Cockatrice
- Habitat
- Wilderness caves, ruins, and rocky scrub
- Biomes
- +underground, grassland, +settlement
- Spawn
- solo, day
- Temper
- Spiteful, fearless, territorial
- Threat
- High
- Rarity
- Uncommon–Rare
- Move
- crawl; fly.
- Special
- Petrification: touch of beak briefly stiffens exposed flesh, a few-second hard stun (will not work through metal armor); immune to own kind's petrification
- STR17
- DEX13
- CON19
- INT2
- Health187
- Damage32
- Armor16
The cockatrice is an ugly little horror about the size of a fat turkey, with the wattled head and feathered body of a rooster, two ribbed bat-wings, and the long scaly tail of a lizard tipped with a few stray plumes. Its comb, eyes, and dangling wattles burn a livid red against dull golden-brown feathers. For its size it is fearless and spiteful, lunging at anything it judges a threat to itself or its nest. Its dreaded power lies in its touch: bare flesh brushed by its beak or claws stiffens grey and rigid for a few seconds, locking the victim helpless. Flocks roost in caves and ruins, lining their nests with shiny scraps. Hunters fear it far out of proportion to its frail body, since a single careless graze can freeze a fighter just long enough to be swarmed.
Behavior
- Flutters and lunges at faces, trying to brush exposed skin with beak or talon to lock a victim up
- Hunts insects and small lizards without bothering to use its petrifying touch
- Roosts in flocks; rare females rule a squabbling harem of males
- Lines its permanent nest with coins, glass, and bright stones
- Overwhelms larger foes by flying straight at them in a confusing flurry
Abilities
- Petrifying Touch. Any unguarded flesh its beak or talons contact stiffens rigid for a few seconds, a brief hard stun rather than lasting stone; cloth or leather is no protection, only metal plate.
- Flight. Short bursts of clumsy but rapid flapping let it close on a head or flee danger.
- Stone Immunity. A cockatrice cannot be petrified by its own kind, so flocks fight freely side by side.
Drops & Crafting
- Petrification-gland (rare alchemical reagent)
- Stiff quill feathers (prized for inscribing inks and scrolls)
- Reptilian tail-hide
- Small bones
- Speckled eggs (can be incubated as guard-pets)
- Assorted nest trinkets