Roper 5e: The Stalagmite That Reels You In

A roper is a CR 5 Large monster with AC 20, 93 hit points, a walking speed of only 10 feet and sticky tendrils that grab characters from 50 feet away (60 in the 2024 rules). Each turn it grapples, uses Reel to drag every grabbed creature toward it, and bites. The 2014 roper looks exactly like a stalagmite while it holds still (False Appearance) and its tendrils restrain. The 2024 roper is an Aberration, loses False Appearance, poisons the characters it holds and bites twice.

Table of Contents

• •Roper Stat Block (2014)
• •The Roper in the 2024 Rules
• •How Ropers Fight
• •Running a Roper Encounter
• •How Players Beat a Roper
• •Roper Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Roper Stat Block (2014)

This is the roper from SRD 5.1, matching the 2014 Monster Manual.

Read the tendril rules closely. Each tendril attack (+7, reach 50 feet) that hits grapples the target (escape DC 15). Until the grapple ends, the target is restrained and has disadvantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws. The roper can hold up to six tendrils, and each one is its own object to break: AC 20, 10 hit points, immune to poison and psychic damage. Breaking one doesn't hurt the roper, and it grows a new one on its next turn. A creature can also break a tendril with an action and a DC 15 Strength check.

False Appearance means a motionless roper is indistinguishable from a normal cave formation. A Perception check doesn't reveal it, because there is nothing to see. The party walks into range unaware, and in the 2014 rules a surprised character can't move or take an action on its first turn.

The Roper in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 roper (SRD 5.2.1) keeps the same AC, hit points, ability scores, skills and CR, but changes almost everything about how its grab works.

The three changes that matter most:

• •Poisoned replaces Restrained. A 2014 victim is easy to hit (attacks against it have Advantage) and can still try Acrobatics to escape without penalty. A 2024 victim isn't easier to hit, but the Poisoned condition gives Disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks, including every check to escape.
• •No False Appearance. The 2024 roper hides with Stealth (+5) like anything else. Under the 2024 Hide action that's a DC 15 check made while Heavily Obscured or behind three-quarters cover, so it succeeds on a 10 or higher (55%). In a dark cavern full of stalagmites, that's easy to arrange.
• •Fewer grabs, more bites. Two tentacles grab fewer characters, but two 17-damage bites (34 total) outdamage one 22-damage bite, even after losing the Advantage that Restrained gave the 2014 roper.

Because the 2024 roper is an Aberration, Protection from Evil and Good works against it (it has Disadvantage on attacks against the warded creature). Against the 2014 roper, a Monstrosity, it does nothing.

How Ropers Fight

The Reel math. Multiattack goes in a fixed order: grab, Reel, bite. Reel pulls every grappled creature straight toward the roper. That gives each edition a "same-turn kill zone":

A character grabbed from farther away is pulled closer this turn and bitten next turn, unless the party frees them first. That gap is the party's window, and you should make it clear: describe the tendril dragging the character across the stone.

Grab first, then focus. Against AC 16 a +7 attack hits on a 9 or higher, 60% of the time. The 2014 roper's four tendril attacks land about 2.4 grabs a turn, so most of a four-person party can be held by the end of round 1. The 2024 roper lands about 1.2 grabs a turn and compensates with damage:

Restrained gives the 2014 roper Advantage on its bite. Grappled and Poisoned don't give the 2024 roper Advantage, but it bites twice.

Escape math. Escaping takes an action and an Athletics or Acrobatics check against the escape DC:

In 2014, the tendril's penalty applies only to Strength checks, so a character with good Acrobatics should use it. In 2024, Poisoned penalizes every ability check, and the better plan is often for an ally to destroy the tentacle.

Hunt from the ceiling. Spider Climb lets a roper cling to the ceiling. Reel pulls "straight toward it," so a character grabbed by a ceiling roper is lifted into the air. If an ally then breaks the tendril, the character falls. A 30-foot drop is 3d6 bludgeoning damage. That's a real decision for the party, and the roper doesn't care either way.

Never chase. A roper moves 10 feet a turn. It wins by being where the party has to go, not by pursuit. If the party retreats beyond its reach, it goes still and waits.

Running a Roper Encounter

A roper is worth 1,800 XP. With the 2024 SRD budget for four characters:

The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines, which our encounter calculator uses, rate one roper as Easy for four level 5 characters (thresholds 1,000 / 2,000 / 3,000 / 4,400). A roper with two gricks counts as 5,400 XP after the ×2 multiplier for three creatures, which is Deadly.

The roper's difficulty depends on terrain more than XP. In a narrow passage the party has to cross, it's a hard fight. In an open cavern where the party can back off 60 feet and shoot it, it's a sitting target.

How Players Beat a Roper

• •Stay out of reach and shoot. It has a 10-foot speed and no ranged attack beyond the tendrils. Anyone more than 50 feet (2014) or 60 feet (2024) away is safe. AC 20 is hard to hit with weapons, so Magic Missile, which hits automatically, is efficient.
• •Make it save. Its Dexterity save is −1. Fireball against DC 15 fails on a 15 or lower (75%). Intelligence and Charisma are −2.
• •Free the grabbed, don't chase the roper. Breaking a tendril takes 10 damage against AC 20, or in 2014 an action and a DC 15 Strength check. That's usually faster than hacking through 93 hit points while the roper bites.
• •Poke the stalagmites. False Appearance hides a 2014 roper from sight, not from touch. Throwing a stone at each formation, or sending a summoned creature ahead, reveals it before the party walks into range.
• •Ward the front-liner (2024). Protection from Evil and Good gives the 2024 roper Disadvantage on attack rolls against the warded character, including its tentacle grabs.

Roper Encounter Ideas

The weeping stone. A tribe of cave-dwellers leaves goats at the foot of a "sacred" stalagmite that eats them. They believe it judges offerings. The party is asked to bring the next one, and the stone is the roper. Killing it may not be what the tribe wants.

The chasm bridge. A stone bridge 10 feet wide crosses a 100-foot-deep chasm. A roper clings to the cavern ceiling 30 feet above the bridge's midpoint. It grabs characters and reels them up, off the bridge. Breaking a tendril drops the character 30 feet back onto the bridge, if they're still above it. If not, they fall into the chasm.

The ford. An underground river crosses the only route to the dwarven gate, waist-deep and 40 feet wide. Treat the water as difficult terrain, so characters cross it slowly while a roper on the far bank grabs whoever is midstream. Reel drags them through the water straight to its mouth.

If your party ends up negotiating with cave-dwellers who worship one of these, Loreify can record the session so the tribe's names and promises are there next time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a roper in 5e?

A roper is CR 5 and worth 1,800 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 20, 93 hit points and a speed of 10 feet.

How do you escape a roper's tendril?

Use your action for a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against DC 15 (2014) or DC 14 (2024). In 2014, Athletics has Disadvantage but Acrobatics doesn't. In 2024, both have Disadvantage because you're Poisoned. Destroying the tendril (AC 20, 10 hit points) also frees you.

Does the 2024 roper have False Appearance?

No. The 2024 roper's only trait is Spider Climb. It relies on Stealth +5 and hiding in dark caverns instead of being indistinguishable from a stalagmite.

How far can a roper reach?

Its tendrils reach 50 feet in the 2014 rules and 60 feet in the 2024 rules. Reel then pulls each grabbed creature 25 feet (2014) or 30 feet (2024) toward it.

Is a roper a monstrosity or an aberration?

It's a Monstrosity in the 2014 rules and an Aberration in the 2024 rules. The type matters for spells like Protection from Evil and Good, which works against Aberrations but not Monstrosities.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.