Roper Monster Card art by Joe Bilicic

Roper Culture, Psychology, & Lore

by Vassar Oenbring

“We used to say Ropers was dumb beasts, no smarter than the stalagmites they imitate. When they trapped us bandsmen in the lower caverns and started eating us alive, we changed our tune quick. Me, I gnawed through that horrible tendril and fled like a rat. Don’t know of no others who escaped that horrible place.”

–Rockgut Ironfist, Dwarf Miner

Culture and Psychology

Ropers are not mindless monsters. These subterranean creatures inhabit the vast cave systems that permeate the earth, and communicate using subsonic vibrations that travel great distances through water and stone. Whether they possess true culture is debatable, but they certainly work together to capture prey.

In areas traversed by desirable quarry, Ropers gather to set ambush zones. They pick off individuals to keep larger groups unaware of their presence and thus reduce the risk of open conflict. When open conflict is unavoidable, Ropers emit high-pitch wails and totter into combat with their tendrils flailing.

When prey is scarce, Ropers remain solitary and seldom interact. When a pair chance to meet, they extend their tendrils and caress each other from afar. It is believed they can taste through the tips of their tendrils, and thus determine the wound status and identity of their comrades. Ropers of different sexes will copulate. Females carry eggs in a pouch inside their mouths; males of the species use their tendrils to fertilize them.

If the hunt is successful in an area for a period of weeks, Ropers construct nests high in the rock crevices of the ceiling. Roper nests become incredibly fecund if conditions are right, soon filling with aged meat and dozens of fledgling Roperites.

Mother Ropers carry fertilized eggs in their mouths until they hatch, at which point the young crawl forth and attach to the mother’s hide like barnacles. There they stay during the first months of their lives, feeding on a nutritive slime until they grow too large for her to carry. At that time she deposits them into the nest.

Individual Roperites then attach to any uninhabited adult Roper that enters the nest. The young form a parasitic bond with their new Guardians and accompany them everywhere, learning to stalk and capture prey, until such time as they grow hungry enough to require a full kill. Reports of “two-headed Ropers” almost certainly refer to Guardians hosting Roperites near the completion of their development. Roperites are not generally aggressive unless their Guardian emits a distress hum, at which point they will leap to the attack the intruder with their small mouths and lashing tendrils.

While most Ropers live underground, some have found success hunting in the Overworld. Usually encountered in swamps, forests, and mountains where their natural camouflage serves them, these rogue Ropers tend to be stronger and more clever than those found underground.

Special Tactics

Ropers are cowardly and devious. They prefer to wait patiently to catch solitary creatures rather than fighting whole groups. Often Ropers in hiding wait for adventurers to pass before paralyzing the last member. Then they withdraw into shadows, retreating to the upper reaches of the cavern to enjoy their meal. Ropers are known to cause diversions such as rock falls, and use their mournful, otherworldly wails to lure individuals into their clutches. Though Ropers have no use for wealth, they collect shiny objects to use as bait—snaring the wandering eyes of adventures and luring them off the trail.

With their remarkable climbing abilities, Ropers may be found on almost any surface, regardless of how steep. They are dangerous in mines, as they can climb the sides of vertical shafts and snag miners passing above or below.

Whatever a Roper’s location, it will have several hiding places and escape routes planned. Only Ropers that have been imprisoned or are starving will fight to the death without attempting to retreat and hide.

Qualities

Craven. Bravery is a foreign concept to a Roper. They will attack from ambush and retreat if wounded below 50% HP. They cannot be Taunted, nor can they be magically compelled to fight for another creature.

Deep Stomach. No one has ever witnessed a Roper that has eaten its fill. If able, Ropers will feed until they grow so bloated they cannot move or attack.

Deliberate Metabolism. Ropers can enter a state of quasi-hibernation and live for years on a single meal if necessary. They can also digest rapidly when food is plentiful. A Roper that digests a Medium-sized creature regains all its Hit Points over the course of 1 hour.

Patient. The Drow have a saying, “Hunt like a Roper,” which means to wait calmly for long hours in one spot for one’s prey to appear. Ropers cannot be coaxed to move from their hunting stands by any means other than fire and direct combat.

Sonic Sensitivity. Ropers “hear” sound by feeling vibrations. Ropers in contact with the natural ground, be it stone, sand, or earth, gain Advantage on Perception checks made to detect approaching creatures, but have Disadvantage on Saves against sonic or seismic attacks.

Weaponry

Melee 1. Paralytic Tendril. d8+4 Bludgeoning damage. Reach 50. Once per combat, Ropers discharge stored electrical currents via their tendril attack to paralyze their foes. On a successful hit, PCs Save vs Paralysis CON DC 16 or are Paralyzed for one full round.

Melee 2. Crush. 4d10 bludgeoning, must drop from above target. If able, Ropers prefer to initiate combat by dropping off the ceiling directly onto their prey.

Ranged 1. Hurl Stone. 2d4+4 bludgeoning, range 80/160. In place of a Tendril attack, a Roper may use a tendril to sling a stone. This attack is mainly used to attack small prey from a distance or to discourage pursuit.

Ranged 2. Vomit. 30 foot cone, 5d6 acid, DEX DC 12 for half. Used as a last resort against numerous foes, a Roper may expel stomach acid in a fan in front of it, damaging any creature in its path. A roper may only Vomit once per short rest.

Special Units

Quartz Roper. These ancient and terrifying creatures have developed a taste for mineral ores that have hardened their scales and increased their health. They have 22 AC and 120 HP. Non-magical weapons used to strike a Quartz Roper have a 25% chance of shattering. Quartz ropers look even more like stalactites and stalagmites than their less-calcified comrades. They have +8 to Stealth when hiding underground.

Brood Mother. A Roper so covered by her young that any non-magical weapon attack stands a 50% chance of dealing no damage to the Brood Mother, instead striking and killing a Roperite. Brood Mothers may initiate a Roperite Swarm (see below) by taking a full-round action to emit a subsonic pulse.

Octoroper. These rare mutant Ropers have 8 tendrils and may make 8 Tendril attacks per round.

Roperite Swarm. Composed of dozens of tiny infant Ropers, these swarms cover a 10 foot square and have movement of 20 feet. Any creature that starts its turn inside the swarm takes 2d12 piercing damage from bites. Swarms have AC 16, 100 hit points, and take double damage from AOE spells.

Venturous Roper. Some Ropers adapt to the wandering life and travel further afield than their kin, including above ground. These roaming Ropers have evolved to be twice as fast, with Movement and Climb speeds of 20 feet. They have maximum Hit Points.

Special Abilities

Fade into Shadows. While underground, Ropers facing superior foes may attempt to flee and hide. By using a full-round action, a Roper may move twice its Move and make a Stealth check to hide. Perception and Survival checks made to locate the hidden Roper are made at Disadvantage.

Premature Hatch. As a full-round action, Mother Ropers carrying fertilized eggs can crack them in her mouth and spit out a Roperite Swarm.

Blizzard of Shards. Once per day, Ropers may use a full-round action to emit a powerful subsonic pulse capable of cracking stone and shattering crystals in a 40 foot radius. They most often use this while hanging from the ceiling of a cavern, as it causes stalactites to fall like giant stone spears for 4d12 damage.

Swallow Whole. Ropers will attempt to swallow any Small or Tiny creatures they have successfully Grappled and brought to their mouths. If the creature fails two opposed Grapple checks in a row vs. an 18 STR, they have been swallowed whole. Swallowed creatures must win an opposed Grapple check to break free, then deal at least 20 Hit Points of damage from within the Roper to be spit out. Swallowed creatures suffer a loss of 10 HP per round, until they are dead. After 1 hour, dead creatures within a Roper have been digested, and can only be returned with a Wish spell.

Movement

Run. Poor. Ropers are quite slow.

Climb. Excellent. While not particularly fast, Ropers can adhere to virtually any surface using thousands of tiny cilia on their tendrils and undersides.

Swim. Poor. Ropers do not swim, but crawl along the bottoms of pools. They are able to hold their breath for hours.

Burrow. n/a. Ropers do not seem to dig.

Fly. n/a

Grudges

Ropers dislike beings of fire such as Salamanders and Efreeti, and find them unpleasant to digest. Their natural predators include Purple Worms, Bulette, and Black Puddings. Ropers seem to regard being devoured by another monster as fair play, although they naturally fight tooth and tendril to avoid it.

Among the races of the Undermere there are none who go so far out of their way to hunt and enslave Ropers as the Drow. Drow enjoy capturing Ropers for use as guardians and entertainment, and the Ropers seem to regard this as a direct personal affront. It is only with Drow that Ropers have been observed to chew off the limb of an unfortunate victim and leave it as bait to draw others closer. It has been suggested that Ropers do not particularly like the taste of Drow, but hunt them solely to revenge the wrongs visited upon others of their kind. Ropers dislike the smell of most other species of Elves, and are prone to act violently against them.

Ropers