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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 2344564" data-attributes="member: 2629">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.</blockquote>

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