Garnfellow
Explorer
Henry said:
Now that's what I'm talking about!
Love for the Roper?
- Thread starter Garnfellow
- Start date
Now that's what I'm talking about!
the Jester
Legend
Darn it, where's hong when we need him?
Arbiter of Wyrms
First Post
What folks don't tell ya, 'cause most don't know, is that the Stiganoy used to be water breathers, what lived in the great salt lake, 'fore'n it dried up and they run off t'the caves.Henry said:
They was like mollusks, barnacles, sea cucumbers - but smarter. The weren't the smartest critters in the world, but they was smart enough to be stupid and to fall in with the gods. Them ropers didn't move around no more then than they do now. Just lay there in the inky depths o' the lake, feedin' on whatever fish as came by. Feedin' and turnin they attention in to what the old men up at the temple calls "The Hungry Darkenss."
Next thing they knew, the lake started dryin' up, and they was all of a panic. They prayed and they prayed to their god to let 'em stay where they was. See, that was the dumb part. They never asked keep the lake from dryin' up or to go somewheres else - to a lake that weren't dryin' up or out to the ocean where they coulda been happy, cause they didn't know nothin' beyond their own lake.
They didn't wish for what they needed. They wished for what they thought they wanted. Well, that's just what they got, too. When the lake dried up so as all them ropers was stickin' up out the water, their god made up be able to breath air like you and me, 'stead o' water like they did. So, there they sat in the mud, as the lake got lower and saltier all the time.
Well, I expect most gods is like whatever gives 'em homage, or else what gives 'em homage is like the gods theyselves, but the ropers' god weren't too much smarter than them as worshipped it. They started dyin' either from too much sun, or too much salt, or too many birds got too smart to fly where the ropers'd catch 'em. They started dyin' and their god started eatin their souls and they got desperate and started prayin' e'en more and their god just had hisself a feast for a while and started lordin' out over the other gods, how much worship his critters was given 'im.
Then, it got less. Too many of 'em died, and too many quit prayin when they didn't get no answers, and then the Hungry Darkness started dyin', too, and started noticin' the gods of night and the gods of famine and feasting and the gods of the fishes and clams start to close in on 'im like a vulture on a dyin' man.
It was too lake to make the lake right. It was already dead, god or no god. Istal knew he weren't long fer this world or any other if he didn't do somefing, so he gave his critters legs. Not great legs, mind you. He didn't make giraffes, but he gave legs enough that that night, they all crawled their way up to the caves. Rained all night that night, and some say the Hungry Darkness still owes a favor to Magroth the Storm Bringer for that. All I know is that I wouldn't go in those caves for all the gold in the kingdom, boy. Give me the sea an' the open sky, but best as I know, ain't nobody been up in them caves for five generations, and ain't nobody come back since longer still.
Patman21967
First Post
Pants said:Ropers have an affinity for young Japanese girls in short skirts.
So do Patmen. LOL. I had a cool TPK with the Ropers in Rappan Athuk....They crushed
The roper would need some cool way to close the distance to adventurers; as for now, a bunch of lvl 1 characters can kill it by throwing burning oil at it and keep away. I like the suggestion- themed powers, where the roper beckons on the adventurer to get closer, they give a creepier feeling than running (God forbid) or teleporting (which could be nice but imagine the starting scene in X-Men 2 with Gargoyle but exchange Gargoyle for a roper instead; not very cool IMO).
jgsugden
Legend
Man, you folks have no idea how to use these beasties.
First of all, they don't need a lot of movement. They can reach into every corner of a room that is a 110' diameter circle ... or up to 120' if you allow them their 5' adjustment. Why move when you can hit your targets at will anywhere where they can see you?
And speaking of designing their lairs ... why make them accessible via land? A roper on an island or a roper standing on a ledge can be much harder to handle. I once had a roper live in a ledge above the door to a 40' wide room. The PCs walked in .... and were trapped.
What about obstacles in the room? Well, the roper should be able to remove those obstacles pretty easily. A roper needs to set up its own defenses. If the room is not optimal for the roper, then you're not playing the roper intelligently enough. These are pretty intelligent creatures that are very wise and wiley.
Consider their other abilities as well when developing their lair. They are pretty resistant to cold and are completely resistant to electricity. Maybe they share their lair with creatures that use electric or cold area attacks?
They have SR 30 ... meaning they are immune to many caster level 10 and lower magic traps, including those that use fire. For instance: Fireball Trap: CR 5; magic device; touch trigger; automatic reset; spell effect (fireball, 8th-level wizard, 8d6 fire, DC 14 Reflex save half damage); Search DC 28; Disable Device DC 28. Cost: 12,000 gp, 960 XP. Black Tentacles Trap: CR 7; magic device; proximity trigger (alarm); no reset; spell effect (black tentacles, 7th-level wizard, 1d4+7 tentacles, Atk +7 melee [1d6+4, tentacle]); multiple targets (up to six tentacles per target in each of two adjacent 5-ft. squares); Search DC 29; Disable Device DC 29. Cost: 1,400 gp, 112 XP. Either of these reusable traps could prove very frustrating to a party that charges in to fight a roper. If you use an electrical trap, you don't even need to consider a caster level limit.
Many DMs spring ropers on the party at the wrong time. These guys are wise. thety know what is up. If a well armed party marches past them, they might be better off holding off on their attacks until after the party has wasted their spells and been hurt by other monsters. Their hide is 18 when in their natural environement ... which they should always be within ...
Finally - Ropers are strong. Very strong. 19 Strength. Those strands do not have to be used to grapple PCs. They can set off traps, snap ropes, close doors, and perform other interesting tasks.
Here is a sample encounter from a recent dungeon of mine (EL 16):
"The passage opens up into a fairly large natural stone cavern, roughly 60' across with a domes ceiling that reaches 60' high in the center. The chill you felt in the previous passage is much more pronounced in this chamber. In fact, the stalagmites and stalactites that fill most of the room seem to be covered in a light layer of frost. There are two other exits from this chamber. The three exits (including the one from which you just entered), are evenly spread around the room. Paths between the stalagmites wind down from each entrance and meet in the center of the room where a few square boulders have been piled together to form a crude set of tables and chairs."
There are three ropers living in this room. Each one lives on a separate elevated ledge, one near each exit. There are very few places in the chamber that all three ropers can not reach with their strands ... and there is no place that at least two of them can not reach.
The entire room is subject to a widened (element substitutution cold): fireball (CL 11) trap (CR 8) that is set off if anyone moves in the center 20' of the chamber. The ropers will begin combat by setting off the coldball trap and attempting to weaken any spellcasters until they are useless. They will also focus on ranged weapon wielders, but will ignore any melee combatant unless that combatant demonstrates an ability to reach them on their elevated perches, 20' up the side of the chamber.
First of all, they don't need a lot of movement. They can reach into every corner of a room that is a 110' diameter circle ... or up to 120' if you allow them their 5' adjustment. Why move when you can hit your targets at will anywhere where they can see you?
And speaking of designing their lairs ... why make them accessible via land? A roper on an island or a roper standing on a ledge can be much harder to handle. I once had a roper live in a ledge above the door to a 40' wide room. The PCs walked in .... and were trapped.
What about obstacles in the room? Well, the roper should be able to remove those obstacles pretty easily. A roper needs to set up its own defenses. If the room is not optimal for the roper, then you're not playing the roper intelligently enough. These are pretty intelligent creatures that are very wise and wiley.
Consider their other abilities as well when developing their lair. They are pretty resistant to cold and are completely resistant to electricity. Maybe they share their lair with creatures that use electric or cold area attacks?
They have SR 30 ... meaning they are immune to many caster level 10 and lower magic traps, including those that use fire. For instance: Fireball Trap: CR 5; magic device; touch trigger; automatic reset; spell effect (fireball, 8th-level wizard, 8d6 fire, DC 14 Reflex save half damage); Search DC 28; Disable Device DC 28. Cost: 12,000 gp, 960 XP. Black Tentacles Trap: CR 7; magic device; proximity trigger (alarm); no reset; spell effect (black tentacles, 7th-level wizard, 1d4+7 tentacles, Atk +7 melee [1d6+4, tentacle]); multiple targets (up to six tentacles per target in each of two adjacent 5-ft. squares); Search DC 29; Disable Device DC 29. Cost: 1,400 gp, 112 XP. Either of these reusable traps could prove very frustrating to a party that charges in to fight a roper. If you use an electrical trap, you don't even need to consider a caster level limit.
Many DMs spring ropers on the party at the wrong time. These guys are wise. thety know what is up. If a well armed party marches past them, they might be better off holding off on their attacks until after the party has wasted their spells and been hurt by other monsters. Their hide is 18 when in their natural environement ... which they should always be within ...
Finally - Ropers are strong. Very strong. 19 Strength. Those strands do not have to be used to grapple PCs. They can set off traps, snap ropes, close doors, and perform other interesting tasks.
Here is a sample encounter from a recent dungeon of mine (EL 16):
"The passage opens up into a fairly large natural stone cavern, roughly 60' across with a domes ceiling that reaches 60' high in the center. The chill you felt in the previous passage is much more pronounced in this chamber. In fact, the stalagmites and stalactites that fill most of the room seem to be covered in a light layer of frost. There are two other exits from this chamber. The three exits (including the one from which you just entered), are evenly spread around the room. Paths between the stalagmites wind down from each entrance and meet in the center of the room where a few square boulders have been piled together to form a crude set of tables and chairs."
There are three ropers living in this room. Each one lives on a separate elevated ledge, one near each exit. There are very few places in the chamber that all three ropers can not reach with their strands ... and there is no place that at least two of them can not reach.
The entire room is subject to a widened (element substitutution cold): fireball (CL 11) trap (CR 8) that is set off if anyone moves in the center 20' of the chamber. The ropers will begin combat by setting off the coldball trap and attempting to weaken any spellcasters until they are useless. They will also focus on ranged weapon wielders, but will ignore any melee combatant unless that combatant demonstrates an ability to reach them on their elevated perches, 20' up the side of the chamber.
My biggest problem with ropers is that almost everybody thinks they have tentacles. If you read their descriptions, they don't - merely six spots along their stalagmitelike bodies from which they can fire their sticky strands. It always bugs me when artists depict them with tentacles waving around.
Johnathan
Johnathan
Iron_Chef
First Post
I always preferred their cousin, the Storoper (aka Stone Roper) from 1e's Dungeon Module A3: Assault on the Aerie of the Slavelords. It paralyzed you with its tentacles, then reeled you in for the kill. Bill Willingham (one of my favorite 1e artists) had a beautiful B&W pen and ink illustration for it in the module that made it look really NASTY! 
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