Gorgon

Gorgons are closely associated with Pharika, the god of poison and medicine. Pharika has charged her favored servants with guarding secrets of life, health, and immortality that are too powerful to be known by those who lack the wisdom to use them properly. Those who approach a medusa with humility and worthy offerings might receive the creature’s favor. The medusa might propose a dangerous quest to fetch some rare ingredient or legendary relic, promising to reward success with a bit of Pharika’s knowledge. This information might lead to a cure for a plague, an alchemical breakthrough, or a secret of the cosmos.

A section from a book found in Helene's tower in Lydon.
Immortal Splendor. Men and women who desire eternal youth, beauty, and adoration might pray to malicious gods, beg dragons for ancient magic, or seek out powerful archmages to fulfill their wishes. Others make sacrifices to fiends, offering all in exchange for this gift, oblivious to the curse that accompanies it. Those who strike such bargains gain physical beauty, restored youth, immortality, and the adoration of all who behold them, granting them the influence and power they so desire. However, Pharika often has other plans. After years of the living like a demigod among mortals, the price for their vanity and hubris is exacted, and they are forever transformed into gorgons. A gorgon's hair turns into a nest of venomous serpents, and all who gaze upon the medusa are petrified, becoming stone monuments to its corruption.