The Day of the Triffids Has Come...

[Goff]

Clack clack clack clack...

Triffid

Medium Plant
Hit Dice: 9d8+54 (94 hp)
Initiative: -1 (-1 Dex)
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+15
Attack: Tendril +15 melee (1d6 +9)
Full Attack: 2 Tendril +15 melee (1d6 +9)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./20 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Qualities: Plant traits, DR10/slashing or fire, tremorsense
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +2, Will +4
Abilities: Str 28, Dex 9, Con 22, Int 3, Wis 8, Cha 3
Skills: Hide +3, Listen +3, Move Silently +3, Spot +3
Feats: Alertness,Iron Will,Power Attack,Stealthy

Environment: Any marshes
Organization: Solitary, Pair, Bunch (2-5), or Grove (5-20)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 10-18 HD (Medium); 19-27 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -

"Amazing! Just amazing!" Syph hadn't seen such an extraordinary plant since his mentor showed him the dangerous assassin vines. About eight feet high and covered in thick dangling hard wood needles, the plant lurches slowly forward on its three woody legs, needles rattling quietly as is moves. "Not to worry, it's still 25 feet away yet, no real threat." He mumbles to himself, inspecting the plant. Its bulbous trunk, topped with a dangling fleshy leaf comes to a halt about 18 feet away and leans ever so slightly forwards. "Quite remarkable," Syph mumbles to himself. "…that fleshy leaf looks remarkably like the leaves of stinging nettles… oh dear." THWACK! The leaf suddenly shoots out, attached to a long tendril. Syph’s eyes burning terribly and his face itching, he soon realises his vision was failing him, fading to black. Thwack thwack thwack!

Mature triffids stand about eight feet tall, have a bulbous trunk and are covered in dangling wooden needles. The stalk of the plant becomes thinner at the top and is crowned with a fleshy, poisonous leaf that is attached to a 20ft. long, retractable tendril. Whilst triffids are capable of living from more conventional means for a plant, they are also able to uproot themselves and walk around on their three woody legs. Apparently harmless, if triffids do not receive enough nourishment from their planting, they simply uproot themselves to hunt for food. This is not to say that triffids are not dangerous when planted; if given the opportunity, a trifid will still attack any viable prey that may pass by. Triffids attack by shooting their long tendril at the face of its prey, blinding it with its poison; then they simply wait for the creature to die then tear pieces of flesh off as it rots. Triffids are native to swampy areas, often blending inconspicuously with undergrowth. The people of these areas are known to remove the tendrils off of triffids (which grow back in about 4 years), effectively rendering the triffids harmless. Indeed, they can be cultivated for high-quality oil that can be used to make all manner of oil products.

Combat

Triffids do not often engage in combat, rather usually lie in wait to ambush unsuspecting prey. Triffids make a rough estimate of its foes size and form of movement (ie quadraped/biped) through its tremorsense, and as such aims at the probable area of the creatures head. Triffids always attack first by using its sting to blind its prey, exhausting its poison in the first five attacks of the day. It then usually waits for its prey to die. If forced to continue combat, the triffid will continually attack the head of the creature with its tendril, fighting until the death. The triffid will then wait for the corpse to start decomposition and tear flesh off to consume it.

Poison (Ex): The first five tendril attacks the triffids make each day secrete a poison that renders the target blind and sick. Upon failing DC20 fortitude save, a character hit in the face by a triffid’s tendril is blinded for 2d4+6 rounds. One minute later, the character must make another fortitude save or take 2d6 constitution damage. At the same time, a character who has failed the first fortitude save must also make another fortitude save or be blinded for a further 2d4+6 days.
See Triffid Poison below.

Tremorsense (Ex): Triffids are sensitive to vibrations in the ground and can automatically pinpoint the location of anything that is in contact with the ground within 50ft.

As a plant triffids possesses the following traits.
• Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning.
• Not subject to critical hits.
• Plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep.

Society

Triffids communicate with one another on a very basic level by emitting a low clacking noise. Whilst triffids are often found by themselves in solitary areas of marshes and swamps, they are also known to group together often in ideal positions to ambush unsuspecting passers by. At times they are known to amass in great numbers, sometimes overwhelming towns and cities in and around marshy areas.

Poison: Triffid Poison
Type: Injury (eyes) DC20
Initial Damage: Blindness 2d4+6 rounds*
Secondary Damage: 2d6 Con damage
Price: ?
*If failed, the character must make another fortitude save at the same time as the secondary damage, failure results in suffering blindness for a further 2d4+6 days.

Any suggestions/comments are welcome, I'm a bit unsure about the CR and poison price, a little iffy about the damage and poison too.

EDIT: Almost a year later I get around to altering the triffid poison.

[The Glyphstone]

I'd recommend you alter the poison slightly...make it so that the permanent blindness happens only if they fail the initial save as well, otherwise it's only temporary blindness as if they were failing the first save. I.E.: Save vs. 2d4+6 blindness. If you pass, the secondary save is vs. another 2d4+6 rounds of blindness. If you fail, the save is against permanent blindness.

It just seems kind of harsh to permanently blind a character..it takes a Heal spell to remove permanent blindness, and an 8th level party will only be casting 4th level spells at best, with 3 levels to go till their cleric can cast Heal. DC20 is a pretty hefty save for a group of 8th level PC's too.

[Sundog]

I would make it something more like, Blinded for 2d4+6 rounds primary damage, 2d6 Con damage as secondary.

Triffid venom doesn't just blind, it kills. The only reason they blinded so often was they instinctively went for the one advantage humans had over them: sight.

Also, the only reason the main character was blinded so long was because of a freak accident.

[shadeofwar]

I would make it something more like, Blinded for 2d4+6 rounds primary damage, 2d6 Con damage as secondary.

Triffid venom doesn't just blind, it kills. The only reason they blinded so often was they instinctively went for the one advantage humans had over them: sight.

Also, the only reason the main character was blinded so long was because of a freak accident.

However, the blindness would probably have to last longer thand 2d4+6 rounds, then... they did blind for a longer time than 50 to 80 seconds, did they not...?

[Goff]

I'd recommend you alter the poison slightly...make it so that the permanent blindness happens only if they fail the initial save as well, otherwise it's only temporary blindness as if they were failing the first save. I.E.: Save vs. 2d4+6 blindness. If you pass, the secondary save is vs. another 2d4+6 rounds of blindness. If you fail, the save is against permanent blindness.

That is actually what I intended, an oversight on my part I'm afraid.

You've all given me food for thought. Whilst I want to keep faithful to John Wyndham's novel, I also don't mind taking small amounts of artistic licence to make the creature more useable.
Hmmm... quite a quandry. Whether to take away the permanent aspect of the blindness in favour of constitution damage... Perhaps the same initial roll, followed by two secondary rolls, one for say 2d4+6 days blindness (if having failed the initial roll) and one for 2d6 constitution damage regardless. Does this sound more palatable to all?

Edit: typographical error

[Sundog]

Even better: Roll to hit. Ona successful hit, Reflex save to avoid poison in the eyes - 2d4+6 rounds of blindness, followed by a Fort save to avoid 2d6 HOURS of blindness. Meanwhile, the poison does 1d6 Con primary, 2d6 Con secondary damage.

A bit more complicated, but that would be more or less the effect of the Triffids in the book.