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.Template:Citation needed
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–present)[]
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[]
- ↑ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
- ↑ Greenwood, Ed. "The Ecology of the Cockatrice." Dragon #95 (TSR, 1985)
- ↑ Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989)
- ↑ Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
- ↑ Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
- ↑ Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2014)
- ↑ 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).
Template:D&D topics fictional race | name = Cockatrice | image = DnD Cockatrice.png | caption = An illustration of a cockatrice | first = original Dungeons & Dragons set (1974) | based_on = Cockatrice | type = Magical beast | alignment = }}
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