The Hell is a cockatrice?

The Cockatrice is a fucked up lizard chicken;  A weak little shit that can easily TPK a low level party.  These little shit chickens are not to be underestimated, especially in large groups.  I once created a random encounter to just mix things up as they traveled through the wilderness.  Just a random encounter of 6 cockatrice.  Well, those 6 cockatrice’s(Cockatri? Cockitricees? Cockadillos?) nearly TPK’d my entire group.  How?  Read on my friend.  Read on.

IRL LORE

In real life, the cockatrice is a mythical two legged dragon-serpent with a roosters head.  This ugly thing was first described in 14^th century England where it was born from a male chicken and incubated in a toad or a snake.  Rule 34 anyone?  How does one prevent a cockatrice from being born on your family farm?  Apparently you throw the egg over your house without it landing ON your house.  Why you can’t just crush the egg is anyone’s guess.  What really made these things dangerous, besides it being a fucked up chicken frog, is their ability to kill people by looking, touching, or even breathing on them.  Its greatest weakness?  A rooster’s crow, a mirror, or a weasel.

DND LORE

In Dungeons and Dragons 5e, the cockatrice is described as being a hybrid between a bird and a lizard with the skin of a bat, primarily its leathery wings.  As strangely terrifying as these imposter chickens are, they are omnivores, meaning they eat berries, nuts, and small animals.  They are primarily found in the forest with its mate.  They are rarely in a group as they are highly territorial.  As small as they are (Small creature about 3 feet high and 25 pounds. Think toddler), they’re incredibly vicious and defensive.  A cockatrice flies into the face of anything that even resembles a threat, squawking and pecking at anything that moves.  Cockatrice are the Emus of the DnD universe. 

Lets look at those stats

The cockatrice is easy to hit and kill with its natural armor class of 11 and hit points of 27(6d6+6).  However, with it flying speed of 40 ft., they can quickly swarm your players possibly spelling doom for any fledgling adventurer.  It has darkvision of 60 feet and a passive perception of 11, meaning that sneaking up on it is relatively easy. 

Strength – 6 (-2): Weak as fuck.  It can barely push anything 25 lbs. or more. 

Dexterity – 12 (+1): These unfriendly cluckers are somewhat quick, with their tenacity and flying ability. 

Constitution – 12 (+1): These freaks can get so angry, that they can take a few hits before they run or die. 

Intelligence – 2 (-4): Stupid.  Like, nearly worm stupid.  It’s only smart enough to attack in order to protect itself and its offspring.

Wisdom – 13 (+1): These fuckers are at a constant state of alert, attacking anything that moves. 

Charisma – 5 (-3): From what it lacks in presence and intimidation, it makes up for it in willpower.  The willpower to peck the shit out of anything and anyone.

Actions

At first glance, it looks like a weak stupid chicken lizard.  It has only one melee bite attack dealing only 3 (1d4+1) damage.  Now here is what makes this ugly buddy interesting: the player must make a CON save of 11 or be magically petrified.  Holy fucking chicken strips batman.  On a failed save, you begin to turn to stone and are restrained. This means that not only are you one failed CON save away from being petrified for 24 hours, but the Cockatrice have advantage on hitting you, and you can’t move.

Now what does it mean to be petrified?  Can you die from being petrified?  Here is what the Players Handbook had to say about it:

• A petrified creature is transformed, along with any nonmagical object it is wearing or carrying, into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). Its weight increases by a factor of ten, and it ceases aging.
• The creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
• The creature has resistance to all damage.
• The creature is immune to poison and disease, although a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralized.

At 0 hit points, they would begin making death saves as normal. The petrified condition does not modify the death and dying mechanics.

Remember when I said earlier that 6 cockatrice nearly TPKed my entire group early on?  Now you know.

Here are four encounter ideas for your uncreative ass

1. Here’s a low level adventure for you:  Your players enter the tiny town of Fucksburg, looking to spend the night and drink some beers.  You soon find the next morning (or from the bartender/villagers that night if they are prompted), that a farmer or child was petrified! (if you’re feeling especially dark and edgy, have the body be petrified and dead.  Maybe pecked/scratched to death.)  Oh no!  What could have done this! EZPZ mystery to solve.
2. Village asks your group for help with a cockatrice problem.  Ezpz quest for 5 gold each right?  Pfff. Nothing should ever be THAT easy.  The group quickly runs into a giant brood mother cockatrice with 3-6 little cockatrices protecting it.  Have the broodmother have double the stats as a normal one and twice its size. 
3. Your players were hired by an alchemist to hunt down (Finally! Something for the ranger to do!), and kill a few of these little shits to extract their beaks and feet, for a specific potions he’s brewing. Maybe have the potion have cure petrification, or cause petrification on your weapon?
4. Here’s a stupid one:  A large cockatrice crosses the road in front of their wagon.  It stares at you while 10 more baby cockatrices are crossing the road.  What do you do?  Kill them?  Let them be?  Surely there are consequences for letting them live?  Maybe have them become a problem for a village down the road as a consequence for letting them live.