Gorgons and medusae turning their victims into stone is so yesterday’s news. Happening DMs know that petrification is only leveraging one of the elements. Why not a gaze or breath that turns the victim into water, air, or fire? Getting a stoned companion out of the dungeon is challenging, but the challenges of any of the alternatives cranks the difficulty up a bit, at least if you’re unprepared.
Vendors outside the dungeon should be offering sponges for sale, and stoppered bladders, and maybe a hooded lamp, “just in case you encounter the gorgon.” Whether or not there are monsters in the dungeon that actually have alternative -ification powers, it should put the hapless PCs on alert.
Assuming a local magician or miracle-worker can turn stone to flesh, there must be variant rituals for turning other elements to flesh. A hydrocated victim would need to have as much of their remans as possible sopped up and brought back. Maybe they lose some equipment, a limb, or maximum HP if too much was left to seep into the dungeon floor or evaporate.
A pyrocated victim, reduced to column of flame, could be taken out of the dungeon by having something lit from them before they burn out on their own (a matter of seconds): fire regenerates itself, so presumably the whole character is in a bit of flame passed to a torch, candle, or lamp; maybe it works like a holograph? Extra fun if the flame is transferred to multiple torches etc.: can you make a new, identical PC from each flame? Did you want an evil twin? This is how you get evil twins.
The aerated victim would be the hardest to save, since they would likely diffuse so quickly. Assuming they turn into a colored cloud (based on their alignment or class maybe — black smoke for an assassin, blue mist for a magic-user, a dust cloud for a dwarf, a sweet fragrance for an elf?), their companions would need to vacuum them up as quickly as possible into an empty bladder or bellows. CON check to inhale the remains completely and then exhale into an empty wineskin?
Just some thoughts occasions by seeing the word “Pyrolisk,” a variant basilisk/cockatrice which apparently just lights thing on fire.
