I think the reason they doubled down on making a slightly modified stone roper the default version for 5th edition is to differentiate it more from the mimic. Since the mimic is already a sticky, amorphous ambush predator with pseudopods, they probably wanted something that wouldn't feel too similar, thus leaving out the stickiness and blobby-ness, and changing from tendrils to tentacles.
@@MrRhexx Oh yeah, I hadn't even thought of that; for some reason I thought they added that in MToF. But 5e really seems like they were trying to give each monster its own identity, such as having fewer variants of monsters in the MM, and make it less reliant on old built in lore, so as to make it more appealing to the new players they were trying to attract (even if they weren't always successful at that). So it makes sense to me why they change some stuff up; they want the roper to feel more unique as the "Monster Stalactite" as opposed to feeling like "yellow mimic" or "non-demon yochlol" or "gibbering mouther with arms"
My party got attacked by an evolved version of one of these on a train ride. It wouldn't keep its tentacles off us and kept making lewd mouth noises. It was a Groper.
In a game I was in we killed one of these on a mountain that if you died on it you were cursed to become a ghost. suffice to say we were ambushed by a ghost Roper several times.
@@marcogenovesi8570 she said it was a Eureka moment when she remembered that we killed it. That mountain was just plain evil to fight on. fortunately we broke the curse sending all of the ghosts to oblivion.
Read up on how geckos walk on ceilings...It's all about area of the cilia coverage, and assuming the Roper has a large enough base, there should be way more cilia than necessary to hold a ton.
I was going to comment exactly this, yeah. Geckos are friggin' insane, Vann Der Walls forces are crazy, a Roper could easily use cilia as described to move slowly. Probably like, snail speeds or slower, but completely feasible, and sensible for the creature's hunting habits.
Geckos don't weigh a ton. There's a reason why only small animals use this kind of method to make themsevels stick on ceilings. The friction created doesn't scale well.
@@d4n4nable I think it's worth pointing out that geckos only tend to use about 1% of their cilia at any time, and need even less to remain attached to a surface at rest. Presumably the extra strength is to make up for damaged hairs, and to stop much larger predators from wrenching them off of their perches (without killing the gecko first, anyway). I think it's fair to say that we can conceive of a much larger gecko-like creature, though eventually the square cube law would catch up with us, and we still need a certain amount of redundancy to make it biosphere-viable.
Yes! The new editors of 5e sure got the roper mixed up with a storoper (mainly because of past artworks and drawings). I had noticed a discrepancy with most artwork showing ropers with tentacles (even in 1ed). They should be strong sticky "rope-like" (thus the name) strands which are easily hidden by the creature or retracted into its body.
I think I actually prefer what 5e did with the Roper. It feels more like a cohesive creature and less like the hundreds of other blob monsters. As a bit of a side note I would like to say that I don't think it makes sense for it to be intelligent. It lives in caves where it's not going to have access to a regular supply of food. And I honestly feel like D&D has a bit of a problem with the over abundance of Sapient talking creatures in it. I mean it seems like you can't throw a rock without it hitting a talking badger or something. And once you've finished your conversation with the badger you then have to argue with the rock who didn't appreciate being thrown in such a manner. Now I have to admit that is funny, but I do feel that animals should most of the time just be animals.
I remember meeting one of these in 3.5 with my party of 3 people. I was a paladin and my friends were a Druid and a sorcerer if I recall correctly. The Roper tries to sneak attack us and it succeeds,we try to buy our lives out and offer fresh meat if he let us go. We were forced to go that way so we had to come back. We brought a donkey which we had taken at a close by village and I had like dozens of oil pots and alchemist’s fire. I put all the stuff in a brown sack and take it with me. We try to give the Roper the donkey along with other meat that we had in the sack,and when he was about to bite the donkey I throw the sack into his mouth and it explodes setting him on fire. Now mind that in 3.5 Roper had fire vulnerability and thanks to that play we had more than halved his total HP
Isn't Ropers one of those creatures that can easily wipe a party, or snowball them into a tpk at lower levels if played properly/DM not knowing their actual danger? I always thought that's the reason they gave them intelligence, so the party can reason or bribe them, or at least deceive them for enough time to counter the ambush.
Came very close to a party wipe in my last session with 2 Ropers against my 3 level 9 players. Killed one character and the other two were close when they Banished one roper and barely killed the second then ran. They seemed cool on paper. But I legit wasnt expecting them to be that dangerous. The main thing I found that makes them so dangerous is the reach of their tendrils. With just two ropers they can be super far apart and essentially cover like 200 feet with their tendrils and easily reel in and separate the party massively. Making it difficult to get to each other for healing and assistance.
@@TheGoondas87 Yeah, also it wrecks the PC action economy, as you either attack (with disadvantage), are restrained and need to break free, or need to save/assist someone else while you yourself are restrained. Wasting turns you are supposed to be pumping damage to race it down dealing with the tendrils that just grow back. It's a great design for a monster, but one of those that are a CR trap, as if played how they are meant to (surprise round, stuck on the roof or wall, no mercy) they are extremely harsh. Found them to be more memorable as a weird encounter instead. Two starving Ropers fighting each other over a grabbed pc (as they can't physically hurt each other) and bickering like children about who gets to eat, giving a chance for diplomacy. A Roper caught mid eating being embarrassed to be found not hiding, giving pc's directions or a shortcut for food. A roper on a ship (being the mast or the pointy thing at the front) being the captain or whatever the name for the one who manages the ship sails with ropes (gettit?). BBEG who reduces and enlarges a roper to fight. I either heard, or imagined a roper bartender. Which needs no explanation really. I really like Ropers btw hahaha
Yes, the Intelligence was supposed to be for communicating with them, because they have a love for philosophy and tales, and they will sometimes even keep entertaining adventurers as pets to entertain them with stories. Philosophical discussions can even be used to distract them while the rest of the party prepares to either GET OUT or to attack HARD.
@@Jonsoner what about a roper/stone giant dream walker hybrid? The ropes of the roper pulling creatures close to be attached to the stone giant’s body?
you should do a what they don't tell you about humans episode. I feel like human are every across the world but I don't know anything about their origins or lore.
Maybe that's why I was confused when he said that. Because I've played since 3.5 and always remember the stone one being the primary version. But I've played PF a lot more recently than 3.5 so maybe that's why I think of the others as variants.
I had my players go through a section of caves under an Underdark city (Ultoksamrin), and it was full of Ropers, Piercers, Darkmantles, Cave Fishers, and Chwidencha. Dropped 3 of the 4 PCs at various stages of combat. We all had sooooooo much fun though. They got to fight a High Priestess of Lolth at the end. Our Warlock (Hexbalde) 1v1'd her while the others were dealing with the mess of Adds. She messed him up bad and he had to go invisible and hide for a round and try distractions, but ended up doing a sweet misty step behind her to get the killing blow (decapitation of course, it's kinda his thing). Was cinematic as fuck.
In my campaigns (2E base), Ropers are part of a classification of monsters that includes mimics. Piercers are A&D mollusks. AD&D started sh^tting the bed when WotC absorbed TSR. There will be probably 3 new editions every generation now. I mean, these formerly smart monsters once being the non-demon form of Yochlol wasn't an accident. I never really liked Ropers, but I like what they became even less.
perhaps the 5e lore is implying that in this continuity the storoper have become the dominate breed, since each edition is it's own continuity as much as it is a continuation, storoper and roper cross breeding on mass = 5e roper if you have to explain it for a cohesive lore
I feel like you should be compiling a Master Monster Manual filled with the comprehensive lore and resulting stat blocks made from the combined lore for each entry. Sure, it would be a big book and might even need a multi-volume release, but it would be worth it. I'd be willing to obtain a series of monster manuals like this even if divided into creature typing (i.e. Celestial, Fiend, Fey, Elemental, Devil, Draconic, etc.).
They lost intelligence because everyone treats them as dumb animals. With their ambush tactics, unless an adventuring group has dungeneering talking to something that just grabbed the wizard just won't occur to many groups.
As if Ropers weren't dangerous enough already, now they can stun you with a Mind Blast before dragging you in with their strength-sapping strands! And once you're reeled in, they can just extract your brain in one round! How freaking terrifying is that!? O_O'
I've waited for this video, and that there's another version that kamakzis itself from the ceiling is honestly comical when you're not the one it drops on.
Well, you can turn into an Owlbear as a Druid in 3.5, given you have the feat (which you have lots of)... And since 3.5 is the one and only D&D version to play, the movie is right in that instance.
For my fellow DMs; I used a beefed up version( environmental hazards + choppable regenerating hp tentacles ) for 3 man + NPCs level 14 party as the BBEG. Such a fun but challenging boss fight! Highly recommend
Just found the channel, I have to say, despite not really being a tabletop D&D player (only really played CRPGs in the setting like baldur's gate/icewind dale/planescape: torment), your channel is an incredible treasure trove of information about D&D.
2000 lb divided between thousands of scillia means each scillia needs to hold less than 2 lb each; probably even less than 1 lb. Sounds plausible to me.
I think the 20 AC might be in reference to the AD&D Roper's 0 AC. It really is a weird mashup of both kinds, which isn't as weird as you'd think when D&D has had the likes of Pyrolisks, Foulverns, and Gulgothydras.
@MrRhexx have you considered doing your own monster manual? Getting accurate monster info is definitely worth what I'd pay on the current MM. And I'd definitely buy a hard copy if it held what your videos do. I do tend to research planned monster encounters, but sometimes when you need to improvise, it's handier to have a book on hand than to look for the video.
@@konradcurze394 not saying he should call it the Monster Manual, but the a What They Don't Tell You book. Like he did with dragons, but with everything else. Maybe what they don't tell you about monstrosities or what they don't tell you about undead. If he makes a book about all monsters it'd be thicker than the Manhattan phone book. That should be legal right?
4:10 this is the same mechanism geckos use to hold themselves up. And i seem to recall there was a patent for a material using the same principles that could up to 1 yon some years back. These forces are a lot stronger than you might think. Although. It might be more plausible if it had a much wider surface area.
Hello Mr. Rhexx! Love the content. Here's an interesting video idea: instead of doing the whole power creep thing, how about the other end of the spectrum? What are some of the weakest monsters / things in the Forgotten Realms?
Very informative video sir! Back in 3.5e a group of 3 ropers ambushed a party of 10+lvl adventurers & nearly TPK'd them! In my campaign (using their high int) were used by drow as guards & were fed slaves that couldn't do their job anymore. My PCs hadn't encountered them before that session & they were brought back "down-to-earth" literally. Ropers are NASTEE. Recently 3d printed several & intend to use them in a new undermountain encounter. Pray for those PCs!
My answer for the drop of Intellect to 7 is 2 fold. First being solitary ambush hunters they don't really need a much of a brain. "See food. Wait for the right moment. Snack time". Second the Spell Plague. These were magical creatures in their own way. As a result of the Spell Plague they could have not only lost those abilities but been driven insane to boot.
5e Druids cannot become Owlbears however I don’t believe it’s stated that this film takes place in 5e. Heck from the movie poster this could be some weird D&D Pathfinder crossover. P.S. please make a hobgoblin video
If I remember correctly, some people have said that there might be some new DnD content dropping with the movie, one of them being the monstrosity druid. Do take this with a grain of salt as I don't know if it is true.
Hey, the DM is allowed to bend and break the rules and allow the druid to use a monstrosity's form. Especially when you are trying lure in some new players with the awesome weirdness that is our game. What is more fun to see on the screen? A giant ape or something unique like an owlbear?
WotC stated they don’t care about lore nor do they want players to care about it, just do whatever you want. And that each edition is a separate universe of its own lore, none of the editions are supposed to connect at all in lore. This came from Chris Perkins
I haven't watched the video yet but I remember you talking about this thing in you mind flayers video at the beginning of your dnd videos. That was the first time I had seen one of these and your brief intro to it plus what they did to these things was golden my dude 🤣. Anyways keep up the good work and can't wait to enjoy this video
Dood I love how he says Da-lick-a-sea. I'm not mocking him just puts a smile on my face when ever I hear it. Also am I the only one but I can't place his accent for the life of me I always thought I was good at that. Anyway enough babbling love your content can't wait to see more peace.
The artwork at 18:48 is the cover art on the last book in the Wheel of Time book series titled A Memory of Light. The sword he is holding there looks weird because it’s made of crystal
My character actually befriended one of these guys. It was very fun trying to figure out if we could understand each other since we spoke two different dialects of primordial. Then it spoke about eating humans and everything got even funnier
9:51 ... I was like, what am I looking at? And then my Disney sense started tingling, I focused and realization crash over me like a wave. That's what that is. Tell me I'm wrong! lol
As always, very informative and interesting, Thanks MrRhexx. Keep up the good work, you are one of my main source of information for forgotten realm lore. 🙂
I loved it! Could you do otyughs and neo otyughs they're just so cool to me for some reason. By the way, thank you for the information on what a group of ropers is called!
I'm curious what the source is for the art at 14:26 or so (the black and white with the adventurers surrounded by three ropers who don't have tentacles out). I can't find it :/
This is one of the best D & D lore channels. You do your research. I have a suggestion: How about a lore video about the "real world" and its place in D & D canon. I remember all those "Wizard's Three" articles from Dragon magazine that took place on Earth. There are a few other references too. I seem to remember a module where you stole the Mace of St. Cuthbert from the British Museum.
I once had a game where we had to go in an abandoned castle to find sacred treasure but the catch was it full of ropers and mimics. Let's say my first game of DnD was not fun
I haven't watched the whole video yet, but I think I made a creature like this, based on a albino mole, and it drags you into it's fox-sized hole to feed the colony
Easy 'fix' if you want your modem ropers to be more like old school ropers - treat them like hermit crabs, with gooey bodies beneath a stoney exterior collected from their environment. Or alternatively, if they can digest 'anything', why would they be so keen on hunting living creatures? Rather, they hunting living things for nourishment, while mineral stuff gets processed into their rocky outer layer. Either way, you can play your ropers like ropers, while maintaining the modern stroper appearance.
If the Roper's "sticky cilia" use Van der Waal's forces in the same way that gecko feet do, then holding up a ton of weight could theoretically be done with less than 1ft² of surface area on a smooth surface. It's an incredibly powerful adhesive technique.
Tasslehoff Burrfoot referred to these things as Stalig Mites. The party didn't run into any, and just dismissed them as "kender tales". (Dragonlance: Dragons of the Dwarven Depths novel)
The reason everything changed so much in D&D lore. (outside of new writers who were forced to crunch out content in time for launch) the Multiverse was literately rearranged..... TWICE.... with an entire new plane of existence coming into existence. the Planes of dread moved into it, and all of it acting like it always was this way................. so ya, some things changed with it to match the new reality. Remember several D&D ancient races like the Lashay, the spellweavers, and the Mind flayers came from existences, that no longer "exist"
Not sure if you will see this, but I ran the numbers on whether or not their cilia could realistically hold their metric ton of weight. If we use a gecko's feet as a bases for aversive strength and assume it's contact area is approximately a 10 ft wide circle, yes they totally could hold themselves on the ceiling. In fact there would be more than enough adhesive force left over that they would be virtually impossible to forcefully remove from the rock by normal means.
I think they changed the roper/peircer lore (specifically peircers being roper babies) is just because it makes sense, and they probably liked it more to have them be 1 thing than 2 separate species
the cilia make perfect sense. They would massively increase the surface area for friction and could grip to the millions of microscopic imperfections in the rock.
I have heard that only an archdruid can be an owlbear, but owlbears are not of nature to begin with soo im not sure maybe if she had lvl12 spells but they dont work anymore sooooo
I find it fascinating that 5E ropers have 16 Wisdom. They are very wise. For comparison, here are the Wisdom scores of some other creatures in 5E: Sahuagin Priestesses: 14 Wisdom Githzerai Monks: 14 Wisdom Flumphs ("beings of great intelligence and wisdom"): 14 Wisdom Druids (generic NPC stat block): 15 Wisdom Lizardfolk Shamans: 15 Wisdom Ancient Silver Dragons: 15 Wisdom
"Can druids turn into owlbears" I don't see why not. They've intermittently been considered beast types and the most reputable accounts suggest they ought to be considered beasts rather than monstrosities.
Roper: **Grabs adventurer** Adventurer: **lets out an aroused squeak** Roper: “what?” Adventurer: “what?” **Combat ends because the Roper is too uncomfortable to continue**
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Still waiting for episode about oni. Like, do they originate from Vaprak, like trolls and ogres?
I hope you make a video on half-dragons.
Would be a good excuse to advertise your book several times in a video lol.
@@Dahaka-rd6tw YES
Please do kenku
Do vampires
I think the reason they doubled down on making a slightly modified stone roper the default version for 5th edition is to differentiate it more from the mimic. Since the mimic is already a sticky, amorphous ambush predator with pseudopods, they probably wanted something that wouldn't feel too similar, thus leaving out the stickiness and blobby-ness, and changing from tendrils to tentacles.
Good observation.
and Yochlol, 5e Yochlol look literally the same as 1e Roper
wait until you see the yochlol
@@MrRhexx hmmm I smell a next video?
@@MrRhexx Oh yeah, I hadn't even thought of that; for some reason I thought they added that in MToF. But 5e really seems like they were trying to give each monster its own identity, such as having fewer variants of monsters in the MM, and make it less reliant on old built in lore, so as to make it more appealing to the new players they were trying to attract (even if they weren't always successful at that). So it makes sense to me why they change some stuff up; they want the roper to feel more unique as the "Monster Stalactite" as opposed to feeling like "yellow mimic" or "non-demon yochlol" or "gibbering mouther with arms"
My party got attacked by an evolved version of one of these on a train ride. It wouldn't keep its tentacles off us and kept making lewd mouth noises. It was a Groper.
In a game I was in we killed one of these on a mountain that if you died on it you were cursed to become a ghost. suffice to say we were ambushed by a ghost Roper several times.
The DM was playing 4D chess
That's vicious, wow bet that game was amazing.
Huh, you'd think in such a region there would then be several thousand ghost bats. Amongst many, many other things.
@@marcogenovesi8570 she said it was a Eureka moment when she remembered that we killed it. That mountain was just plain evil to fight on. fortunately we broke the curse sending all of the ghosts to oblivion.
@@ginger-ham4800 yep our cleric earned his keep there
So it's officially fair to say that a pack of Ropers can effectively be called a Clusterfuck? Yes.
Now that's a horrible sight to see 🤢
Only while mating
@@marcopohl4875 beat me to it
@@xenostar6482by 8 months lol
@@marcopohl4875 no, the video said they reproduce asexually. they basically grow a fleshly egg on the outside of their body and drop it.
The word for the ropers "trance" is torpor. Thanks for all of your work! We appreciate it;
A storoper torpor?
Roper methuselahs
A storoper torpor of proper proportion.
Read up on how geckos walk on ceilings...It's all about area of the cilia coverage, and assuming the Roper has a large enough base, there should be way more cilia than necessary to hold a ton.
Thank you.
I was going to comment exactly this, yeah. Geckos are friggin' insane, Vann Der Walls forces are crazy, a Roper could easily use cilia as described to move slowly. Probably like, snail speeds or slower, but completely feasible, and sensible for the creature's hunting habits.
I thought they stick like barnacles with what is basically super glue.
Geckos don't weigh a ton. There's a reason why only small animals use this kind of method to make themsevels stick on ceilings. The friction created doesn't scale well.
@@d4n4nable I think it's worth pointing out that geckos only tend to use about 1% of their cilia at any time, and need even less to remain attached to a surface at rest. Presumably the extra strength is to make up for damaged hairs, and to stop much larger predators from wrenching them off of their perches (without killing the gecko first, anyway). I think it's fair to say that we can conceive of a much larger gecko-like creature, though eventually the square cube law would catch up with us, and we still need a certain amount of redundancy to make it biosphere-viable.
Yes! The new editors of 5e sure got the roper mixed up with a storoper (mainly because of past artworks and drawings). I had noticed a discrepancy with most artwork showing ropers with tentacles (even in 1ed). They should be strong sticky "rope-like" (thus the name) strands which are easily hidden by the creature or retracted into its body.
I think I actually prefer what 5e did with the Roper. It feels more like a cohesive creature and less like the hundreds of other blob monsters.
As a bit of a side note I would like to say that I don't think it makes sense for it to be intelligent. It lives in caves where it's not going to have access to a regular supply of food. And I honestly feel like D&D has a bit of a problem with the over abundance of Sapient talking creatures in it. I mean it seems like you can't throw a rock without it hitting a talking badger or something. And once you've finished your conversation with the badger you then have to argue with the rock who didn't appreciate being thrown in such a manner.
Now I have to admit that is funny, but I do feel that animals should most of the time just be animals.
Talking badgers, magic dragons and ancient wizards. I bet talking trees end up making it into this game huh
Agreed 😁
I remember meeting one of these in 3.5 with my party of 3 people. I was a paladin and my friends were a Druid and a sorcerer if I recall correctly. The Roper tries to sneak attack us and it succeeds,we try to buy our lives out and offer fresh meat if he let us go. We were forced to go that way so we had to come back. We brought a donkey which we had taken at a close by village and I had like dozens of oil pots and alchemist’s fire. I put all the stuff in a brown sack and take it with me. We try to give the Roper the donkey along with other meat that we had in the sack,and when he was about to bite the donkey I throw the sack into his mouth and it explodes setting him on fire. Now mind that in 3.5 Roper had fire vulnerability and thanks to that play we had more than halved his total HP
Isn't Ropers one of those creatures that can easily wipe a party, or snowball them into a tpk at lower levels if played properly/DM not knowing their actual danger?
I always thought that's the reason they gave them intelligence, so the party can reason or bribe them, or at least deceive them for enough time to counter the ambush.
Tricking a roper by promising not to scream and alert the "even bigger meal," like the troll under the bridge sounds like a fun encounter.
Came very close to a party wipe in my last session with 2 Ropers against my 3 level 9 players. Killed one character and the other two were close when they Banished one roper and barely killed the second then ran.
They seemed cool on paper. But I legit wasnt expecting them to be that dangerous.
The main thing I found that makes them so dangerous is the reach of their tendrils. With just two ropers they can be super far apart and essentially cover like 200 feet with their tendrils and easily reel in and separate the party massively. Making it difficult to get to each other for healing and assistance.
@@TheGoondas87 Yeah, also it wrecks the PC action economy, as you either attack (with disadvantage), are restrained and need to break free, or need to save/assist someone else while you yourself are restrained. Wasting turns you are supposed to be pumping damage to race it down dealing with the tendrils that just grow back.
It's a great design for a monster, but one of those that are a CR trap, as if played how they are meant to (surprise round, stuck on the roof or wall, no mercy) they are extremely harsh.
Found them to be more memorable as a weird encounter instead.
Two starving Ropers fighting each other over a grabbed pc (as they can't physically hurt each other) and bickering like children about who gets to eat, giving a chance for diplomacy.
A Roper caught mid eating being embarrassed to be found not hiding, giving pc's directions or a shortcut for food.
A roper on a ship (being the mast or the pointy thing at the front) being the captain or whatever the name for the one who manages the ship sails with ropes (gettit?).
BBEG who reduces and enlarges a roper to fight.
I either heard, or imagined a roper bartender. Which needs no explanation really.
I really like Ropers btw hahaha
Yes, the Intelligence was supposed to be for communicating with them, because they have a love for philosophy and tales, and they will sometimes even keep entertaining adventurers as pets to entertain them with stories. Philosophical discussions can even be used to distract them while the rest of the party prepares to either GET OUT or to attack HARD.
@@Jonsoner what about a roper/stone giant dream walker hybrid? The ropes of the roper pulling creatures close to be attached to the stone giant’s body?
you should do a what they don't tell you about humans episode. I feel like human are every across the world but I don't know anything about their origins or lore.
5e is not the only edition that defaulted to the stone roper, PF1 and 2 did as well...
Maybe that's why I was confused when he said that. Because I've played since 3.5 and always remember the stone one being the primary version. But I've played PF a lot more recently than 3.5 so maybe that's why I think of the others as variants.
I had my players go through a section of caves under an Underdark city (Ultoksamrin), and it was full of Ropers, Piercers, Darkmantles, Cave Fishers, and Chwidencha. Dropped 3 of the 4 PCs at various stages of combat. We all had sooooooo much fun though. They got to fight a High Priestess of Lolth at the end. Our Warlock (Hexbalde) 1v1'd her while the others were dealing with the mess of Adds. She messed him up bad and he had to go invisible and hide for a round and try distractions, but ended up doing a sweet misty step behind her to get the killing blow (decapitation of course, it's kinda his thing). Was cinematic as fuck.
Ran into one of these with a level 4 party. If not for some alchemist's fire and mercy from the DM, it would've been a TPK. Such a great monster!
Roper al lvl 4 ? DM was and asshole or wanted to humble ya all
In my campaigns (2E base), Ropers are part of a classification of monsters that includes mimics. Piercers are A&D mollusks. AD&D started sh^tting the bed when WotC absorbed TSR. There will be probably 3 new editions every generation now.
I mean, these formerly smart monsters once being the non-demon form of Yochlol wasn't an accident. I never really liked Ropers, but I like what they became even less.
You forgot the most terrifying variant, Urophion, a Mind Flayer Roper
perhaps the 5e lore is implying that in this continuity the storoper have become the dominate breed, since each edition is it's own continuity as much as it is a continuation, storoper and roper cross breeding on mass = 5e roper if you have to explain it for a cohesive lore
I feel like you should be compiling a Master Monster Manual filled with the comprehensive lore and resulting stat blocks made from the combined lore for each entry. Sure, it would be a big book and might even need a multi-volume release, but it would be worth it. I'd be willing to obtain a series of monster manuals like this even if divided into creature typing (i.e. Celestial, Fiend, Fey, Elemental, Devil, Draconic, etc.).
Awesome video as always! One of my players died last session to a roper... Let's just hope the rest of the party doesn't run into a cluster!
I listen to your videos almost every night as I go to sleep. Always so stoked for a new one!! 😄😄
They lost intelligence because everyone treats them as dumb animals. With their ambush tactics, unless an adventuring group has dungeneering talking to something that just grabbed the wizard just won't occur to many groups.
There is a mindflayer Roper variant as well.
"that is why we cannot have nice things, they turned ROPERS into their kind!"(c) real quote from mind flayer video
Yeah mr Rhexx hates ropers especially that version
Urophions are just redundant, you’re adding too many tentacles!
It's been a while but if I remember correctly they are treated like watchdogs despite being just as intelligent as the rest.
As if Ropers weren't dangerous enough already, now they can stun you with a Mind Blast before dragging you in with their strength-sapping strands! And once you're reeled in, they can just extract your brain in one round! How freaking terrifying is that!? O_O'
I've waited for this video, and that there's another version that kamakzis itself from the ceiling is honestly comical when you're not the one it drops on.
They just wanna give you a hug
Well, you can turn into an Owlbear as a Druid in 3.5, given you have the feat (which you have lots of)... And since 3.5 is the one and only D&D version to play, the movie is right in that instance.
I am so glad I got this notification today
For my fellow DMs; I used a beefed up version( environmental hazards + choppable regenerating hp tentacles ) for 3 man + NPCs level 14 party as the BBEG. Such a fun but challenging boss fight! Highly recommend
Just found the channel, I have to say, despite not really being a tabletop D&D player (only really played CRPGs in the setting like baldur's gate/icewind dale/planescape: torment), your channel is an incredible treasure trove of information about D&D.
Without these videos i wouldn't be able to be apart of the community. Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication 💜
A group of Ropers will always be a Knot to me. 😆
Afrayed knot.
Awesome Video. Platinum Dragon video hope never dies.
2000 lb divided between thousands of scillia means each scillia needs to hold less than 2 lb each; probably even less than 1 lb. Sounds plausible to me.
"The tentacles can charm."
I'm sorry, but I'm *not* running that.
I think the 20 AC might be in reference to the AD&D Roper's 0 AC. It really is a weird mashup of both kinds, which isn't as weird as you'd think when D&D has had the likes of Pyrolisks, Foulverns, and Gulgothydras.
@MrRhexx have you considered doing your own monster manual? Getting accurate monster info is definitely worth what I'd pay on the current MM. And I'd definitely buy a hard copy if it held what your videos do. I do tend to research planned monster encounters, but sometimes when you need to improvise, it's handier to have a book on hand than to look for the video.
Legal issues with selling that.
@@konradcurze394 not saying he should call it the Monster Manual, but the a What They Don't Tell You book. Like he did with dragons, but with everything else. Maybe what they don't tell you about monstrosities or what they don't tell you about undead. If he makes a book about all monsters it'd be thicker than the Manhattan phone book. That should be legal right?
DEFINITELY a book i would buy!!
first good thing to happen today! thanks Rhexx!
4:10 this is the same mechanism geckos use to hold themselves up. And i seem to recall there was a patent for a material using the same principles that could up to 1 yon some years back. These forces are a lot stronger than you might think. Although. It might be more plausible if it had a much wider surface area.
Hello Mr. Rhexx! Love the content. Here's an interesting video idea: instead of doing the whole power creep thing, how about the other end of the spectrum? What are some of the weakest monsters / things in the Forgotten Realms?
Very informative video sir! Back in 3.5e a group of 3 ropers ambushed a party of 10+lvl adventurers & nearly TPK'd them! In my campaign (using their high int) were used by drow as guards & were fed slaves that couldn't do their job anymore. My PCs hadn't encountered them before that session & they were brought back "down-to-earth" literally. Ropers are NASTEE.
Recently 3d printed several & intend to use them in a new undermountain encounter. Pray for those PCs!
My answer for the drop of Intellect to 7 is 2 fold.
First being solitary ambush hunters they don't really need a much of a brain. "See food. Wait for the right moment. Snack time".
Second the Spell Plague. These were magical creatures in their own way. As a result of the Spell Plague they could have not only lost those abilities but been driven insane to boot.
I just painted one of these! Perfect timing!
5e Druids cannot become Owlbears however I don’t believe it’s stated that this film takes place in 5e. Heck from the movie poster this could be some weird D&D Pathfinder crossover.
P.S. please make a hobgoblin video
If I remember correctly, some people have said that there might be some new DnD content dropping with the movie, one of them being the monstrosity druid. Do take this with a grain of salt as I don't know if it is true.
Hey, the DM is allowed to bend and break the rules and allow the druid to use a monstrosity's form. Especially when you are trying lure in some new players with the awesome weirdness that is our game. What is more fun to see on the screen? A giant ape or something unique like an owlbear?
in older edition, Druid can't even turn into a normal bear, just a bear cub, they literally can't fight in wildshaped form, and is a much worse cleric
The new movie is advertising 5.5e rules, which will follow a few months after.
@@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself maybe higher level 20
WotC stated they don’t care about lore nor do they want players to care about it, just do whatever you want. And that each edition is a separate universe of its own lore, none of the editions are supposed to connect at all in lore. This came from Chris Perkins
😢
The pathfinder one is my favorite... Strong and clever
Love these guys! TO THE CLIFFS, PLAYER. 😂
I haven't watched the video yet but I remember you talking about this thing in you mind flayers video at the beginning of your dnd videos. That was the first time I had seen one of these and your brief intro to it plus what they did to these things was golden my dude 🤣. Anyways keep up the good work and can't wait to enjoy this video
Imma be honest Rhexx... ..that segway into the NordVPN deal was 10/10 .. good work ^^
I was just thinking of going to watch one of you vids and boom new upload!
Dood I love how he says Da-lick-a-sea. I'm not mocking him just puts a smile on my face when ever I hear it. Also am I the only one but I can't place his accent for the life of me I always thought I was good at that. Anyway enough babbling love your content can't wait to see more peace.
hahaha I am glad you enjoy it. I was born and raised in Panama!
@@MrRhexx Here's to your first million subs and f-ck it 3 or 4 more.
It is a sexy voice. 😅
The artwork at 18:48 is the cover art on the last book in the Wheel of Time book series titled A Memory of Light. The sword he is holding there looks weird because it’s made of crystal
Callandor, right? I haven't read that series in years.
@@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself correct
I don't play d n d but I do love your videos and learning about the creatures/character connected to this game
My character actually befriended one of these guys. It was very fun trying to figure out if we could understand each other since we spoke two different dialects of primordial. Then it spoke about eating humans and everything got even funnier
Uuuuuu... Great new video as I come home
9:51 ... I was like, what am I looking at? And then my Disney sense started tingling, I focused and realization crash over me like a wave. That's what that is. Tell me I'm wrong! lol
O.o
Yup...
You are correct.
As always, very informative and interesting, Thanks MrRhexx. Keep up the good work, you are one of my main source of information for forgotten realm lore. 🙂
I love having ropers just slap the snot out of spellcasters. They are great when placed in a narrow space, so PCs can't easily surround it.
I check every single day if you post a new video. Thank you sir.
I loved it! Could you do otyughs and neo otyughs they're just so cool to me for some reason. By the way, thank you for the information on what a group of ropers is called!
The whole glue aspect, makes me wonder if they have any relation to mimics.
I suspect ropers, mimics and cloakers are all related.
Giant Sundew would be closer.
They untap when you gain life and not during your upkeep
Untap and Upkeep are separate steps.
one of the smoothest segways to a sponsor ever
Been waiting for you to make a video on ropers since you mentioned them in the mindflayer pt2 video.
Awesome monster video once again my friend.
I'm curious what the source is for the art at 14:26 or so (the black and white with the adventurers surrounded by three ropers who don't have tentacles out). I can't find it :/
the ropers are related to the mimic and darkmantle in my headcannon
**Giant Sundew go pffft!**
This is one of the best D & D lore channels. You do your research. I have a suggestion: How about a lore video about the "real world" and its place in D & D canon. I remember all those "Wizard's Three" articles from Dragon magazine that took place on Earth. There are a few other references too. I seem to remember a module where you stole the Mace of St. Cuthbert from the British Museum.
I once had a game where we had to go in an abandoned castle to find sacred treasure but the catch was it full of ropers and mimics. Let's say my first game of DnD was not fun
That sounds like tons of fun
I freaking LOVE this monster!!!
I haven't watched the whole video yet, but I think I made a creature like this, based on a albino mole, and it drags you into it's fox-sized hole to feed the colony
Thanks for the video on Ropers! Ended up using them in a dungeon which has scarred my players away from stalagmites now
Easy 'fix' if you want your modem ropers to be more like old school ropers - treat them like hermit crabs, with gooey bodies beneath a stoney exterior collected from their environment. Or alternatively, if they can digest 'anything', why would they be so keen on hunting living creatures? Rather, they hunting living things for nourishment, while mineral stuff gets processed into their rocky outer layer.
Either way, you can play your ropers like ropers, while maintaining the modern stroper appearance.
I watched every episode of Three's Company when I was young so I know all about both Mr. AND Mrs. Roper. That's wonderful! (No one is gonna get this )
Come and knock on the door
a roper's waiting for you
It'll grab you, eat you, and your 3 friends too
The original Piercer is one of my favorite D&D monsters and I am not happy how 5e threw it under the bus to make this new larval form for the Roper.
The Disadvantage on Grapples it gives is EXACTLY why Lucky ISN'T over-powered...
12:17 so, if you weigh over 750lb, would the roper drag itself to you instead?
Maybe meet in the middle somewhere?
< Calculates conservation of momentum .. ugh, friction .. >
Yes?
yknow, the more i see these dnd creatures the more i remember a game i used to play all the time, a mmo known as everquest 2
If the Roper's "sticky cilia" use Van der Waal's forces in the same way that gecko feet do, then holding up a ton of weight could theoretically be done with less than 1ft² of surface area on a smooth surface. It's an incredibly powerful adhesive technique.
Tasslehoff Burrfoot referred to these things as Stalig Mites. The party didn't run into any, and just dismissed them as "kender tales". (Dragonlance: Dragons of the Dwarven Depths novel)
The reason everything changed so much in D&D lore. (outside of new writers who were forced to crunch out content in time for launch) the Multiverse was literately rearranged..... TWICE.... with an entire new plane of existence coming into existence. the Planes of dread moved into it, and all of it acting like it always was this way................. so ya, some things changed with it to match the new reality. Remember several D&D ancient races like the Lashay, the spellweavers, and the Mind flayers came from existences, that no longer "exist"
Not sure if you will see this, but I ran the numbers on whether or not their cilia could realistically hold their metric ton of weight. If we use a gecko's feet as a bases for aversive strength and assume it's contact area is approximately a 10 ft wide circle, yes they totally could hold themselves on the ceiling. In fact there would be more than enough adhesive force left over that they would be virtually impossible to forcefully remove from the rock by normal means.
Ive played DnD for 30 years, and never encountered a roper, not once.
That was unusual to link the dangerous world of DnD with using a VPN. :) Well composed.
I think they changed the roper/peircer lore (specifically peircers being roper babies) is just because it makes sense, and they probably liked it more to have them be 1 thing than 2 separate species
I can't stop imagining ropers having territorial conflicts with mimics
the cilia make perfect sense. They would massively increase the surface area for friction and could grip to the millions of microscopic imperfections in the rock.
I love all MrRhexx videos!
A group of Ropers should be called: A Groper! Wait…nvm…
Thank you for the work
I have heard that only an archdruid can be an owlbear, but owlbears are not of nature to begin with soo im not sure maybe if she had lvl12 spells but they dont work anymore sooooo
Forgot to mention that the Roper’s favorite food is gnome.
They wouldn't like my world. Gnomes don't exist there.
@@gustaafargoan They'd make do with kobolds, I imagine.
dude what amazing videos.
It would be interesting to have a regular roper wander into a town eating everyone it can touch and having a party of low levels trying to stop it.
That moment when the DM says "It's going to try to rope you."
There's a D&D movie coming out? I'm really out of the loop.
I try not to get roped into all of that.
The trailer is actually quite good. I'm getting Guardians of the Galaxy vibe.
It's more of a long commercial for 5.5e than a movie.
Also "this was established lore for several editions but they decided to change it in 5e for some reason" is a common 5e theme.
I find it fascinating that 5E ropers have 16 Wisdom. They are very wise. For comparison, here are the Wisdom scores of some other creatures in 5E:
Sahuagin Priestesses: 14 Wisdom
Githzerai Monks: 14 Wisdom
Flumphs ("beings of great intelligence and wisdom"): 14 Wisdom
Druids (generic NPC stat block): 15 Wisdom
Lizardfolk Shamans: 15 Wisdom
Ancient Silver Dragons: 15 Wisdom
I remember the old Skyrim videos you use to make I was probably in 7th grade and now I’ve graduated
"Can druids turn into owlbears"
I don't see why not. They've intermittently been considered beast types and the most reputable accounts suggest they ought to be considered beasts rather than monstrosities.
Disclaimer: Keep all ropers away from weebs if possible.
Roper: **Grabs adventurer**
Adventurer: **lets out an aroused squeak**
Roper: “what?”
Adventurer: “what?”
**Combat ends because the Roper is too uncomfortable to continue**
@@InquisitorThomas *Recommendation: Have weebs to counter the ropers.
Feed the weebs TO ropers
You misspelled bards
@@jacthing1 you misspelled furries