4d4 Roper's Cave

Cunning ambush predators, ropers lie in wait pretending to be stalagmites so their prey blunder too close to escape.

Use these lists to add depth and flavour to a roper’s lair.

What’s Going On?

(Awesome) Art Bradley K. McDevitt

1. Fresh blood and gore cover the surrounds; the roper is pulling apart its next meal.

2. Shamming sleep, the cunning roper is hoping its prey comes too far into its lair to escape.

3. The roper stands motionless—appearing to be nothing more than a normal stalagmite.

4. Grasping a dagger in one tendril, the roper is scraping a strange, elder sigil into the wall.

Major Lair Features

1. A 15-foot wide, 20-foot deep chasm filled with rubbish and detritus cuts across the lair.

2. A crumbling 30—high escarpment comprises half the lair.

3. The ceiling is almost 60-foot above the floor. High up on one wall a ledge runs around part of the room; a skeleton surrounded by adventuring gear lies thereon.

4. The floor is broken and uneven; a set of broad and shallow natural steps rise upward into the lair.

Roper’s Appearance

1. One of the roper’s tendrils is half the length of the others; it ends in an angry-looking mass of scar tissue.

2. Mottled yellow/grey hide covers the roper’s body; its tendrils are of a similar hue. The smell of rotting flesh surrounds the creature.

3. The roper’s single eye is horribly bloodshot, giving the beast a faintly devilish air.

4. Dried blood and mud cakes most of the roper’s body; its large single yellow eye blazes forth from the mess with fiendish intensity.

Treasure

1. Several deformed lumps of platinum the size of squashed coins are scattered about the lair.

2. A skeletal hand yet grasps the hilt of an ornately wrought bastard sword.

3. Several books fill a narrow ledge in one wall; they are diaries written by adventurers unfortunate enough to fall into the roper’s clutches; several record days or weeks of incarceration. All the diaries end abruptly.

4. A rusting lantern lies buried under a pile of bones and other rubbish; the permanent magical light cast into the lantern decades ago yet endures.

Want More?

This article is an extract from the Complete Monstrous Lair Collection which is available here for immediate download. Alternatively, check out the 4d4 Archive for more handy, flavoursome and time-saving 4d4 articles ready for immediate use in your campaign.