Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Thropada
Order: Carnivora
Genus: Dromaeosauridae
Species: Sauridae Cockatrice
Height: 1.49 meters
Length: 1.98 meters
Wingspan: 2.1 meters
Weight: 55.34 kg
Point Total to Slay: 22 points
Description:
Left over from a bygone age millennia ago, the Cockatrice is a horror that has characteristics of a rooster and a snake, with spines that secrete a venom that can cause paralysis in creatures up to 5 times the Cockatrice’s size. Although the Cockatrice has large, leathery wings, it lacks the ability to fly more than 25 meters. However, it’s powerful legs allow it to run at speeds of up to 33 kmph and leap vertically up to 6 meters. Additionally, their grey/green/brown skin blends in with most wooded environments, making them one of the most deadly fantastic beasts an adventurer can encounter.
Cockatrice are most often encountered in Italy, Austria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Romania, but have been sighted as far west as Andorra, as far north as Germany, and as far East as Azerbaijan. Prides of Cockatrice number between 3 and 10 – usually led by a dominant male. Cockatrice do not establish territory; instead they migrate within a set range following prey. It’s not uncommon at all for convoys or hunting parties to be ambushed by these stealthy predators when people and Cockatrice cross paths.
Hunting the Cockatrice:
If their strength, stealth and potent venom were not enough to make the Cockatrice a perilous foe, they also have regenerative abilities that make them extremely difficult to kill.
While multiple shots to the body will eventually bring down a full-grown Cockatrice like the one in Pavio Yaz’s menagerie, only a direct hit to the head that destroys the brain will truly bring the creature down.