Heroes of Might and Magic

Welcome back to part 3 of Beasts and Myths from Might & Magic. Lend me your ears and hear about Medusas. Did you know that some of such creatures in Might & Magic games had legs? And even wings? The genesis of this creature is the famous Greek myth. Medusa was the name of one of the three Gorgons. Interestingly, in olden era, uses the name Gorgons to describe aristocracy of Medusa's society. Their sisters are described and depicted as women with living snakes in place of her. Their appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon them was turned to stone. Although some versions state that only Medusa had this ability. In Might & Magic, Medusa is a general term for several species of snake-like women of different origins. They are found on almost all known worlds. They are always female, never male. Their bodies are always a combination of reptilian and human features. And they all share the characteristic serpentine hair. Most often, they are legless creatures that crawl like snakes. But there are exceptions. Another common feature is their magical gaze, which turns the victims to stone and paralyzes them. In addition to this, some species use light weapons in combat. Such as bows. Others prefer to use magic. Their goals are unclear. But they are often found in the armies of underground rulers. Sometimes even as commanders. On the continent of Enroth, Medusas are rather rare. Occupying ruins or abandoned castles. Which they consider their new home. They were neutral tier 4 units. Their special ability gave them 20% chance of turning enemies into stone. On Antagarich, they have settled permanently in the underground. Where they are often, but not always, recruited by warlocks. They use a bow and arrows. And despite being shooters, their hand-to-hand attacks do the same damage. They remain tier 4 and still can petrify enemies. Queens are slightly stronger and have more arrows in their quiver. The species from Axeoth is particularly interesting. As they are the only known Medusas with legs. Here, they are also frequent allies of the dark sorcerers. They possess probably the most interesting and chaotic variant of Stone Gain's ability in the series. Depending on the number of Medusas, they have a random chance to turn enemies into stone. Effectively killing them. It only works on living creatures with eyes, obviously. But it can instantly kill even the most powerful heroes. Additionally, as they don't use any external weapons, they never run out of ammo. What about Ashen? The Medusa is actually a name here. It's given to Naga priestesses who were exiled from the Lotus Empire. They accepted the mark of darkness. Rejected the ways of Shalassa in favor of her destructive aspect. The goddess of the dark depths. The Wrecker. Many of them found a new home among the dark elves in the underground and learned to use dark magic. So, despite the fact that many female Nagas have snake hair and look like Medusas from the other games, they're not really considered Medusas. In Heroes 7, those are pre-colored units from Sanctuary in Heroes 6. This surprisingly makes a lot of sense, given they literally change their alignment. These Medusas wield a magic staff, not a bow. Those renegade units have, as usual, an ability to paralyze enemies with their gaze. Critically hit creatures become incapacitated until the end of the next turn, or until they get damaged. Medusa sorceresses additionally get a really handy ability to either move and then shoot, or shoot and then move. In olden era, the design reminds me of cobras, as all Medusas have hoods. Their snake hair is vertical, as if they were on high alert, which is not how usually these creatures are portrayed. They all also have an ability similar to Archer's Scattershot in Heroes 5. It allows them to shoot many arrows and deal 50% damage to the target and all adjacent units. They can also spend energy to move to another nearby hex without ending their turn. Useful when an enemy gets too close. In this entry, only Medusa sculptors are able to turn enemies into stone. They find the ability a mean of creating pieces of art. Additionally, just like in Heroes 3, they deal full damage in melee combat. This upgrade also always deals maximum damage. On the other hand, we have Medusa queens. They shoot marble arrows, which reduce target's initiative. Moreover, they can retaliate against long-distance attacks. I think the flamboyant colors signal danger to the potential attackers. Fun fact, we call this episemitism. And what about heroes? Well, despite the fact that those creatures are quite common as units, there haven't been any pure-blooded Medusas in the series. It all changes now with Aldenera. Meet three of the upcoming Snake Lady heroes. Illuari, an albino Medusa loyal to the Triumvirate, possessed a gentle charm that set her apart. Her alluring gaze soothed rather than petrified, winning trust and friendship. Through this rare charisma, she turned her unusual nature from a weakness into the key to her rise within the society. Her specialty allows her to keep her army if she decides to flee from the battle, but only when fighting neutral squads. She also gets plus 5% persuasion power when using diplomacy, and one more percent for every four hero levels. If you plan on fighting using mixed squads picked from the adventure map while paying them with your surplus gold, she could be a potential secondary hero. Enadhi, one of the rebels who resent life above the ground. Vengeful, manipulative, and cunning. Enadhi secretly spreads dissent, gradually turning more Medusas to her side. But what exactly is her plan? What will she do once she gathers enough followers? With her as your hero, Medusa's growth in cities under our control increases by one. Medusas gain also plus one speed, initiative, and 20% HP, which basically equals additional 12 health points. Their attack and defense increase by one for every three hero levels. And enemy Medusas lose an equal amount of attack and defense. To use her full potential, she needs time to level up, and thus she shines at the brightest of larger maps. Typhona. Some say Medusas descend from serpents or warlock's creations, but darker myths speak of chthonic beings with countless limbs waiting below. Typhona embodies this legend. Perhaps she cannot petrify like most of her kin, but her blood hisses and boils when split. That's a quality found in Hydras, which obey her, especially after she feasts on flesh. I sense that a powerful destiny awaits her. Typhona has identical bonuses as Enadhi, but for Hydras, which means better stats for higher tier units. For instance, the 20% HP bonus equals an additional 26 health points for most Hydras, and 30 for the chthonic upgrade. I'd also recommend using her on larger maps, as her bonus scales up with her level. Would you like to learn more about Hydras? Stay tuned and let me know in the comments. Thanks for watching and see you in part 4!