Cockatrice (''Dungeons & Dragons'')

Cockatrice
An illustration of a cockatrice
Characteristics
Image Wizards.com image
Publication history
Mythological origins Cockatrice

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the cockatrice is a small avian magical beast. Any creature that a cockatrice bites can be permanently turned to stone.

A cockatrice is intelligent, and is always neutral in alignment.

Publication history

The cockatrice is based on medieval alchemical folklore, which believed they came from a snake or a toad hatching a rooster's egg. The cockatrice is sometimes called a basilisk in ancient mythos.

Dungeons & Dragons (1974–1976)

The cockatrice first appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons set (1974). Cockatrices also appeared in the supplement Eldritch Wizardry (1976).

Dungeons & Dragons (1977–1999)

The cockatrice appeared in the D&D Basic Set (1977), D&D Expert Set (1981, 1983), D&D Companion Rules (1984), and Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977–1988)

The cockatrice appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual (1977).[1] The creature was expanded on in Dragon #95 (March 1985).[2]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989–1999)

The cockatrice appeared in second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989),[3] reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).[4]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000–2002) edition and Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003–2007)

The cockatrice appeared in the third edition Monster Manual (2000),[5] and the version 3.5 Monster Manual (2003).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008–2014)

The cockatrice appeared in the fourth edition Monster Manual 2 (2009).

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (2014–)

The cockatrice appeared in the fifth edition Monster Manual (2014).[6]

Physical description

A cockatrice has the head and body of a rooster, bat wings, and the long tail of a lizard.

Pyrolisk

The pyrolisk is a similar creature, though instead of petrification, it can cause other creatures to burst into flame.

In Eberron

In the Eberron campaign setting, the cockatrice is the heraldic beast of the dragonmarked House Sivis.

Other publishers

The cockatrice appeared in Paizo Publishing's book Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (2009), on page 48.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
  2. ↑ Greenwood, Ed. "The Ecology of the Cockatrice." Dragon #95 (TSR, 1985)
  3. ↑ Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989)
  4. ↑ Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
  5. ↑ Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
  6. ↑ Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2014)
  7. ↑ Bulmahn, Jason (lead designer). Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (Paizo Publishing, 2009)

Further reading

  • Ward, Kyla. "The Petit Tarrasque and Other Monsters." Dragon #329 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).


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