Reapers

Reapers are a malevolent species of magical trees, which are said to be possessed by spirits which enable them to practice the mystic arts. These beings are almost always hostile when encountered and have proven the unfortunate end of many an unwitting adventurer who makes the mistake of taking them for nothing more than harmless deadwood. These creatures appear from Ultima IV through Ultima VII Part Two.

Description
The origins of reapers are said to lie with an unnamed enchanted forest, which was swallowed by the Sosarian earth in one of the great geological cataclysms which shook the world. The trees of this forest, somehow imbued with individual, sapient spirits, continued to grow underground after the upheaval which buried them, and eventually came to spread to the subterranean dungeons of the realm.

Reapers are sentient creatures - intelligent enough to engage in magical practices, and have been observed casting bolts of energy and lightning at their prey. Some specimens are further capable of sleep spells, which can prove disastrous to even well-equipped adventuring parties who fall amidst a grove of such practitioners. While immobile for the majority of their lifespan, reapers are capable of extending woody tentacular limbs, which they may employ to entangle and attack targets in close proximity to them. During the brief ambulatory phase of their life cycle, reapers are able to move at a slow pace, allowing them to give chase. Some reapers appear to be capable of human speech, although it is rare for them to engage in conversation.

The metaphysical relationship between the physical component and the spiritual component of a reaper is not entirely known, and it has been speculated that the soul which possesses such a being may be able to exist independent of its tree host. Whatever the truth, reapers do not appear to be able to harm adventurers once their body is destroyed.

A reaper-possessed tree always appears void of leaves and growth, and is of such a quality that fire takes to it easily.

Tanglers
During the time of the Stranger's adventures in Ultima I, a subterranean tree-race known as "tanglers" existed within the lower reaches of the realm's dungeons. Similar in appearance to reapers, these creatures may well have simply been the same beings by a different name. However, tanglers showed no demonstrable magical capabilities, with their mechanism of attack relying solely on their viney pseudopods, which they used to entangle their victims until such a time that they starved to death.

Dire Reapers
In the depths of the Pits of Carnage there exists a creature known as a "dire reaper," which is rumored to have been crafted from the bodies of thirteen dead men. While its actual origins are not known, it has a visage similar to the other creatures which share its name and appears to function in a similar manner, albeit with greater strength and malice. Once slain, its severed arm retains some of its power and may be used as a wand of Lightning. 

Lore




Notable Examples

 *  Imprisoned Reaper: the one reaper known to be capable of speech; found in Castle Britannia in Ultima IV where it divulged rumors of an artifact of great power

Trivia

 * Reapers may have been inspired by ropers from early installments of the table-top role playing game,  Dungeons & Dragons. These beings, which first appeared in the TSR newsletter The Strategic Review #2 in the spring of 1975, are stony stalagmite-shaped beings with a similar hunting mechanism to reapers, employing gray rope-like tentacles to ensnare their prey.
 * In the bestiaries of Memoirs of Sir Cabirus and The Book of Fellowship, the respective manuals for Ultima Underworld and Ultima VII, reapers appear to have been erroneously depicted with an illustration of a Greer plant, a type of harmless, rapidly moving flora seen in the latter game.
 * Reapers were to be included in the canceled Ultima X. See Planned Monsters for Ultima X for further details.