In Greek mythology, a Gorgon is a female creature, commonly referring to any of three sisters who had hair made of living, venomous snakes, as well as a horrifying visage that turned those who beheld her to stone. In Dungeons & Dragons, though, the name of one of those sisters came to represent them in general («medusa») while the term gorgon was used for a magical beast that resembles a bull, covered in dusky metallic scales.

Physical Description

A gorgon can breathe out a cone of vapor that turns creatures to stone. They are very aggressive creatures that attack intruders on sight, attempting to trample, gore, or petrify them. There is no way to calm these furious creatures, and they are impossible to domesticate. They are not very intelligent, and always neutral in alignment. They usually live in temperate plains, in small packs of three or four, or larger herds. In 4e, the storm gorgon was introduced as a variant to the classical iron gorgon.

Society

Although foul-tempered, gorgons can be tamed by more intelligent elemental creatures or giants to serve as pets or mounts. Wild gorgons roam in small herds of three to seven individuals, each containing one male (sometimes called a bull) and several females. Young males must successfully challenge a bull to lead a herd, and those that do not succeed travel alone or in pairs.

In Eberron

House Cannith shows a gorgon in its heraldic crest, maybe because of its metallic-look-alike exterior, as House Cannith produce mundane fine wares that although were crafted using magic, are not magical items. Items that are created by House Cannith are marked with the House’s gorgon symbol, a symbol which is known to indicate quality and value. Cannith create all sorts of items such as watertight barrels, horse shoes and sword hilts.

Cannith’s Fabricators Guild operate a few retail establishments but it prefers to leave the selling to merchants so they can focus on production, and in doing so they dominate commerce and industry in Khorvaire nowadays. Cannith’s Tinkers Guild enlist roaming tinkers that provide a repair service for broken goods.