Tri-flower Frond

This man-sized plant is deep green with trumpet-shaped flowers of red, yellow, and orange topping its stalks.

Tri-flower Frond (CR 2)

Medium Plant
Alignment: Neutral
Initiative: +0
Senses: Blindsight 30 feet, Low-Light Vision; Perception +1

Speed: 0 feet (immobile)
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 13, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+3 natural)
Hit Points: 13 (2d8+4)
Saving Throws: Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +1
camouflage
Immunity: plant traits

Offense

Melee: 4 tendrils +3 (1d2+2 plus sleep pollen)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: acid, fluid drain, sleep pollen

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
14 (+2)	10 (+0)	14 (+2)	-	13 (+1)	9 (-1)

Base Attack Bonus: +1
CMB +3
CMD 13 (can't be tripped or bull rushed)

Feats:

Skills:

Languages:

Special Abilities

Acid (Ex)

The tri-flower frond can tip its yellow bloom over a slumbering or prone foe and shower it with sap laden with potent digestive enzymes. This sap does 1d6 points of acid damage per round to flesh until it is washed or scraped off.

Camouflage (Ex)

Since a tri-flower frond looks like a normal flowering plant when at rest, it takes a DC 20 Perception check to notice it before it attacks. Anyone with ranks in Survival or Knowledge (nature) can use one of those skills instead of Perception to notice the plant.

Fluid Drain (Ex)

Against a sleeping or helpless foe, a tri-flower frond can release a needle-sharp tendril from its red bloom that pierces its target and drains its body fluids. This deals 1d4 points of Constitution damage each round, and the victim is considered grappled.

Sleep Pollen (Ex)

A creature struck by one of the tri-flower frond's tendrils must make a DC 13 Fortitude save or fall into a deep, coma-like slumber from which it cannot be awakened that lasts for 1-4 hours. The save DC is Constitution-based. Resistances and immunities to poison apply against the pollen, but resistances or immunities to sleep effects do not. A slumbering victim can also be awakened by a successful DC 20 Heal check after one minute of treatment. A creature that falls victim to the sleep pollen is subject to the tri-flower frond's acid and fluid drain attacks, both as free actions.

Ecology

Environment: Warm Forests
Organization: solitary, patch (2-5), or cluster (6-11)
Treasure: none


Tri-flower fronds are carnivorous plants found in warm (and rarely temperate) forests. They are immobile creatures that reproduce by releasing seeds into the air and allowing either the wind (or creatures who happen to come into contact with them) to carry them wherever they go. Seeds take root once they touch the ground, and within a few months, a new tri-flower frond appears.

These creatures are generally most active during the day and dine on fresh meat, having no preference as to the source. If a foe falls victim to its sleep poison, the tri-flower frond droops over the fallen foe, allowing its yellow bloom to drip a shower of caustic acid on the sleeping victim while it inserts a needle-like tendril from its red bloom into the victim's body and drains fluids. A tri-flower frond stands about 5 to 8 feet tall.

While the orange, red, and yellow flower combination is the most common, other color combinations have been reported, including white, gray, and pearly silver-gray, and golden brown, deep brown, and russet.

Credit The Tri-Flower Frond originally appeared in the First Edition module S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (© TSR/Wizards of the Coast, 1980) and later in the First Edition Monster Manual II (© TSR/Wizards of the Coast, 1983) and is used by permission.

Copyright Notice Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.