Cockatrice

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c cockatrice Cockatrice.png
Difficulty 8
Attacks

Bite 1d3 physical, touch 0d0 stoning, passive 0d0 stoning

Base level 5
Base experience 149
Speed 6
Base AC 6
Base MR 30
Alignment 0 (neutral)
Frequency (by normal means) 5 (Common)
Genocidable Yes
Weight 30
Nutritional value 30
Size small
Resistances poison, petrification
Resistances conveyed poison (33%)

A cockatrice:

Reference monst.c#line177

A cockatrice, c, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is an oviparous, omnivorous animal that can be seen via infravision, and is the namesake monster of the cockatrice monster class. The cockatrice and chickatrice, collectively referred to as footrices, are among the more complex creatures in Nethack and one of the more threatening to the average hero: both can inflict stoning upon heroes and other monsters alike.

A cockatrice has a bite attack, a passive attack that causes instant stoning on skin contact, and a touch attack that can initiate delayed stoning: for a hero to be turned to stone, the cockatrice's touch attack must land, and there is a 1⁄3 chance of the cockatrice hissing afterwards if it is not cancelled - if hissing occurs and the hero lacks stoning resistance, there is a 1⁄10 chance that they will begin turning to stone. This effect is a delayed instadeath, removes intrinsic speed, and will always occur on a new moon unless the hero is carrying a lizard corpse in open inventory; the hero has a limited amount of time to cure the stoning before it turns them into a lifeless statue.

Cockatrices possess poison resistance and stoning resistance. Eating a cockatrice corpse or tin will instantly turn the eater to stone unless they have stoning resistance - if eaten by a hero with stoning resistance, YAFM is printed and the meat has a 1⁄3 chance of conveying poison resistance. Cockatrice eggs are also similarly dangerous: a hero that eats one, or is hit by one thrown at them, will begin slowly turning to stone as described above.

Cockatrice meat is defined as granting stoning resistance, but there is currently no implemented feature that reads the flag in question.[1]

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Lizard corpses in the hero's inventory no longer have any effect on the stoning attacks of cockatrices during a new moon.

Temporary stoning resistance is implemented and can be obtained from eating corpses, but stoning resistance is required to safely finish a cockatrice corpse or tin to begin with. Monsters can gain extrinsics from eating corpses, allowing a monster with stoning resistance to gain poison resistance from eating a cockatrice corpse or tin.

Generation

Randomly-generated cockatrices are always hostile. A chickatrice can grow up into a cockatrice, and a cockatrice egg will hatch into a chickatrice.

Hostile cockatrices can be generated with the summon nasties monster spell.

The cockatrice nest special room contains several cockatrices and cockatrice eggs.

A hero that is not stoning resistant and is killed by HP damage from a cockatrice will leave a statue instead of a ghost if a bones file is created.

Strategy

Main article: Stoning

Both the chickatrice and cockatrice are generally considered serious nuisances, since they are the source of many stupid and annoying deaths, the likes of which are listed on the article about stoning linked above.

Cockatrices are stronger, slightly faster at 6 speed, much more common, and much likelier to drop corpses, but they tend to appear somewhat later than chickatrices. Use any and all ranged attacks at your disposal to bring down a cockatrice before it can get into melee range. Magic cancellation will not protect you against any of the stoning attack's stages, but good AC will prevent the cockatrice's touch attack from landing, and cancellation will prevent the cockatrice from hissing - note that it does not cancel any of the other stoning qualities of a cockatrice or its corpse, including the stoning caused by bare-skinned contact.

Lizard corpses are among the most reliable cures for sudden stoning; the potion of acid (particularly for vegetarians and vegans) and the corpse or tin of an acidic monster will also cure stoning, but you are not guaranteed to be able to access these items in time, especially if they are carried in a container. Note that merely biting into the lizard corpse cures stoning, so interruptions can allow for one corpse to cure a few instances of stoning before it is fully eaten. You can prepare for the speed loss ahead of time by applying a tinning kit to create a quantum mechanic tin or keep a charged wand of speed monster in a bag or other container.

Do not attack a cockatrice if you are polymorphed into a form that uses bite, touch, sting, or tentacle attacks and is not stoning resistant - additionally, do not attack in the form of a monster that uses kicks if you are not wearing boots, and do not attack in the form of a monster that uses claws if you are not wearing gloves. Additionally, avoid riding while fighting a cockatrice if your steed is not stoning-resistant and has attacks that will cause it to touch the cockatrice - remember that attacks that miss you will sometimes fall upon your steed!

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

The corpses and tins of lizards and other acidic or stoning-resistant monsters confer temporary stoning resistance when fully eaten, keeping you safe from being turned to stone for the duration of the property.

As a weapon

If a hero or a monster is either wearing gloves or has stoning resistance, they can pick up and wield a footrice corpse as an extremely powerful weapon - but it can easily backfire on a wielder that does not handle it with caution.

Monsters hit with a cockatrice corpse turn to stone instantly, while a hero hit by a wielded cockatrice corpse is subjected to delayed stoning and loss of intrinsic speed as above.[2][3] The corpse can be weaponized to dispose of almost any monster that lacks stoning resistance, up to and including powerful demon lords and princes - footrice corpses are nicknamed rubber chickens by players who like to use it in this way. However, the hero will instantly turn themselves into a statue if they fall or lose their gloves while wielding the corpse.

One of the better methods of preventing YASD from a carried corpse is to unwield the corpse immediately after threats are dealt with, especially in areas that have not been checked for traps. Keep a carried cockatrice corpse out of inventory slots that are frequently used, especially for food; gaining the food appraisal intrinsic warns of food that is dangerous to eat, including food that will petrify the hero, and can prevent an otherwise-fatal fat-fingering. For extra safety, simply bag the corpse or else drop it altogether.

Additionally, keep away from sinks, foocubi and monsters with theft attacks (e.g. nymphs) if at all possible, even while levitating - it is worth noting that a monster without gloves that steals the wielded corpse will turn themselves to stone, and a foocubus will always ask to take off the hero's gloves if they have at least 20 charisma. When wielding and using a footrice corpse, have your main weapon ready to go when necessary: in addition to monsters that resist stoning outright, golems that are subjected to stoning will turn into stone golems.

Take note of footrices killed near hostile monsters that can wield weapons and either wear gloves or possess stoning resistance, and be on alert for messages involving the corpse being wielded - if a moat is nearby, the corpse can be disposed of by throwing it in (while wearing gloves) or kicking it in (while wearing boots). If a hero is unable to kill a monster wielding a cockatrice corpse, levelport or otherwise escape the level and wait around 200-250 turns for the corpse to rot away. Using a bullwhip or grappling hook to snag a wielded footrice corpse will turn the hero to stone if they do not have gloves, but using a bullwhip to pick a corpse up off the ground is fine.[4][5][6]

Footrice eggs

Cockatrice eggs can be stockpiled and used as makeshift "grenades" to instantly stone particularly troublesome monsters. One of the easier methods to obtain them is to lay them while polymorphed into a female cockatrice; it is also possible (but tedious) to obtain them via polypiling meatballs. Keep in mind that breaking your own laid eggs costs you 1 point of Luck per egg (up to a maximum of 5 at once).

Like real eggs, cockatrice eggs need some special care, and an egg that is carried in open inventory will hatch after a short while - stashing the egg in a container (e.g. a sack) until their hatching time passes will ensure that you are not surprised by the hatchling and possibly stoned. You can test for a rotted cockatrice egg after retrieving it from the container by picking up more than one egg after; if they stack in your inventory, they will not hatch.

As a wish

A footrice corpse or stack of footrice eggs is a good wish when dealing with especially tough monsters, or else when looking to deal with a significant horde of hostiles as fast as possible (e.g. on the Astral Plane). The most ideal wish for the former is a "blessed partly eaten chickatrice corpse", since chickatrices are lighter than cockatrices, and partly eaten ones are lighter still - it is always worth banking a wish or two to use on this just in case of an unexpected deadly encounter. Remember that your quest nemesis and the Riders are all immune to stoning.

Below is a quick list of stoning candidates:

As a pet

As pets, footrices are somewhat notable, though not especially desired: fully grown cockatrices in particular can easily defeat non-resistant monsters with a single bite, making it easy to retrieve loot from their statues. They are also omnivores, making them easier to feed directly in lieu of them eating their own kills (which naturally leave very few corpses).

Footrices and golems

Golems other than the stone golem that are stoned by one of the above methods will instead become an animated stone golem, including heroes in the form of a non-stone golem.

Early heroes that cannot deal easily with hard hitters and/or lack reliable damage output would do well to avoid accidentally creating an annoying (or even lethal) obstacle out of a paper golem or straw golem. Conversely, stronger golems including the iron golem can be reduced to mere nuisances with a footrice corpse or egg.

History

The cockatrice first appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11, which are based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial bestiary for Hack 1.0. In Hack 1.21, the cockatrice uses the C glyph; in Hack for PDP-11 and Hack 1.0, the cockatrice uses its current glyph.

From this version to Hack 1.0.2, a successful hissing was an instadeath, and the only safe way to fight a cockatrice was with ranged weapons. Hack 1.0.2 also introduces the effects of the new moon.

Hack 1.0.3 includes both gradual stoning and turns the dead lizard into a cure for the affliction.

Cockatrices are subject to a few bugs:

Origin

Wikipedia
Wikipedia has an article about:

A cockatrice is a mythical beast that features prominently in medieval bestiaries and English folklore, and is first mentioned in the 14th century John Wycliffe translation of the Bible, with the word used for the translation of various Hebrew words for "asp" and "adder" in the Book of Isaiah. The cockatrice appears as a two-legged serpentine creature with a rooster's head and bat wings; it is said to hatch from a rooster's egg, especially one incubated by a serpent or toad. and is reputed to be capable of killing with as little as a look, touch or breath.

The cockatrice has significant overlap with the mythical snake known as the basilisk: basilisks are said to be so full of venom that they leave a wide trail of deadly venom in their wake, and can similarly kill with a gaze; medieval bestiaries attribute chicken-like traits to the basilisk and popularized the idea of them being born from a chicken hatching the egg of a serpent or toad, which is the reverse of the cockatrice. Both also share a weakness to "weasels" (likely the mongoose, which had some immunity to snake venom) as well as their own reflected gazes and the crowing of roosters, and are likely based off the Nile crocodile - as a result, the basilisk and cockatrice referred to interchangeably (for example, the encyclopedia entry that both share in variants of NetHack), and many languages still translate the term "cockatrice" as "basilisk" in some form.

Modern incarnations of the basilisk and cockatrice, such as those seen in Dungeons & Dragons and various other fantasy media, characterize the creatures' lethal venoms as a petrifying substance that turned victims to stone, and later works portray them as distinct creatures: the modern cockatrice is a somewhat more bird-like creature as opposed to the fully lizard-like or serpentine basilisk. The cockatrice of Dungeons & Dragons debuts in the original 1974 white box as a weaker form of basilisk with a stoning touch and the ability to fly, and is further differentiated in later editions.

Cockatrices can be found in almost any region, and typically prefer temperate or tropical regions, where they reside either underground or above ground in plains; some scattered numbers of cockatrices could be found in the Elemental Plane of Earth. Their beaks inflicted minor damage, but their bite could permanently turn creatures to stone - for a time, the petrifying aura could penetrate the Astral and Ethereal planes, much like basilisk gazes. Cockatrices are immune to their own petrifying bite and that of other cockatrices, but they are not immune to petrification through other means unlike in NetHack. A cockatrice is very territorial and ferociously attacks perceived threats; flocks of cockatrices often attempt to overwhelm or confuse their opponents, and frequently flew at their faces.

Messages

The cockatrice touches you!
A cockatrice landed its touch attack.
You hear the cockatrice's hissing!
This follows the above with a 1⁄3 chance; this will always cause gradual stoning to begin on a new moon if you are not carrying a lizard corpse, and otherwise has a 1⁄10 chance to trigger it.
You hear a cough from the cockatrice!
As above, but the cockatrice is cancelled, and nothing happens.
You turn to stone...
You were instantly turned to stone by contact with a cockatrice or its corpse, or by throwing a cockatrice egg up and having it land on your head while you are not wearing a helm.
This tastes just like chicken!
You ate a cockatrice corpse while you have stoning resistance.

Variants

xNetHack

In xNetHack, cockatrices generated at level creation outside of special rooms will have a few statues near them.

A cockatrice's hissing induces delayed stoning 1⁄5 of the time, and will have no effect if you are deaf.

Encyclopedia entry

Once in a great while, when the positions of the stars are
just right, a seven-year-old rooster will lay an egg. Then,
along will come a snake, to coil around the egg, or a toad,
to squat upon the egg, keeping it warm and helping it to
hatch. When it hatches, out comes a creature called basilisk,
or cockatrice, the most deadly of all creatures. A single
glance from its yellow, piercing toad's eyes will kill both
man and beast. Its power of destruction is said to be so
great that sometimes simply to hear its hiss can prove fatal.
Its breath is so venomous that it causes all vegetation
to wither.

There is, however, one creature which can withstand the
basilisk's deadly gaze, and this is the weasel. No one knows
why this is so, but although the fierce weasel can slay the
basilisk, it will itself be killed in the struggle. Perhaps
the weasel knows the basilisk's fatal weakness: if it ever
sees its own reflection in a mirror it will perish instantly.
But even a dead basilisk is dangerous, for it is said that
merely touching its lifeless body can cause a person to
sicken and die.

[ Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library) and other sources ]

References

  1. ↑ src/monst.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 184
  2. ↑ src/mhitu.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 995
  3. ↑ src/mhitu.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1252
  4. ↑ src/pickup.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 256: apply.c does not call the usual check when using the whip to pick up the corpse off the ground, but does call it when a weaponized corpse is snatched.
  5. ↑ src/apply.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2714
  6. ↑ src/apply.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2849
Parts of this page are based on a spoiler by David Corbett. The original license is unknown.


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