20% Turned to Stone

[anonymous]

This is something which has bothered me for years...

Suppose I cast Shadow Conjuration and create a semi-real Medusa. The spell description says anyone who looks and her and disbelieves suffers only 20% of her gaze attack ability... what does this mean? There are at least five ways of looking at, from what I can see;

1. You can make a Medusa, but she isn't a real one and therefore doesn't get an actual gaze attack, although those who believe might react by looking away and disadvantage themselves.

2. Those who believe may think they have been turned to stone and stop moving. Others will not be affected at all.

3. Those who disbelieve will suffer some lesser effect, such as being slowed rather than petrified.

4. Those who disbelieve are 20% likely to be turned to stone if they fail their saves - roll percentile dice. Those who believe are affected normally.

5. The saving throw vs the gaze attack for those who disbelieve should be adjusted so that it is only 20% as likely that it will fail.

Are any or all of these methods right or wrong?

[Fiffergrund]

I personally think that #4 is the best solution, but all of them have some merit.
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[Go0gleplex]

It sounds a bit poorly worded for that type of case. But, I agree with Fiff that #4 sounds most appropriate.
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[Foxroe]

6.) 20% of the victim's body turns to stone...
-Fox

[Julian Grimm]

That could be a benefit depending on which 20%.
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[serleran]

Rock Gnat from M&T II wrote:
Petrify: The bite of a rock gnat is dangerous, laced with a toxin that causes rapid alteration of tissue, changing flesh to stone. A bite from a single rock gnat is less hazardous, but a swarm will result in total transformation. When a victim is struck by a rock gnat, a Strength save is allowed to resist becoming petrified, with an effective difficulty of six. Failure causes a small percentage (1%), per rock gnat in the attacking swarm, of the victims flesh to change to stone; should this result in more than 75% alteration, the victim is permanently petrified, with lesser numbers having less effect. A victim subjected to 50-75% petrifaction is unable to attack (40%), move (40%), or both (20%). If unable to move, the victim suffers a -4 penalty to armor class and attack rolls. A victim suffering less than 50%, but more than 25% petrifaction has a -2 penalty to armor class and attack rolls, in addition to having a movement penalty of twenty feet; should this penalty reduce the victim to no movement, then the above penalties are applied instead. A victim with less than 25% petrifaction is not appreciably affected. The attack of a rock gnat swarm is cumulative.

That is, roughly, how I'd do it.

[anonymous]

There's another specifically C&C way to do it, I suppose, which would be to treat the Medusa as having only 20% of its HD, lowering the target number for the save to 13/19.