Cockatrice
Small Monstrosity · · CR 1/2
- Monstrosity
- Small
- Tier 1
Cockatrice is a small monstrosity of unaligned alignment, CR 1/2. Found in grassland. Sourced from Monster Manual (5e 2014) and Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 1/2
- Type
- Monstrosity
- Size
- Small
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- Grassland
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5e 2014), Monster Manual (5.5e 2024)
Ecology
Cockatrices are bizarre bird-snake-things — feathered serpentine bodies, rooster heads, scaled wings — that nest in scrubland, weed-grown ruins, and abandoned farms. They eat lizards, snakes, and small mammals and lay eggs in shallow scrapes. Their **petrifying bite** is their key adaptation, used to immobilize prey for slow consumption. A cockatrice nest is identifiable by the rim of stone-corpse fragments — frozen mice, lizards, the occasional goat.
Behaviour
Cockatrices are **stupid, aggressive, and cowardly**. They attack anything moving in their territory but flee at the first wound. They cannot recognize their own petrified victims and may peck at stone copies of past meals out of reflex. Multiple cockatrices share territory poorly, with frequent squabbles. They cannot petrify each other (immune by lineage), but they can bicker until exhausted.
Origin
Sages debate cockatrice origin: some say they were created by an apprentice wizard whose **flesh-to-stone** experiment escaped the laboratory; others say they emerged naturally in regions where basilisk magic lingers. Their feathers are valuable for petrification-resistance amulets, but harvesting requires killing the bird without being bitten — a delicate problem. Some druid-circles consider them sacred warning-creatures and protect their nests from poachers.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Cockatrice
- What is the challenge rating of Cockatrice?
- Cockatrice has a challenge rating of 1/2. It suits early-tier-1 encounters.
- What type of creature is Cockatrice?
- The bestiary type for Cockatrice is monstrosity, small size.
- Where does Cockatrice live?
- You'll find Cockatrice in Grassland according to the bestiary entry.