#modron

Image by Julie Dillon, © Wizards of the Coast

[The last of the drone modrons, and the last modron I’m posting for a while. I’m commissioning original art for the modron hierarchs, and so am going to wait at least that long. In the original version, a pentadrone could either levitate or use its paralysis gas, but not both, because it levitated using the gas jets. Which isn’t… realistic, exactly, but made a certain kind of logical sense, something I think of as “Gygaxian naturalism”. But it’s a decently tough monster, why shouldn’t it be able to fly? I imagine they fly something like how Gamera flies.]

Modron, Pentadrone
CR 7 LN Outsider (extraplanar)
This strange being has five pointed lobes, like a starfish, each with a single eye and frowning mouth. It stands on five clockwork legs below, and a metallic nozzle grows from its upper surface, pivoting as it watches.

The strongest of the modron drones, pentadrones serve as delegates between the will of the hierarchs and the actions of the drones. They also serve as a police force, watching constantly for signs of rogue behavior in modron drones and eliminating the rogues when they appear. Pentadrones keep a close eye on chaotic creatures that interact with modron business or visit Regulus. If any mortal creature violates the laws of the modrons, pentadrones will paralyze them, beat them into submission, and drag them off to face judgment.

A pentadrone typically opens combat with its paralysis gas. As modrons are immune to paralysis, it doesn’t care about aiming it away from its troops. Any creatures not paralyzed are bludgeoned with its five arms, or bombarded with spells if they are chaotic. Pentadrones are skilled tacticians and make good use of their abilities, and the abilities of lesser modrons in battle. A pentadrone often fights from the air, using jets of gasses to spin and levitate. Pentadrones are the most likely of the modron drone ranks to flee from combat, as they need to report the outcome to a hierarch.

Because of their ability to hold five objectives in common at a time, and their skill at planning for future events, pentadrones often appear as introspective to other creatures. They rarely speak, unless it is to give orders or acquire information. Pentadrones are unique among modron varieties in that they have no fine manipulators—no hands, tentacles, etc. They can manage objects using one of their mouths, but doing so is not particularly efficient. Thus, pentadrones often keep a staff of monodrones on hand to serve it as limbs, taking dictation, opening doors and locks, and performing other tasks that require fine motor skills.

Pentadrone          CR 7
XP 3,200
LN Medium outsider (extraplanar, lawful, modron)
Init15 (fixed); Sensesall-around vision,darkvision 120 ft., detect chaos, Perception +17
Defense
AC21, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (+3 Dex, +5 natural, +4 armor)
hp72 (5d10+25 plus 20)
Fort+6,Ref+7,Will+7
DR5/chaotic;Resistacid 10, cold 10, fire 10
Defensive Abilities constructed
Offense
Speed30 ft., fly 40 ft. (poor)
Melee5 slams +10 (1d6+5)
Special Attacks paralysis gas
Spell-like Abilities CL 5^th, concentration +8
Constant—detect chaos, mage armor
3/day—align weapon, arrow of law (DC 15)
1/day—discern lies (DC 17), order’s wrath (DC 17)
Statistics
Str21,Dex16,Con20,Int17,Wis16,Cha17
Base Atk +5;CMB+10;CMD23 (29 vs. trip)
FeatsAlertness, Bludgeoner, Combat Expertise, Hover (B)
SkillsAcrobatics +8,Diplomacy +11, Fly +7, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (planes) +11, Perception +17, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +11, Survival +11 (+15 following tracks); Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Survival when following tracks
LanguagesCelestial,Common, Infernal, Modron
SQcoordinated ally, fixed initiative
Ecology
Environmentany land or underground (Regulus)
Organizationsolitary, pair, squad (1 plus 2-6 quadrones, 2-12 tridrones) or inquisition (3-10)
Treasureincidental
Special Abilities
Paralysis Gas (Su) As a standard action, a pentadrone can emit a 30 foot cone of gas. All creatures in the area must succeed a DC 17 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 2d4 rounds. A creature so paralyzed can attempt an additional save against the effect as a full round action. A pentadrone can use this ability 5 times a day, but must wait 5 rounds between uses. The save DC is Constitution based.

Image by Julie Dillon, © Wizards of the Coast.

[One of the things I have done with the modrons, more to amuse myself than anything else, is to balance them so that their CRs are prime numbers. I can’t do that for all of the modron hierarchs–there’s not enough prime numbers below 30–but that’s how I decided what to do for my drones. And I’m going to continue primes whenever possible. Primus, of course, will have a prime CR (29)]

Modron, Quadrone
CR 5 LN Outsider (extraplanar)
This mechanical creature is cuboid, with two arms, two legs and two feathered wings. One of its surfaces bears a strange organic face. It carries weapons: a bow and arrows, sword and shield.

Quadrones are the modron drones that most commonly interact with outsiders. They supervise the tasks of lesser drones, act as sergeants in battle, and serve as envoys to other peoples, particularly lawful ones. As such, they are often seen as the “face” of the modrons, and the default image of a modron to many is a quadrone. Quadrones are capable of holding four objectives in mind at a time, and can prepare for contingencies, incorporate past experiences into the present scenarios, and alter their plans to fit shifting situations. If quadrones have a mental weakness, it is that they frequently focus on short-term benefits rather than long-term goals. A force of quadrones can easily win battles, but they require supervision of a hierarch to win wars.

A quadrone is a canny and focused combatant. They understand how to bolster the strengths of their allies, and even hierarch modrons appreciate their supernatural battle insights. They study and plan for multiple possible offenses and defenses, treating war something like a game of chess. A quadrone is skilled with teamwork, and can temporarily bestow teamwork feats onto their subordinates. Quadrones always carry both ranged and melee weapons, the better to respond to a shifting battlefield.

Quadrones typically have an alphanumeric designation, which they permit other races to shorten into a nickname. Different quadrones have different tactical specialties, reflected by different feats. A defensive oriented quadrone’s feats may be Combat Expertise, Dodge and Shake it Off, and a melee offensive oriented quadrone’s feats may be Cleave, Outflank and Power Attack.

Quadrone              CR 5
XP 1,600
LN Medium outsider (extraplanar, lawful, modron)
Init16 (fixed); Sensesdarkvision 60 ft., Perception +10
Defense
AC19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+4 Dex, +4 natural, +1 shield)
hp58 (4d10+16 plus 20)
Fort+5,Ref+8,Will+5
Resistacid 10, cold 10, fire 10
Defensive Abilities constructed
Offense
Speed30 ft., fly 30 ft. (good)
Meleeslam +7 (1d4+3) or masterwork longsword +8 (1d8+3/19-20)
Rangedmasterwork composite longbow +9 or +7/+7 (1d8+3/x3)
Special Attacks insightfulanalysis (6/day),tactician
Statistics
Str16,Dex18,Con18,Int15,Wis13,Cha13
Base Atk +4;CMB+7;CMD21
FeatsCoordinated Shot (B), Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot
SkillsCraft (any one) +9,Disable Device +10,Diplomacy +8, Fly +14, Knowledge (planes) +9, Linguistics +9, Perception +10, Sense Motive +8;  Racial Modifiers +2 Perception
LanguagesCommon, Modron, any four
SQcoordinated ally, fixed initiative
Ecology
Environmentany land or underground (Axis)
Organizationsolitary, pair, party (3-6) or army (1-4 plus 2-8 tridrones, 4-16 duodrones and 4-16 monodrones)
Treasurestandard (light wooden shield, masterwork longsword, masterwork composite longbow [+3 pull], 40 arrows)
Special Abilities
Insightful Analysis (Su) As a swift action, a quadrone may grant another modron within 60 feet a +2 insight bonus to its next d20 roll. If this bonus is not used within 1 round, it is lost. A quadrone cannot grant itself this bonus. A quadrone can use this ability a number of times per day as its Hit Dice plus its Intelligence modifier (6/day for the average specimen).
Tactician (Ex) A quadrone gains the tactician ability as a cavalier of its Hit Dice.

Image by Julie Dillon, © Wizards of the Coast

[In the original Monster Manual 2, the tridrone was illustrated point up. Nowadays, they’re usually illustrated point down. I decided to make this variety canonical. Of course, modrons are too hierarchical and cooperative to turn this into a star-belly Sneetch situation, but I could see rogue modrons fighting about it.]

Modron, Tridrone
CR 3 LN Outsider (extraplanar)
This bizarre creature is a trilateral pyramid, with each of its three lateral faces bearing a single eye and mouth. It has one clockwork arm and two clockwork legs growing from each of these surfaces, all tipped with nimble clawed digits. It carries a spear in each of its three hands, and rotates constantly to scrutinize its environment with different eyes.

Tridrones are modron drones that are skilled at thinking in three dimensions. They are capable of obeying three directives at once, a great enough sense of behavioral flexibility to seem almost normal to mortals. Tridrones are often scouts and porters, able to cover a wide array of terrains with ease while carrying a heavy load. Tridrones scuttle up and down the buildings of Regulus constantly, hauling building materials to be assembled by monodrones or relaying observations to quadrone or pentadrone superiors.

A tridrone is capable of climbing on practically any surface, and they usually fight from a ceiling or wall to stab down at their opponents. They are more likely to make hit and run attacks than lesser modron drones, and their whirling combat style has a strange grace to it. They can fight effortlessly with each of their three arms, preferring to carry a single piercing weapon in each hand. A tridrone can make combat plans and execute them with orders to its monodrone and duodrone subordinates, although they are somewhat limited in their scope and creativity.

Some tridrones appear as inverted pyramids, point facing down, whereas others appear with their point facing up. There are exactly even numbers of both of these varieties in existence. Primus is engaged in an experiment to determine which configuration is the more efficient one. Both types cooperate in order to best serve the goals of the modron collective, but minor friendly competition between point up and point down tridrones does occur.

Tridrone                                CR 3
XP 800
LN Medium outsider (extraplanar, lawful, modron)
Init12 (fixed); Sensesall-around vision, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +11
Defense
AC15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural)
hp39 (3d10+3 plus 20)
Fort+2,Ref+5,Will+5
Resistacid 10, cold 10, fire 10
Defensive Abilities constructed
Offense
Speed30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee3 claws +5 (1d4+2) or 3 short spears +5 (1d6+2)
Ranged3 short spears +4 (1d6+2)
Statistics
Str15,Dex12,Con13,Int9,Wis12,Cha8
Base Atk +3;CMB+5;CMD16 (24 vs. trip)
FeatsDodge, Mobility
SkillsAcrobatics +7,Climb +23, Perception +11, Stealth +7, Survival +7; Racial Modifiers +16 Climb,+4 Perception
LanguagesModron
SQcoordinated ally, expert climber, fixed initiative, heavy load, multiweapon fighting
Ecology
Environmentany land or underground (Regulus)
Organizationsolitary, pair or squad (3-9)
Treasurestandard (6 short spears, other treasure)
Special Abilities
Expert Climber (Ex) A tridrone can climb on even sheer surfaces or upside down without penalty. It is treated as being under the effects of a non-magical spider climb, and its racial bonus to Climb checks doubles to +16.
Heavy Load (Ex) A tridrone’s carrying capacity is three times that of normal for a creature of its Strength score.
Multiweapon Fighting (Ex) A tridrone suffers no penalty to attack and damage rolls for fighting with multiple weapons.

Image by Julie Dillon, © Wizards of the Coast

[Probably the modron with the most Oz vibes, and that’s saying something. I like the distinction in the Dragon Magazine version that they’re surprisingly strong for being such goofy little dudes, and so continued with that theme. Something that basically all editions of D&D after AD&D 1e forgot was that monodrones and duodrones had a swim speed. I took swimming off of the monodrone in order to lean into the wings, but have restored that to the duodrone.]

Modron, Duodrone
CR 2 LN Outsider (extraplanar)
This boxy humanoid is made of metal. Its upper and lower halves are divided by a gear-like waist, and its limbs are thin with prominent joints. Its upper half is taken up by an eerily organic-looking face. It carries a spear seemingly too large for it.

Duodrones are the second tier of the modron hierarchy, and are more intelligent and versatile than monodrones (albeit not by much). Unlike monodrones, a duodrone can multitask, albeit only with two goals at once. They act as supervisors of monodrone laborers and soldiers, and are stronger on the battlefield. Duodrones are amphibious, their hands and feet spreading out into flippers when they come into contact with water. Thus, duodrones are often put to work in flooded environments where monodrones cannot maneuver easily.

A duodrone will fight to defend itself even without orders, although if in a group, one member of the group will typically retreat to inform a superior (or send a monodrone with a message to do the same). Duodrones consciously work to flank opponents and set up tactical advantages, sometimes to the point of leaving themselves exposed. Most duodrones use their surge of strength at the beginning of combat.

The closest a duodrone comes to having an individual personality is in favoring a particular weapon over others. Few duodrones use ranged weapons to any great extent, and they have a fondness for polearms. A few of them, particularly those who come into contact with non-modrons on a regular basis, may gain a nickname based on their weapon of choice.

Duodrone              CR 2
XP 600
LN Small outsider (extraplanar, lawful, modron)
Init11 (fixed); Sensesdarkvision 90 ft., low-light vision, Perception +7
Defense
AC13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+1 size, +2 natural)
hp23 (2d10+2 plus 10)
Fort+1,Ref+3,Will+3
Resistacid 10, cold 10, fire 10
Defensive Abilities constructed
Offense
Speed20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee2 slams +4 (1d4+1) or spear +4 (1d8+1/x3) or Lucerne hammer +4 (1d12+1)
Rangedspear +3 (1d8+1/x3)
Space5 ft.; Reach5 ft. (10 ft. with Lucerne hammer)
Special Attacks surge of strength
Statistics
Str13,Dex11,Con12,Int6,Wis10,Cha5
Base Atk +2;CMB+2;CMD12
FeatsPower Attack
SkillsCraft (any one) +3, Perception +7, Stealth +9, Swim +14
LanguagesModron
SQcoordinated ally, fixed initiative, oversized weapon
Ecology
Environmentany (Regulus)
Organizationsolitary, pair or squad (3-12)
Treasurestandard (2 Medium spears, Medium Lucerne hammer, other treasure)
Special Abilities
Oversized Weapon (Ex) A duodrone can wield weapons designed for creatures one size larger than itself without penalty.
Strength Surge (Su) Once per day as a swift action, a duodrone can grant itself a +4 racial bonus to Strength for 1 round.

Image © Wizards of the Coast, by Julie Dillon

[In 1e through 3e, there were alternate versions of some of the modron drones. Winged monodrones had no arms, and quadrones either had two wings and two arms, or four arms and no wings. These have been flattened out by 5e, using the art by Julie Dillon that first appeared in Dragon 354. I’m fine with that, so my monodrones will have both arms and wings.]

Modron, Monodrone
CR 1 LN Outsider (extraplanar)
This small metallic creature has a spherical body and spindly arms and legs. A pair of small wings grows from its upper surface. It has a single large eye overlooking a fleshy mouth.

Monodrones are the simplest, weakest and most numerous of the modrons. They exist in teeming millions, serving the will of Primus as laborers, servants and foot soldiers. A monodrone is single minded in its focus and monomaniacal in its efforts—a monodrone told to dig will do so until its shovel breaks or it destroys itself in the act if not ordered to stop. In a factory or other regulated environment, this allows a monodrone to function with incredible efficiency at one very particular subset of a task. Modron engineering is designed around mass production, and enormous quantities of monodrones help to manufacture and assemble weapons, armor and tools at a staggering rate. However, in chaotic environments such as on a battlefield, or when faced with creatures not as perfectly devoted to order, monodrones require intense supervision to make sure they don’t injure themselves or others.

Monodrones typically flee from aggression, even harsh words, in order to report the altercation to a superior capable of analyzing and making decisions. If ordered to fight, a monodrone brings its obsessive zeal to combat, to the point that they can only attack a single foe at a time. A monodrone cannot switch targets without being told so by a superior modron. They are implacable in their attempt to destroy their focused target, so much so that they can overclock themselves and attack or give chase past their bodies’ normal capacity. Monodrones can fly, but are clumsy in the air and rarely use this ability on the battlefield (unless, of course, they are ordered to). Monodrones, like most drone modrons, are willing to fight to the death once battle is joined.

Monodrones have no individual personalities, functioning more like cells in a body in their utter pursuit of their tasks. They do not even have specific numerical designations, but they may be referred to by their unit or superior (typically a tridrone or quadrone in rank). They almost never communicate directly with non-modrons.

Monodrone          CR 1
XP 400
LN Small outsider (extraplanar, lawful, modron)
Init11 (fixed); Sensesdarkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +6
Defense
AC13, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural)
hp15 (1d10 plus 10)
Fort+0,Ref+3,Will+2
Resistacid 10, cold 10, fire 10
Defensive Abilities constructed;Weaknesssingle minded
Offense
Speed20 ft., fly 40 ft. (poor)
Meleeslam +3 (1d3-1) or short sword +3 (1d4-1/19-20)
Rangedlight crossbow +3 (1d6/19-20)
Special Attacks focused action
Statistics
Str8,Dex13,Con10,Int4,Wis10,Cha3
Base Atk +1;CMB-1;CMD10
FeatsWeapon Finesse
SkillsCraft (any one) +5, Fly +3, Perception +6; Racial Modifiers +4 Craft (any one), +2 Perception
LanguagesModron
SQcoordinated ally, fixed initiative, relay message
Ecology
Environmentany land or underground (Regulus)
Organizationsolitary, pair, patrol (3-12) or army (13-144)
Treasurestandard (Small short sword, Small light crossbow, 20 bolts, other treasure)
Special Abilities
Focused Action (Su) Once per day, a monodrone can take an extra move or standard action in its turn, as long as it is exactly the same action as it took immediately prior. For example, it could move and then make two short sword attacks, or move twice and take one short sword attack, but could not move, attack once and then move again.
Relay Message (Ex) A monodrone can retain and recite perfectly a verbal message or any other sound of 1 minute or shorter in duration. It does not need to understand the message in order to relay it. This cannot be used to cast a spell, even one with only a verbal component.
Single Minded (Ex) A monodrone can only focus on a single task at a time. When in combat, it only attacks a single foe unless ordered to stop or change targets. This means that it always fights until slain if not ordered to retreat, and can only make attacks of opportunity against the target it is focusing on.