Dungeons & Dragons' Abyssal Chickens Are Horrifying and Hilarious

The latest issue of Dragon+ revealed a first look at the abyssal chicken that will be terrifying players in Dungeons & Dragons' latest adventure. Dragon+, the official digital magazine of Dungeons & Dragons, released a new issue yesterday, which featured plenty of content about D&D Live 2019: The Descent. D&D Live 2019 served as a preview of Descent Into Avernus, D&D's next adventure book that will send players into hell...literally. Over the course of the three-day event, attendees got to meet characters like Mad Maggie and Baal, all of whom will either assist or hinder players as they try to stop the city of Baldur's Gate from descending into Avernus, the top-most level of D&D's Nine Hells.

While most of the event was spent focusing on the torments that players will suffer while exploring Avernus, several D&D designers at D&D Live 2019 mentioned a new creature that will appear in Descent Into Avernus - the abyssal chicken. This is a chicken born in hell that players can even turn into their familiar if they so choose. Dragon+ revealed a "first look" at the abyssal chicken, which looks like a mix between a small dinosaur and a Xenomorph from the Aliens franchise.

The magazine also spoke to Jim Zub, who consulted on Descent Into Avernus and contributed several important story elements to the upcoming campaign. "The abyssal chicken may be the greatest invention but I can't take credit for that," Zub said. "Artist Max Dunbar was putting together concept art for the center of Avernus and needed something for scale. He suggested using wildlife and they said 'It's Hell, there's no wildlife!' So Max suggested birds or flocks of something and eventually the idea of the abyssal chicken came up. They're disgusting. And wonderful."

Abyssal chickens might not be the most terrifying thing players will face in Avernus, but they definitely look far more dangerous than the average chicken. Of course, since they spend their time cooking in the Nine Hells all their life, we can't help but wonder how good they taste in a sandwich.

Descent Into Avernus comes out on September 19th.