Medusa

Medusa is a dangerous monster with her own level, which is somewhere in the main Dungeons of Doom, but below the level that contains the magic portal to the Quest.

The difficult thing about reaching Medusa is crossing the water full of sea monsters. A wand of cold is one way to cross. If you have only one wand, but you zap it repeatedly until you exhaust the last charge, that might be just enough. Water walking boots and levitation are other options. With jumping boots you will also be able to jump from island to island. If you cannot go by any of these ways, you may dig a hole to the next level and then come back up by using a staircase.

Having reached her, you must now deal with her. Beware; as in Greek mythology, her gaze can turn people to stone. The best way to avoid this is to have reflection and be blind at the time; she will look at you, see her reflection, and turn to stone. Otherwise, you may polymorph into a stoning-resistant creature and beat her to death, or you may kill her in one turn, with Finger of Death or a wand of Death.

History

Medusa first appears in NetHack 2.2a.

Her lair first appears in NetHack 3.1.0. Before that version, she appeared in an ordinary room-type level. It seems likely that many an adventurer met an untimely end from not knowing he would soon see Medusa. NetHack 3.0.0 adds a number of statues to her room, but this is an ambiguous clue. The use of telepathy or a potion of monster detection is advisable.

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