So, I'm kicking off a game at the moment that will be taking my players to the Mwangi Expanse, and I'm throwing together some custom monsters and encounters for them to face. The Expanse is often presented as a primordial wilderness where dinosaurs and other megafauna roam, and following that theme, what I've come up with here is a 'primordial megafauna' cousin to the cockatrice, which I'm tentatively calling the megatrice. If the cockatrice is a petrifying chicken, the megatrice is meant to evoke flightless 'running birds' like the emu, ostrich, or cassowary - I'll leave it to you all to decide how well it fits the bill there. Stat block and notes are below, and feeback is sought and welcome!
Megatrice, advanced HD cockatrice (N Large magical beast) CR 8; 4,800 XP
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +12
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural, -1 size)
HP 102 (12d10+36)
Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +5
Speed 50 ft., fly 30 ft. (poor)
Melee bite +16 (1d8+4 plus petrification), 2 talons +15 (1d8+4/19-20)
Statistics Str 18, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +12; CMB +17; CMD 29
Feats Dodge, Improved Critical (talon), Improved Natural Attack (talon), Nimble Moves, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Focus (Bite)
Skills Fly +6, Perception +12
Special Abilities
Petrification (Su): A megatrice's bite causes flesh to calcify and harden - multiple bites can cause a living creature to fossilize into stone. Each time a creature is damaged by a megatrice’s bite attack, it must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Dexterity damage as its flesh and bones stiffen and harden. (This slow petrification does not alter a bitten creature’s natural armor.) A creature that takes any amount of Dexterity damage from a megatrice's bite is also paralyzed, but each round on its turn, it may attempt a new saving throw to end the paralysis effect. This is a full-round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A creature that is reduced to 0 Dexterity by a megatrice’s bites, or which fails its save against the petrification effect of a megatrice's bite while paralyzed by a megatrice's bite, immediately turns completely to stone, as if petrified by a flesh to stone spell. After 24 hours, a creature petrified by a megatrice in this manner can attempt a new DC 19 Fortitude save to recover from the petrification, at which point the victim returns to flesh with 1 Dexterity (and thereafter can be restored to full Dexterity by natural healing or magic as normal) - if the petrified creature fails this additional Fortitude save, the petrified state becomes permanent. A creature restored to flesh via magic has its Dexterity damage caused by megatrice bites removed, but not any existing Dexterity damage from other sources. A megatrice is immune to the petrification ability of itself and of other megatrices, but other petrification attacks affect them normally. Immunity to paralysis functions normally but provides no protection against the Dexterity damage or subsequent petrification. A creature immune to petrification is also immune to the Dexterity damage and paralysis inflicted by a megatrice's bite. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Some notes on the changes I've made and where I'm particularly looking for feedback...
- #1) Like the regular cockatrice, the megatrice has more HD than its CR would suggest. In the case of the original creature, I think this is due to its status as a "nasty surprise" monster with an unusual attack type that the PCs may not have the resources to effectively mitigate, but which isn't especially threatening otherwise. The megatrice is a more capable conventional fighter than its smaller cousin, but it's no longer a low-level monster with a high-level attack, and I think most of its statistics are more closely in line with a CR 8 creature than the CR 9 than its raw HD would suggest.
- #2) I've increased the creature's AC according to the rules for adding hit dice and increasing size (Bestiary p. 295-296, table 2-2) but this has left it with an AC that's significantly lower than a creature of its CR ought to possess (per Bestiary p. 291 table 1-1). I'm tempted to give it an additional 4 to 6 points of natural armour to bring its total AC closer to what might be expected of a creature of its CR - does this seem reasonable, or can anyone suggest an alternative approach here?
- #3) The megatrice has picked up two talon attacks to make it more of a conventional physical threat - this is in keeping with the idea that it's now more like an oversized, irascible emu or ostrich than a monstrous chicken, so it's attacking with its back legs like a moa or a terror bird.
- #4) Similarly, I've increased the megatrice's ground speed and decreased its flight speed, since I'm envisaging it now as a running, ground-based, and barely flight-capable creature.
- #5) I've significantly reworked the petrifying bite ability. Originally I'd considered simply increasing the Dexterity damage from 1d4 to 1d8, as though it were a natural attack increasing with the creature's size; this wouldn't have been strictly RAW, but 1d8 ability score damage on an attack made once per round, with an accompanying saving throw, doesn't seem excessive for a creature at this CR (the CR 8 greater shadow, for example, does 1d8 Strength damage with no save). However this seemed a bit lacklustre, so while the increase in Dexterity damage is more modest (1d4 to 1d6 instead of to 1d8) I added in a paralysis effect which seemed thematically fitting to the whole "flesh calcifying, body growing stiff," effect. It's not a one-hit kill, but it can drop single targets more quickly than the regular cockatrice - alternatively (and importantly to a predator with significant prey requirements) it can paralyze a creature with its bite and then tear it up with its talons, actually making a fleshy meal out of it rather than being compelled to petrify anything it's fighting. The saving throw to remove the paralysis effect and the fact that it requires a minimum of two successful bite attacks to petrify a creature (one without unusually poor Dexterity anyway) hopefully mean this ability isn't overpowered while still being more dangerous than the bite of the common cockatrice. Thoughts and suggestions are especially welcome here!
- #6) I've given it the Nimble Moves feat since I'm expecting it to be largely encountered in forest/jungle environments and some extra freedom of movement there will certainly be helpful, but I'm happy to consider other ideas for what this feat might appropriately be spent on. Note that the megatrice has lost the cockatrice's Weapon Finesse feat since it's no longer a useful feat for the creature.
Thanks in advance for any eyeballs that people want to put on this, and I look forward to any feedback you wish to give or suggestions you wish to make.
EDIT: I'm sure I got the code for bullet points right, but just in case, I've added numbers to the list too.
Just realised that I forgot the space and reach entries, and I'm outside of the edit window now - space and reach should both be 10 ft.