Cockatrice

Cockatrice CR 3 (Combatant)

XP 800
N Small magical beast
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +8

DEFENSE

HP 40
EAC 14; KAC 16
Fort +7; Ref +7; Will +2

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (Ex, poor)
Melee bite +12 (1d6+4P plus petrification)

STATISTICS

Str +1; Dex +4; Con +2; Int -4; Wis +1; Cha -1
Skills Acrobatics +8, Stealth +8, Survival +13

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Petrification (Su)

A cockatrice’s bite causes flesh to calcify and harden — multiple bites can cause a living creature to fossilize into stone. Each time a creature is damaged by a cockatrice’s bite attack, it must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of Dexterity damage as its flesh and bones stiffen and harden. A creature that is reduced to 0 Dexterity by a cockatrice’s bites immediately turns completely to stone, as if petrified by a flesh to stone spell. Every day, a creature petrified by a cockatrice in this manner can attempt a new DC 12 Fortitude save to recover from the petrification, at which point the victim returns to flesh with 1 Dexterity (and thereafter can be restored to full Dexterity by natural healing or magic as normal) — but after a petrified creature fails three of these Fortitude saves in a row, the petrified state becomes permanent. A creature restored to flesh via magic has its Dexterity damage caused by cockatrice bites removed, but not any existing Dexterity damage from other sources.

A cockatrice is immune to the petrification ability of itself and of other cockatrices, but other petrification attacks affect them normally.

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate plains
Organization solitary, pair, flight (3-5), or flock (6-12)

A cockatrice is an ugly avian-like magical beast.

These horrid creatures combine traits of a rooster and a reptile. Their scaly body is covered in bristly feathers, while its body ends in a long serpentine tail. The creature’s wings are like those of a bat. The eyes of a cockatrice glow a soft blood-red color. The average cockatrice stands 2-3 feet tall and weighs 25 pounds (3 bulk).

These monsters are repulsive and horrid. They stupidly attack anything they think might be threatening to themselves or their nest… which is anything they see. These creatures are particularly feared as any living creature struck by their beaks will often transform into stone.