Cockatrice
Beast Elite
The cockatrice is a morphological anomaly that occurs when a chicken egg is hatched by a deaf adder. Its appearance is like a dire chicken, standing man's height. Its tail is a giant snake's body. As such, it appears to have two heads: one chicken and one serpent. Unbeknown to most, the snake head is the "real" head. The entire chicken body is the tail, and has no brain or sense organs whatsoever (but can still attack and fly!). It often looks like the cockatrice is walking backwards.
When the cockatrice's true eyes focus their gaze on a living body, that body begins to rapidly calcify. With a few moments of intense concentration, a cockatrice can petrify anybody it looks at.
The cockatrice's blood reverses this process, but the blood must be very fresh. Cockatrices use this technique to store food. It can voluntarily weep blood, which changes a bit of the petrified creature back to flesh, which the cockatrice then eats.
Attributes: Swords 4 | Pentacles 4 | Cups 4 | Wands 4
Health/Defense: 5/0
Likes: Warmth and Heat, Its Young, Dire Rats (to eat), Shiny Objects (distracting)
Hates: Normal Chickens (jealous)
Notes
- Gaze of the Cockatrice.
The cockatrice can focus its gaze at one creature once per round. This ability is automatic; cards are not spent to activate this ability. This ability has two phases.
- Phase 1: The adventurer becomes Rooted. The adventurer may Recover from this effect.
- Phase 2: If the cockatrice stares at a Rooted target, they are Cursed with petrification and turned to stone. Curses cannot be Recovered from.
The effect is not reflected by mirrors.
Lesser dooms
- Tail Bite.
On a successful Attack, the target both takes a Wound and is Displaced.
Greater dooms
- Backwards Charge.
When the cockatrice Attacks, discard a greater doom card to Move up to 2 zones and cut at a foe with its spurs. If successful, the target is both Wounded and Tripped. The cockatrice can maintain its gaze and charge.
- Flutter.
Play a greater doom card to automatically disengage from all adventurers and fly 1 zone away.