Maedar
| Maedar | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Dragon #106 (TSR, 1986) |
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the maedar is a type of fictional monster.
Publication history
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
The maedar, the male counterpart to the medusa, is introduced in Dragon #106 (February 1986), in Ed Greenwood's "The Ecology of the Maedar."[1] which also focuses on the medusa. The glyptar, a gemstone-like creature associated with the maedar, is introduced in Dragon #140 (December 1988) in the "Dragon's Bestiary" column.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989–1999)
The maedar and glyptar appear in the first Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix (1989),[2] and later appear in Dungeons of Mystery (1992), and are then reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)
The maedar and glyptar later return in the "Creature Catalog" feature in Dragon #355 (May 2007).
Description
Male medusae are known as maedar. Maedar appear as muscular, hairless, human males, and lack the female medusa's snake-like hair and petrifying gaze. They do, however, hold the power to turn stone into flesh, and use this ability to provide food for their mates.
Reception
Male version of the medusa, a consequence of turning the singular monster from classic mythology into a species in the game.[3][4]
References
- ^ Greenwood, Ed. "The Ecology of the Maedar," Dragon #106 (TSR, 1986)
- ^ Conners, William, et al. Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix (TSR, 1989)
- ^ Marshall, C. W. (2019). "Classical Reception and the Half-Elf Cleric". In Rogers, Brett M.; Stevens, Benjamin Eldon (eds.). Once and Future Antiquities in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 149–171. ISBN 978-1-3500-6894-0.
- ^ Gloyn, Liz (2019). Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-1-7845-3934-4.