I played a permanently (from birth) blind character for a couple of years a long time ago in a 3.5 edition game. I was a fighter class.
The GM gave me +10 to listen rolls and the 'blind fight' feat for free, and allowed me to move at significantly reduced speed tapping a staff to find my way.
I was permanently flat-footed vs all ranged attacks, unable to do any ranged actions and automatically missed 25% of all melee attacks. This turned out to be cripplingly frustrating for me - I'd swing at the Big Bad Guy, roll a 20 on my d20 and a 1 on my d4 to determine a 'blind swing' - basically the attack would have crit if the character wasn't blind!
Listen rolls to determine where enemies were was never a problem with an elf's sense, the +10 bonus and all my skill points piled into it.
Eventually the GM found a reason for someone to give the character 5ft blind sight because the attack disadvantage was just too frustrating. So your instinct is correct, disadvantage on all rolls would be too much - such a character would probably not take up adventuring.
I think a fair compromise is having your player's character grant advantage for all ranged attacks aimed at them - they don't see that crossbow being raised at them - but letting him/her go toe to toe in melee without advantage / disadvantage being inflicted to either side - a built in blind-fighting feat. This also allows some interesting stuff to happen with spells like Fog Cloud, and also lets a player imagine their character trading blows like Daredevil, but equally being about as useful as Daredevil in a longer-ranged firefight.
Ultimately though, I don't understand how this could work with a bard's setup. They won't be able to see where their enemies are to land ranged spells or attacks, except possibly for big AOE spells, and being right up close in the action isn't a bard's forte. The possibility for collateral damage from AoE spells is very high. A Barbarian, Paladin or Fighter might make more sense for this form of blind warrior.
If we're going with a strict reading, then if you're seeing the medusa's eyes from beyond its range, then you -- the remote viewer -- do not need to make a saving throw.
When a creature that can see the medusa's eyes starts its turn within 30 feet
of the medusa, the medusa can force it to make a DC 14 Constitution
saving throw if the medusa isn't incapacitated and can see the creature.
Your familiar will need to make a save, of course, if they are within 30ft of the medusa.
If you are within 30ft of the medusa and use your familiar to see, and you see the medusa's eyes, then it depends on the final clause of that rule: if the medusa isn't incapacitated and can see the creature.
Let's imagine you are a resource-depleted familiar-owner hiding from the medusa in an abandoned building. She is only 25ft away from you, but is unaware of your location and cannot see you due to being in total cover from a stack of crates. Then, you look through your familiar's eyes (a spider) to scout the area, but end up looking straight into her eyes.
In the above scenario, you do not make the saving throw, but your familiar does. It would potentially be a traumatizing event though, being in the mind of a creature as it is being petrified.
Otherwise, if you had failed your Stealth check and the medusa actually can see you, and then you scout via your familiar and end up looking into her eyes through the familiar, then yes you will need to make a saving throw.
Strictly speaking, as long as the four conditions are met, you have to make a saving throw.
- can see the medusa's eyes
- starts its turn within 30 feet of the medusa
- the medusa isn't incapacitated
- the medusa [...] can see the creature
It doesn't matter where your sight comes from as the first condition is not "that can see the medusa's eyes through its own eyes".
I'm reminded of spells such as Misty Step, which allow you to teleport to any unoccupied space you can see within 30ft of you (even if you're seeing through the eyes of your familiar).
As for the case of controlling another creature, that depends on how you are "controlling" them. If it is through Dominate Monster, for example, then only the creature you have controlled makes the save.
But more likely, you're asking about Magic Jar. If you are possessing the body of another creature in this way (your soul leaves your body and steals the body of another living creature), then from the wording of this particular spell, your soul and the possessed creature's body are considered as one creature. You -- the possessor -- must make the saving throw using the stats of the possessed body. If you fail the save, the body you are possessing becomes petrified. If that body also dies, your soul may leave that dead body and go elsewhere.
As for should your original body be petrified along with the possessed body, that depends on if your true body is within 30ft of the medusa. If it is, then you must also make a saving throw with your actual stats.
Best Answer
Give him the Blind keyword and Tremorsense 0
The Blind keyword states that the creature uses special senses to 'see' within a specified range. The quotes are intentional because see is used as a game term here.
The Blinded condition and the many vision-obscuring powers define not seeing something as it having total concealment against you.
You can give him the special sense of Tremorsense (to represent his sense of touch) with a range of 0. This follows the rules of Blind by giving him a special sense but it still keeps the feeling that he can't interact easily with creatures outside of his own square.
The mechanical results of this are:
He does not suffer the following consequences from the Blinded condition:
Note that anybody that has total concealment against him will get Combat Advantage on their attacks. The important point here is that if he can remove the opponents concealment through an ability, then that opponent doesn't get Combat Advantage just because the character is blind.