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In D&G it says, if a person is petrified by a basilisk, they can remain that way until the basilisk is killed. After the basilisk dies, the petrifaction is reversed and the person is freed. Logically, a person could be turned to stone and then returned to flesh centuries later. Is this correct? And if so, how would they be effected by the petrifaction (insanities, etc)?

Ted Smythe wrote:In D&G it says, if a person is petrified by a basilisk, they can remain that way until the basilisk is killed. After the basilisk dies, the petrifaction is reversed and the person is freed. Logically, a person could be turned to stone and then returned to flesh centuries later. Is this correct? And if so, how would they be effected by the petrifaction (insanities, etc)?

As far as I know it's correct.
I don't believe that they would even know that they were petrified; they wouldn't be aware of the time passing.
So no insanities.

Actually, that might make a cool encounter.
The party fights a basilisk, but if they kill it then all the monsters, demons, etc. that it petrified over the years come back to life and will likley attack the PCs...

Killer Cyborg wrote:Actually, that might make a cool encounter.
The party fights a basilisk, but if they kill it then all the monsters, demons, etc. that it petrified over the years come back to life and will likley attack the PCs...

Something similar to this happened to our group. They killed the basilisk and discovered that only one of the freed characters ended up being a friend of a member of our group from years before. The friend had been petrified for about six years, but did not age or otherwise notice the time.

I have a second question now: if a character is returned to flesh but, as a 'statue', a limb was broken off, how would that effect the character?

Lunarix wrote:well on that note what is the life expectancy of a basilisk?

The book says 600 + 2D6x10 years, because they are feared and often slain on sight.
But some have lived up to 2000 years. But i guess you could have a Basilisk diabolist stay alive longer in a stasis circle(ala the Lizard Mage).

Wambat wrote:...I find it a very convenient way to skip over dull areas of history...to send characters on a short trip to an alternate dimension and then return them just in time for things to get interesting.

It may be convenient, but it doesn't sound pleasant.