Gorgon Monster Card art by Daniel Lopez-Melville

Gorgon Culture, Psychology, and Lore

by Vassar Oenbring

“The King paid a fortune for a rusted-up Gorgon, then had it sealed in the catacombs as a curio. In less than a week the beast awoke and chewed through 10 feet of granite to run amok in the castle. The King would have been furious—had he not been its first victim. Today we keep his statue in the throne room. The look of surprise on his face is priceless.”

– Modus Opi, Sembian Vizier

Culture and Psychology

Gorgons are best known for their ability to exhale a gas that turns living creatures to stone. As lapivores, Gorgons cannot digest flesh or plant material. They petrify their prey, then consume the fresh stone to extract crucial nutrients. In addition to incredibly strong jaws and teeth, Gorgons possess a finely developed sense of smell, used to locate tasty mineral deposits deep within the earth.

With no natural limit to their lifespans, Gorgons grow larger and more resilient as long as they continue to feed. Well-fed Gorgons gain unique traits based on the content of their diets: Hardened scales, elongated horns, adamantine hooves, and gem-encrusted bellies.

Gorgons are territorial and usually avoid contact with their own kind. Every few years, however, Gorgons within a region enter a mating cycle. In preparation for courtship, Gorgons consume a variety of mineral ores to impart color to their normally dull scales. They have little trouble locating other Gorgons and will travel large distances to court potential mates. Their mating dances involve rippling displays of multicolored scales, and mock combats with interlocked horns.

Mated pairs stay together to seek out a defensible lair. They favor geology interlaced with diverse stone and ore, which brings them into frequent conflict with cave-dwellers, miners, crypt-keepers, and dungeon residents. Mated Gorgons hunt relentlessly, and will deplete their territory of palatable minerals in an effort to feed their young. Gorgis are most commonly born as twins and closely resemble domestic calves during the first years of life. Adult Gorgons work cooperatively to feed their young, until their gas glands and armored scales develop, typically by age 10. Twin Gorgons stay together for another 40-50 years, then separate as they reach full maturity.

Once a century or so, a migratory impulse visits all the Gorgons on a continent. They emerge from their labyrinths and coalesce into snorting herds. These herds amass into a great mercurial drove that shakes the earth for miles around. These thunderous stampedes crash across the land, crushing farms, villages, and anything else in their path.

Fortunately for civilized peoples, Gorgons avoid water whenever they can. Moats and irrigation ditches are effective defenses against them. Gorgon stampede routes avoid lakes and rivers, and Gorgon habitat is typically confined to dry regions. They are rarely encountered in swamps, jungles, or rainforests.

Special Tactics

Gorgons attack living beings their size or smaller without hesitation. They charge into combat and attempt to knock down the most threatening creature before pummeling with their horns and hooves, and attacking with their breath. Gorgons fight both to protect their territory and to create petrified victims for food. Hungry Gorgons will prioritize feeding over the pursuit of retreating foes. It takes 10 minutes for a Gorgon to fully consume a medium-sized creature, at which point that creature is dead beyond the reach of anything but a Resurrection or Wish spell.

Gorgons use their bulk to their advantage, knocking foes prone to petrify as many as possible. If unable to petrify a creature during the initial skirmish, they will doggedly pursue their prey using their keen sense of smell.

Mated pairs of Gorgons and young Gorgon twins are quite dangerous. They are more aggressive than lone Gorgons and attack with surprising coordination. They will concentrate attacks on single targets, trap foes in dead-end passages, and efficiently alternate uses of their breath weapon.

Qualities

Alert. With their keen senses, Gorgons are difficult to surprise and to hide from. They have Advantage on Perception and Survival checks to notice or locate other creatures.

Bullheaded. Stubborn and intractable, Gorgons have Advantage on saves to resist mind-affecting spells such as Enthrall or Hypnotic Pattern.

Endless Appetite. Gorgons will feed as much as they can on whatever is available, including raw stone. They will collapse their own caves by gnawing away at the walls, then eat their way out again.

Huge Mass. Due to their thick coat of iron scales, Gorgons weigh considerably more than other creatures their size. They count as Huge creatures for the purposes of determining whether they can be pushed, knocked prone, tripped, grappled, or otherwise moved by their opponents.

Hydrophobic. Water causes a Gorgon’s scales to rust, eventually resulting in extreme discomfort and impaired movement. A Gorgon loses 5 feet of movement for each hour it is exposed to water, snow, or sleet. Gorgons recover their full movement after a good meal and a long rest.

Metal Horns and Hooves. A Gorgon’s horns and hooves reflect their diet and are sometimes composed of valuable metals such as adamantine or mithral.

Noisy. Gorgons know nothing of stealth. They stomp, snort, and clatter their scales constantly. All checks to track or locate Gorgons are made at Advantage.

Tireless. It is unknown if these creatures ever sleep. Regardless, their stamina is essentially endless, as they can run at full speed for days at a time. Gorgons also seem unaffected by extremes of heat or cold.

Weaponry

Melee 1. Bite (1d12+5 piercing). Gorgons rarely use their heavy teeth as their main attack. They may, however, use them in an attempt to crush a stone or wooden object, such as a club, or to grapple an opponent.

Melee 2. Rear Kick (1d12+5 bludgeoning). A flanked Gorgon may lash out with both its horns and rear legs. Upon making a Gore attack against one opponent, a Gorgon may use a bonus action to Rear Kick a different target.

Ranged 1. Spit Cud (1d8+5 bludgeoning, range 30/60). If unable to close with an opponent, Gorgons may spit a rocky cud as a ranged attack.

Ranged 2. Rampant (20′ radius, DC 12 DEX save or fall prone). When surrounded, Gorgons may use their action to rear up and smash their great weight down, causing the ground to shake and knocking medium-sized and smaller creatures prone.

Special Units

Gorgis. Young Gorgons lack fully developed armor plating and gas glands. Their AC is reduced to 15 and they may only use Petrifying Breath once a minute. Gorgis are as strong as adults and their Movement increases to 50 feet.

Leaker. All Gorgons exude natural oils that keep their scales lubricated. Some exude significantly more oil than others. A Leaker constantly drips non-flammable oils wherever it goes. Creatures other than the Leaker that pass through its oils must make a DC 13 DEX save or fall prone.

Mambull. A pregnant Gorgon loses some mobility but gains additional uses of its petrifying breath in order to assist it with capturing prey. It may use Petrifying Breath every 3 rounds. A Mambull’s speed is reduced to 30 feet.

Longhorn. Many centuries of ready access to food allow these large Gorgons to grow elongated horns. Opponents struck by a Longhorn’s Gore attack must make a DC 15 DEX save or be impaled upon a horn. Impaled creatures are considered grappled until able to free themselves with a DC 15 Athletics check, after which they suffer 3d6 damage. Longhorns have maximum hit points (168 hp) due to their great age and bulk.

Rusted One. Unfortunate Gorgons that have been deprived of food or trapped in damp environments suffer movement penalties as their scales rust and seize up. Rusted Ones have their AC reduced to 17, movement reduced to 20 feet, and may not use their Trampling Charge ability. A Rusted One that fully consumes a petrified creature and takes a long rest no longer suffers these impediments.

Shimmer Bull. In preparation for mating, Gorgons eat an assortment of ores that transform their scales from dull iron into an iridescent mosaic of colorful steel. Dwarven smiths have long marveled at the depth of color found in this “shimmersteel” and value it highly in the making of armor, blades, and helms. A Shimmer Bull’s scales increase its AC to 20 and grant it a 10% chance to deflect physically-damaging magical spells without harm. Shimmersteel armor from a skilled armorer costs 20x the base price and grants +1 AC. Shimmersteel blades cost 10x the base price and grant +1 damage.

Special Abilities

Bellow. A lone Gorgon that is outnumbered may use its action to let loose a guttural bellow. All creatures within 30 feet who can hear must make a DC 13 WIS save or suffer the effects of a Fear spell for 1d4 rounds. Gorgons can use this ability once per day.

Breath of Life. A Gorgon’s Petrifying Breath will heal other Gorgons 1d10 hit points of damage as their wounds scab over with layers of mineral deposits. Mated pairs and twins purposefully use this upon each other.

Earth Eater. Gorgons use their mouths and horns to dig, giving them a burrow speed of 10 feet in earth or loose rock. They can smash through most masonry walls with ease.

Horn Parry. If struck by a melee attack, a Gorgon may use its reaction once per round to parry the strike with its horns. This prevents all weapon damage from the parried attack.

Ram. Doors and barricades do not stop hungry Gorgons. Their Gore attacks do double damage (4d12+10) against objects and structures made of wood or stone.

Shove. A Gorgon that hits with a charging Gore attack may choose to shove its opponent rather than knock them prone. Its opponent must make a DC 16 STR save or be pushed back 15 feet. Gorgons use this ability to push creatures off ledges or into a hazards, or to group enemies together for a breath weapon attack.

Movement

Run. Excellent. Tireless and quick, Gorgons enjoy chasing down their prey.

Climb. Terrible. Gorgons cannot climb anything more than a steep slope.

Swim. Terrible. Gorgons that fall into bodies of water can walk on the bottom until they rust up, at which point they drown.

Burrow. Good. While not as gifted at digging as some other species, Gorgons enjoy slowly eating their way through rock.

Fly. n/a

Grudges

Gorgons view nearly all creatures as food and view most creatures the same way hungry Halflings view roast chicken. The one exception is Rust Monsters, which cause these otherwise fearless monsters to flee, wild-eyed and snorting, as fast as their legs will carry them. While the average Gorgon can easily dispatch a Rust Monster, one feathery touch of a Rust Monster’s antenna will destroy many of a Gorgon’s scales. Dwarven drinking songs reference dressing up as Rust Monsters to scare Gorgons out of mines, but no reliable accounts of this foolhardy practice exist.

The Rakshasa have long hunted Gorgons for sport and for magical components, and some have grown adept at removing their gas glands for use in alchemy. Some enterprising Rakshasa even capture Gorgis to raise as guard animals. Similarly, some Dwarven clans hunt Gorgons for their scales, and to remove them from mines and underground cities. It is difficult to say if Gorgons bear Rakshasa or Dwarves any particular animosity, as they charge most creatures on sight.

Sages have long noted that the great Gorgon migrations converge at nodes of magical import, such as the ruins of ancient mages’ towers or holy sanctuaries from the Elder Age. No theory has yet adequately explained this phenomenon.

Gorgons