Skip to content
CharGen Icon
CreatePricing
Forest Gorgon, Scarred Bull - AI-generated fantasy Monster

Forest Gorgon, Scarred Bull

Tales call this creature a stone-breather or green-eyed bull that makes statues for trophies. Hunters tell of trees shattered in the wake of its charge and of lonely glades littered with statues that once were hunters, lovers, or trespassers.

Monsters
Large beast · CR 5 · standard

Forest Gorgon, Scarred Bull

A scarred forest gorgon beast: a metal hued bull with glowing green eyes that breathes petrifying gas, stalking woodland paths and turning trespassers into grotesque statues.
AC19
HP114/114
CR5
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 19 · HP 114 · CR 5

Forest Gorgon, Scarred Bull

Large beast (beast), unaligned
Armor Class19 (natural armor)
Hit Points114 (12d10 + 48)
Speed
Walk 40 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsConStrDex
SkillsPerception
Immunities
petrified
Weaknesses
Susceptible to being flanked by ranged attackers to avoid charge.
May be distracted or lured by bait or loud noises.
Senses
darkvision 60 ft.,
passive Perception 14
Languages
—
Challenge5
Trampling Charge. If the gorgon moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the gorgon can make one attack with its hooves against it as a bonus action.
Stony Hide. The gorgon's hide is rough and metallic, giving it natural armor. The gorgon is immune to being petrified by its own breath, and its physiology resists the effects of slow environmental stony influences.

Actions

Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 () piercing damage.
Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 () bludgeoning damage.
Petrifying Breath. Recharge 5-6. The gorgon exhales a sickly green petrifying gas in a 30 foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a target begins to turn to stone and is restrained. The restrained target must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends on the target. On a failure, the target is petrified until freed by greater restoration or similar magic.
Role
Brute
Built for
4

Notes for the game master

This statblock is a beast reskin of the classic gorgon concept, tuned to CR 5 for a party of four level 4 characters.
Treat languages as none. The gorgon is an unaligned animal intelligence.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    Charge 20 feet to trigger Trampling Charge, attempt to knock a prime target prone, then follow up with hooves bonus attack. If multiple foes are clustered, attempt Petrifying Breath when recharged.

  2. Mid-fight

    Trample and gore the most dangerous foe while using terrain to funnel opponents into the breath cone. If forced into melee without breath available it uses hooves and gore and charges again when possible.

  3. End of the fight

    If reduced below half its hit points it focuses on using Petrifying Breath to immobilize the party and delivers finishing gore attacks to isolated targets.

  4. Retreat

    The gorgon rarely retreats. If heavily wounded and unable to breathe, it will attempt to withdraw into dense forest and ambush later. If cornered, it fights to the death.

How it fights

Start combat with a charging Trampling Charge to knock down a key target.
Use terrain to funnel enemies into the breath cone when possible.
If breath is unavailable, press melee and try to isolate one foe with gore and hooves.

Who it attacks first

Spellcasters and clustered targets for petrification
Healers and low-armor targets for gore

Works well with

Works well with ambushing allies who can force clustering for breath weapon.
Paired with natural obstacles or druidic minions to herd targets into cone.

How to beat it

Keep spread out to minimize petrifying cone effectiveness.
Use ranged or flying attacks to avoid melee reach and trampling charge.
Dispel or protect vulnerable allies with Lesser Restoration or spells that end restraining effects quickly.
Use fire or acid to exploit a gorgon susceptibility to corrosive damage if the DM rules it vulnerable.

Ways to avoid a fight

Use stealth and distance to bypass its territory; avoid clustered movement.
Bribe a local druid circle to distract or guide it away.
Track the gorgon and study its patterns to set traps or lures.

Ecology

A hulking, bull like beast the color of stormclouds. Its hide is dappled with pale scars that run like lightning across flanks. Black, spiraled horns curve from its brow. Its eyes glow an uneasy green that seems to flicker with inner venom. Steam of faint green mist eddies from its nostrils when it snorts.

Behavior

Territorial and relentless. This gorgon hunts like a siege predator: it plows through undergrowth, chasing prey until breath catches them or they fall to its horns. It avoids large bodies of water and steep cliffs.

How it lives

These gorgons favor older, deep woods with mixed hardwood and clearing edges. They graze little; they are ambush stalkers that prefer living prey. Carcasses petrified by their breath are left as silent markers, and smaller predators may scavenge around them. Gorgons seem solitary except during rare mating seasons.

Lair

A reedy hollow or ring of broken trees where petrified statues form a grim sentinel circle. The lair is often half-hidden and littered with stone relics and bones. Vines and mushrooms grow on statues, and the gorgon uses the statues as camouflage.

Habitat
Forest

Signs that it is near

Broken saplings and crushed underbrush in a straight line
Small statues or partially petrified animals pinned like trophies
A faint, sweet chemical smell and occasional green mist in the mornings

Tags

forest,
petrification,
charge,
large,
beast

Lore

Tales call this creature a stone-breather or green-eyed bull that makes statues for trophies. Hunters tell of trees shattered in the wake of its charge and of lonely glades littered with statues that once were hunters, lovers, or trespassers.

What drives it

Hunger and territory. It seeks to drive off intruders and to secure hunting grounds. It also seems to mark territory with petrified statues.

After the fight

Fallen victims turned to stone remain as eerie statues in the forest. Their petrified bodies can be looted but are brittle and worth only base coinage unless a clever NPC or spell extracts trapped valuables. Over months, vines and lichen crawl over statues; some become local landmarks or omens. If the gorgon is slain, rival predators may move into the territory and cultists, collectors, or alchemists may arrive to harvest petrified remains for study or profit.

Variants

Larger Gorgon Alpha: increase HP to 150, breath DC 15, and add a roar ability that frightens small creatures.
Younger Gorgon Calf: CR 2, smaller breath (15 foot cone) and lower AC.

Hooks

Plot hooks

A village requests the party remove a gorgon that petrified the town's guardian dog and a beloved merchant.
A collector hires the party to retrieve a petrified statue from the gorgon lair.
A druid believes the gorgon's presence is caused by a corrupted spring; cleansing it will drive the gorgon away.

How to use it

Ambush on a forest road where party must pass narrow gap.
Territorial defense when party trespasses into nesting ground.
Hunted by a local druid circle seeking to remove a catalyst of blight in the woods.

Treasure

A few coins and personal trinkets swallowed or trapped in petrified victims. A rare herbalist or alchemist might pay for samples of the gorgon's breath residue.

Media

0 images

No images yet.

Visual sheet

Turn Forest Gorgon, Scarred Bull into a sheet

A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.