| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 18 | +4 | +4 |
| DEX | 16 | +3 | +3 |
| CON | 16 | +3 | +8 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 14 | +2 | +2 |
| WIS | 16 | +3 | +8 |
| CHA | 18 | +4 | +9 |
Petrifying Gaze. (Recharge 5–6). When a creature starts its turn within 30 feet Cone and can see Vaelyss’s eyes, she can force it to make a DC 17 CON save. On a failed save, the creature begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It must repeat the save at the end of its next turn or become petrified.
If the medusa sees its reflection in the Cone, the medusa must make this save.
Venomglaive. Melee Attack Roll: +9, reach 10ft, one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) Slashing Damage + 10 (3d6) Poison damage. On a crit, target must make DC15 CON Save or begin petrifying.
Constricting Coil. Melee Attack Roll: +8, reach 5 ft. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) Bludgeoning damage. Target is grappled (escape DC 16) and restrained while grappled.
Gorgon Lash. Vaelyss lashes her serpent hair in a wide arc, targeting up to 3 creatures of her choice within 15 feet.
On a failed save, the creature takes: Hit: 21 (6d6) Slashing Damage + 14 (4d6) Poison damage. and is Restrained by venomous serpents until the end of their next turn.
If the target is already Restrained or Paralyzed, it must also make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw:
- On a failure, the creature begins to turn to stone and becomes Restrained by Petrification.
- On a second failure at the end of its next turn, it becomes Petrified.
Legendary Actions (3/round)
- Gorgon Lash. Vaelyss makes one snake hair whip attack.
- Serpent Step. She moves 30 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
- Gaze Shift. Forces one creature that can see her to make a DC 17 CON save.
When reduced to 0 HP, Vaelyss roars, shattering surrounding statues. She regains 100 HP and gains the following:
- Stoneheart Pulse (Recharge 5-6): All creatures within 30 ft. make DC 17 DEX saves or take 4d10 force damage and be restrained in stone coils.
- Gaze of Oblivion: Her Petrifying Gaze now requires both CON and WIS saves. Failing both immediately petrifies.
- Blindsight 60 ft., ignores magical invisibility and illusions.
Description
Vaelyss, the Gorgon Empress
Mythic Medusa, Queen of the Petrified Throne
Once a high priestess of a forgotten sun cult, Vaelyss sought eternal beauty and divine favor. Her vanity led her to perform a forbidden rite under the eclipsed sun, merging her soul with an ancient ophidian spirit. The ritual granted her immortality—but at a terrible price. Her gaze turned lethal, her once-silken hair became a living nest of serpents, and her kingdom was swallowed by stone and shadow.
Centuries later, Vaelyss rules from the Temple of the Gorgon Empress, entombed within a palace of petrified courtiers. She is coldly regal, exuding tragic beauty and terrible power. Her voice is calm, laced with venomous wisdom. Her movements are serpentine, deliberate, and eerily graceful. She sees mortals as fleeting imperfections—lesser sculptures in an eternal gallery she alone curates.
Vaelyss is not driven by hatred, but by obsession: to freeze the world in a moment of perfect form, unmarred by decay or chaos. Those who enter her sanctum become either loyal statues or shattered echoes of their former selves.
Excerpt from the Journal of Alren Ves, Last Survivor of the Ivory Vanguard Expedition:
- “They warned us of statues in the dark, but we thought them mere remnants of ancient artistry—until Rhalis turned to stone mid-step. No incantation could save her. Her scream… it never finished.” -
I saw her.
Vaelyss.
Not a monster. Not at first. She stood at the base of her shattered obsidian throne, draped in robes older than our kingdom, lit by shafts of pale amber leaking through the cracked dome above. Her hair—writhing, hissing serpents that watched us with mirrored hunger. And her face… gods forgive me, her face was beautiful. Ageless. Terrifying.
She spoke to us as if we were children. No anger, no wrath—just the voice of a being who had seen a hundred generations wither and die like autumn leaves. She called us “imperfections in a world begging to be still.” I begged her to let us leave. She offered instead to “immortalize” us in stone.
I fled when the others fell. I don’t remember how. I don’t even know if I truly escaped… or if I am only dreaming freedom while standing silent in her garden of regret.
- “If you value your soul, do not meet her eyes. Do not hear her voice. Do not seek the throne that never crumbles.” -
Lair and Lair Actions
Lair Actions (1/round on initiative count 20)
- Summon Stone Cursed Champion (1 round delay).
- Shifting Floor: Terrain shifts, causing all non-flying creatures to make DC 15 DEX save or fall prone.
- Reflective Pulse: All mirrors in the room flare. All creatures make DC 15 WIS save or be blinded until end of next turn.