Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw against being magically petrified. On a failed save, the creature begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. On a failure, the creature is petrified for 24 hours.
How many cockatrices for a fight?
A cockatrice is worth 100 XP. Using the 2024 encounter budgets (SRD 5.2), this is how many cockatrices fit each difficulty for a party of four characters of the same level. A dash means even one would be over the budget.
Party level
Low
Moderate
High
1st
2
3
4
2nd
4
6
8
3rd
6
9
12+
4th
10
12+
12+
Budgets add up every monster’s XP, so you can swap some for other creatures of the same total. Try other party sizes and mixes in the encounter calculator.
How the cockatrice compares at CR 1/2
Against the 32 other challenge 1/2 monsters in the SRD 5.1, the cockatrice has more hit points than 29 of them, which makes it one of the toughest at its CR. See every CR 1/2 monster.
Statistic
Cockatrice
CR 1/2 average
Armor Class
11
12.5
Hit points
27
20
Best attack bonus
+3
+4
Cockatrice 2024 stat block
The 2024 Monster Manual revised the cockatrice, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new stat block. What changed:
Petrifying Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +3, reach 5 ft. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) Piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it is subjected to the following effect. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 11. First Failure: The target has the Restrained condition. The target repeats the save at the end of its next turn if it is still Restrained, ending the effect on itself on a success. Second Failure: The target has the Petrified condition, instead of the Restrained condition, for 24 hours.
