jodyjohnson
Adventurer
Player's don't intentionally have staring contests with Medusas.
They sometimes do entertain having Level-draining experiences with Succubi.
How 5e handles Succubi is probably more important than Medusa from the player standpoint.
1e was 1 level drained per round with 1 minute rounds. So you can last 1 minute per level with no mechanics to force further contact. That seems like a suitable length of encounter. Good old fashioned junior high fantasy role-playing.
2e and 3.x had much shorter rounds and added mechanics to force unwanted continuing engagement. Commonly a PC wouldn't last more than 1-2 minutes with near guaranteed fatality.
4e sounds a lot more like marriage. She only kisses you once per day, doesn't kill you, but makes you do whatever she wants. And she's not even a demon anymore.
DMs worry about how the Medusa is modelled, players pay more attention to the Succubus. 2e/3e Succubus was more in the Save or Die vein with the mechanics.
They sometimes do entertain having Level-draining experiences with Succubi.
How 5e handles Succubi is probably more important than Medusa from the player standpoint.
1e was 1 level drained per round with 1 minute rounds. So you can last 1 minute per level with no mechanics to force further contact. That seems like a suitable length of encounter. Good old fashioned junior high fantasy role-playing.
2e and 3.x had much shorter rounds and added mechanics to force unwanted continuing engagement. Commonly a PC wouldn't last more than 1-2 minutes with near guaranteed fatality.
4e sounds a lot more like marriage. She only kisses you once per day, doesn't kill you, but makes you do whatever she wants. And she's not even a demon anymore.
DMs worry about how the Medusa is modelled, players pay more attention to the Succubus. 2e/3e Succubus was more in the Save or Die vein with the mechanics.