Medusa are intelligent creatures in The Elder Scrolls series where they are the namesake of the magical spell 'Medusa's Gaze'. They are described as possessing the upper body of a Human and lower body of snake. While in most fantasy settings Medusa have snakes for hair in the Elder Scrolls they do not, instead having glowing green eyes which can project a paralyzing magic upon those they look upon. Medusa only appear in The Elder Scrolls: Arena and are mentioned in The Elder Scrolls: Online. The spell Medusa's Gaze was included in the games Arena, Daggerfall, and Morrowind.
In Arena the Champion encounters them for the first time at the Crystal Tower. Located on the Summerset Isles and described as a bastion of sorcery the Champion finds Medusa being held in the tower's bestiary where the sorcerers at the tower use them as a source of alchemical ingredients. The Champion encounters them again in Murkwood, deep in the swamps of Black Marsh from which the Medusa encountered at the Crystal Towers had been procured.
Category Clarification[]
- 1990s Fantasy - First appearance is in the The Elder Scrolls: Arena which was published in the year 1994. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall includes the 'Medusa's Gaze' spell.
- 2000s Fantasy - While not appearing or mentioned directly in The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind the spell 'Medusa's Gaze' is included in the game.
- 2010s Fantasy - The Medusa item set in The Elder Scrolls: Online is a heavy armor set in the Argonian motif style, befitting the creature's origins in Black Marsh.