Gorgons

So I've had the questions lately...

1) Can a Gorgon have different stones that they petrify people into? Or can they choose?

2) If a Gorgon's hair snake swallows something...where does it go?

Discussion, I choose you!

Archmage_Bael wrote:

So I've had the questions lately...

1) Can a Gorgon have different stones that they petrify people into? Or can they choose?

2) If a Gorgon's hair snake swallows something...where does it go?

Discussion, I choose you!

O3O Those are shockingly good questions I'd never thought to ask and I'm pretty into Gorgons. They are one of the more underutilized nagas sup species.

1: Yes. Just so yes. This would allow their magic to be outside the typical model and give them more versatility.

2: Perhaps they each have their own special stomach that coverts anything they digest into fuel to keep them healthy? Perhaps a Gorgon only has a bad hair day when she's not fed her lockes? XD

Yeah if Gorgons could control what stone they petrify into that could be a bit OP, Ascarlin, however, I would say would always have to be a preset ability, that there would be no way to just willfully turn people into Ascarlin statues.

Yeah with the snake hairs I'm utterly bewildered. Maybe they could be converted into some form of mana/magic? or like you said, a miniature stomach that somehow delivers nutrients? but how would that be - the the stomachs would have to lead to the intestines, which require going past the brain.

Usually, petrified people are rendered as marble or granite. However, there's no rule saying it has to be those two. Might as well be rocksalt or slate, because why the hell not.

Still, if we start making petrified people turn into valuable stone, expect abuse. I wouldn't recommend it, unless we were talking about a creature that lives in a place where there's no other kind of stone and all stone comes from petrified people/monsters. XP

That's an idea eh?

Stabs wrote:

Usually, petrified people are rendered as marble or granite. However, there's no rule saying it has to be those two. Might as well be rocksalt or slate, because why the hell not.

Still, if we start making petrified people turn into valuable stone, expect abuse. I wouldn't recommend it, unless we were talking about a creature that lives in a place where there's no other kind of stone and all stone comes from petrified people/monsters. XP

That's an idea eh?

This sounds like the beginnings for a awesome iconic Gorgon. Possibly a good step to seeing people make more as OCs. Also would like to suggest a additional limiter be that this kind of extension of a Gorgon's power be like a Mangiku Sharingan, for those of you who don't know that's an occular power from Naruto that some can develop that the more you use it? The more occular damage you incur from it. In fact it'd add a limiter AND broaden the profile from the slightly stubby bit it is now. Win-win!

I think the way to look at it is that the power to turn people and things to stone isn't unique to gorgons, just something they possess as innate magic. Ritual magic that accomplishes a similar effect almost certainly exists. So why can't wizards use that same magic to make ascarlin or any other precious stone? I would say that something inherent in the transformation between anything else to stone involves a degree of complexity proportional to the complexity of the stone; something precious, like ascarlin, would be highly complex to craft with magic. Perhaps different nagas would make different types of common stone naturally, and have an aptitude for learning to make other stone types, but even that aptitude isn't going to let a naga make ascarlin without a significant amount of work, and the added complexity could slow the process, possibly dangerously slow for the naga if their targets react faster than the transformation completes.