish it. A creature that averts its eyes can't see her, so it attacks her with disadvantage, and she attacks it with advantage. Her best play is to stand within 30 feet of as many characters as possible and force each of them to choose: risk a 35% instant statue, or fight half-blind. Against AC 16, her melee routine hits 50% of the time for about 14 damage a round. With advantage against an averted target, that climbs to about 21.
2014 at range. When the party hangs back past 30 feet, she switches to two longbow shots (150/600 ft.), each 6 piercing plus 7 poison. A medusa in a statue garden with cover and a bow makes the party walk into the gaze to reach her.
2024: open with the gaze. Use Petrifying Gaze as a bonus action on the first turn while it's charged, aimed so the cone covers the most characters. Then make three Poison Rays (+5, 11 damage each, about 16 damage a round against AC 16) or close for claws and snakes. Any character restrained by the first failed save has disadvantage on its attacks and gives her advantage on hers, so focus that character while it waits for its second save.
Pick her ground. Stealth +5 (2014) or +6 (2024) and darkvision mean she wants a dim, cluttered lair full of her victims. A statue between her and an archer can give her half or three-quarters cover. Every polished shield and mirror in the room is also a liability for her, so a smart medusa keeps her lair dim and her furniture dull.
Poison is her weak spot as an attacker. Much of her damage is poison: 14 of the 18 from the snake hair, 7 of each 13-damage longbow hit in 2014, and all of the 2024 Poison Ray. Characters with poison resistance take far less, and creatures immune to poison shrug off a big share of her offense.
Running a Medusa Encounter
A medusa is 2,300 XP. For four characters under the 2024 SRD budgets:
Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (which our encounter calculator uses), a medusa alone is a Medium fight for four level 5 characters. Add two gargoyles and the group multiplier doubles the total to 6,400, which is Deadly at level 6 and Hard at level 7.
Gargoyles work well because they can pose as statues among her real victims. Levels 5 to 7 are the right range. At those levels a statue is a real loss, because the party's cleric can't cast Greater Restoration until 9th level, and the Petrified condition doesn't wear off on its own. If no one in the party can cast Greater Restoration (a 5th-level spell), plan how a petrified character can be restored: a temple, a scroll in her hoard, or a debt owed to a high priest.
How Players Beat a Medusa
•2014: go in blindfolded. The gaze only triggers on a creature that can see her eyes. A character who is already blinded or wearing a blindfold never makes the save, which also covers the surprise round when averting isn't allowed. The cost is the same as averting: disadvantage on its attacks and advantage on hers.
•2014: use bright light and a mirror. Her curse needs bright light and a polished surface within 30 feet that she can see herself in. Daylight plus a held mirror or polished shield forces her to deal with her own gaze. Her Constitution save is only +3 against DC 14, so she fails half the time and fails by 5 or more 30% of the time.
•2024: watch the cone. Spread out so a 30-foot cone can't catch more than two of you, and keep one character out of it entirely. The reflection rule still works: if she sees her reflection inside the cone, she makes the save too.
•Stay past 30 feet. Both versions of the gaze reach only 30 feet, while her bow or Poison Ray reaches 150. Trading shots at range is safer than walking into the gaze. Her saves are soft: no proficiencies in 2014, only Wisdom in 2024, and Strength +0. 127 hit points is a lot for a level 5 party, so concentrate damage.
•Hold Person won't work. She is a Monstrosity in both editions. Faerie Fire outlines her in a dim lair so attackers who can see her get advantage, though a character averting its eyes can't use that.
Medusa Encounter Ideas
The sculptor's garden. A city sculptor sells strikingly lifelike statues to nobles. They are the medusa's victims, and she ships them out through him in exchange for privacy. One buyer's new statue is the party's missing contact. The party has to follow the supply chain back to a walled garden lit only by candles.
The mirrored hall. A ruined palace has a hall of mirrors that the medusa avoids. She has bricked up one end and fights only in the dim rooms around it. Characters who learn about her curse can lure her toward the hall, if they survive her gaze long enough to try.
The penitent. A medusa wants her curse lifted. She will hand over one of her statues (a missing knight's daughter) if the party brings a priest willing to cast Greater Restoration on her. The spell can end a curse; whether it can end hers is your call, and she is betting it can. She is lawful evil. She keeps her bargains to the letter, and the letter is where the trap is.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a medusa in 5e?
A medusa is CR 6 (2,300 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules, with AC 15 and 127 hit points.
Can you avoid a medusa's gaze by averting your eyes?
In the 2014 rules, yes: a creature that isn't surprised can avert its eyes at the start of its turn and skip the save, but it can't see the medusa until its next turn. The 2024 Petrifying Gaze has no averting rule; it affects every creature in a 30-foot cone.
How do you cure petrification from a medusa?
The 2014 stat block says the creature stays petrified until freed by the Greater Restoration spell or other magic. In the 2024 rules, Greater Restoration also removes the Petrified condition.
Does a mirror work against a medusa in 5e?
Yes, in both editions. In 2014, if she sees herself reflected on a polished surface within 30 feet in bright light, she is affected by her own gaze. In 2024, if she sees her reflection in the cone of her Petrifying Gaze, she must make the save too.
What is the difference between a medusa and a basilisk?
Both petrify with a gaze, but the basilisk is a CR 3 monstrosity with Intelligence 2, one bite and a DC 12 gaze. The medusa is CR 6, intelligent, attacks with a bow or poison rays, and uses a harder DC 14 (2014) or DC 13 (2024) gaze.
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.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.