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Modron, Quadrone

Quadrones are the modron equivalent of field officers and skilled laborers. As troop leaders, they are the main point of contact in negotiations with other races, and because of their relatively high intelligence, rogue quadrones are more likely to escape Regulus than rogues of lower castes. As a result, other races deal with quadrones far more often than with other castes, and quadrones are seen by many outsiders as the archetypal modrons.

Quadrones are unflinchingly organized and capable of a high degree of planning and strategy. They prefer to begin combat with ranged attacks and close for melee only when their opponents come to them. They are well aware of lower castes' capabilities and order them to attack according to their strengths, and as the negotiators of the modron race, they are also usually knowledgeable of enemy races' weaknesses. They are ruthless and coldly unemotional in battle.

There are always exactly one-million five-hundred-thousand quadrones in existence at a time. A quadrone resembles a metallic cube with two spindly legs, four arms, and two fleshy faces at the front and back. Exactly one-fourth of all quadrones possess fan-like wings instead of a second pair of arms and act as scouts and aerial assailants.

#type outsider #subtype extraplanar #subtype lawful #subtype modron #cr 5

Modron, Tridrone

Tridrones are low-level supervisors capable of limited resource management and decision making. Their spiderlike climbing ability and all-around vision, as well as their ability to report actions and observations, make them excellent scouts and guards. In the modron armies, tridrones are the equivalent of non-comissioned officers, supervising small companies of duodrones that in turn control a detachment of monodrones.

Tridrones are strange creatures of flesh and metal that resemble upside-down three-sided pyramids with a single eye, mouth, and arm on three of its four sides. Six spindly clockwork legs radiate from the bottom of its body. They are the lowest-ranking modrons capable of speaking the Common tongue, but they are rarely very talkative. There are precisely six million tridrones in creation at a given time.

In combat, tridrones are highly mobile, darting rapidly from one opponent to the next. Because they are used to working alone as scouts or border guards, tridrones are more likely to split up and fight as individuals than lower-ranking modrons. They take advantage of the terrain, preferring to climb walls to throw their javelins then drop down on their opponents.

#type outsider #subtype extraplanar #subtype lawful #subtype modron #cr 4

Modron, Duodrone

Duodrones supervise monodrones and perform labor that requires moderate decision-making ability. Duodrones possess only dim intelligence by human standards, but they are capable of performing slightly more complex tasks than monodrones and employ limited strategy in work and combat.

Duodrones appear as a pair of small, flat rectangular flesh-and-metal boxes stacked on top of each other with spindly arms and legs. There are exactly fifty-five million duodrones in existence at any time.

Though not much taller than a gnome, duodrones are surprisingly strong for their size. They are used as heavy labor or shock troops. In combat, duodrones coordinate their attacks with each other, but are more likely than monodrones to split up to weaken individual opponents. They typically use their surge of strength in the first round of combat in an attempt to appear stronger than they actually are, hoping to scare off opponents without incurring heavy losses.

#type outsider #subtype extraplanar #subtype lawful #subtype modron #cr 3

Modron, Monodrone

Monodrones are the lowliest and most basic of all modrons, the caste from which all others advance. At any given time, there are exactly three-hundred million monodrones in existence; they outnumber all other modrons combined.

Appearing as a metal ball with a single eye and spindly arms and legs, monodrones are capable of performing only a single task at a time, which they perform without question until ordered to stop. When ordered to fight, they focus on a single enemy until it is defeated, then move on to the next, eventually fighting each other if not ordered to desist. If ordered to guard, they stand watch without moving or blinking. If ordered to build, they continue building higher and higher without stopping.

Monodrones are the rank and file of the modron armies, swarming over opponents without mercy. The vast majority of monodrones serve as general labor, however, performing construction, repairs, transportation, and other menial tasks without complaint.

MONODRONE CR: 2 XP: 600 LN Small outsider (extraplanar, lawful, modron) Init: 2; Senses: Low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8 __________________________________ AC: 15, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +2 natural, +1 dodge) hp: 22 (3 HD) Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +3 Immune: Constructed; Resist: Acid 10, cold 10, fire 10 Weakness: Single task __________________________________ Speed: 20 ft. Melee: Spear +4 (1d6/19-20) Ranged: Light crossbow +5 (1d6/19-20) Special Attacks: Focused strike Combat Gear: 20 crossbow bolts __________________________________ Str 10, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 4, Wis 10, Cha 7 Base Atk: +3; CMB: +2; CMD: 14 Feats: Dodge, Skill Focus (Craft) Skills: Craft (any one) +6, Perception +8, Survival +6; Racial Modifiers: +2 Perception Languages: Modron SQ: Coordinated ally, fixed initiative __________________________________ Environment: Any (Regulus) Organization: Squad (12 plus 1 duodrone), patrol (13-48 plus 1 duodrone per 12 monodrones), platoon (49-84 plus 1 duodrone per 12 monodrones), battalion (85-120 plus 1 duodrone per 12 monodrones and 1 tridrone), or company (121-144 plus 1 duodrone per 12 monodrone and 3 tridrones) Treasure: None __________________________________ Fixed Initiative (Ex): A monodrone never rolls initiative. Its initiative is always equal to half its Hit Dice plus its Dexterity (2 for a typical monodrone). Focused Strike (Ex): Once per day, a monodrone can take an additional standard action in a round. This action must be identical to the one it just performed. For example, a monodrone could make two melee attacks against the same target. It could not, however, move, make an attack, and then move again (as the moves do not immediately follow one another). Single Task (Ex): Monodrones are only able to focus on a single task at a time. This tightened focus in combat translates to only being able to engage a single opponent in combat. Once it attacks a creature, the monodrone continues fighting the same creature until destroyed, its opponent is defeated, or it is ordered to attack another target. A monodrone cannot attack any other creatures except for its target, even if they provoke attacks of opportunity. MESSENGER MONODRONE Exactly one-third of all monodrones (one million, to be precise) have no arms, and instead possess fan-like wings that allow them to fly. These flying monodrones act as messengers.

#type outsider #subtype extraplanar #subtype lawful #subtype modron #familiars #cr 2

Modron

Art by Julie Dillon.

Alien, dispassionate, inscrutable: such are the modrons, embodiments of order and law. These bizarre half-metal creatures exist for one purpose: to study and catalog the whole of existence, forcing chaos into order to fit their worldview. Hailing from the clockwork demiplane of Regulus, the modrons have no concept of the individual, each modron but a single cog in a great machine.

The modrons are strictly divided into fourteen castes that determine their form, function, and abilities. Each caste has a distinct appearance, and each member of a given caste is indistinguishable from all others. The five lowermost castes, the "base" modrons, are the workers, soldiers, guards, and police of their race, performing all menial tasks that keep Regulus running. The nine higher castes, the "hierarch" modrons, are the overseers, governors, inspectors, and judges, tasked with keeping Regulus running like a well-oiled machine.

At the pinnacle of the modron caste system is Primus, the One and the Prime, the sole individual mind in the modron collective; this godlike being is the modron race; all other modrons are as cells in Primus's vast, discorporate body.

Modrons do not reproduce as mortal beings do. There is a fixed number of modrons of each caste; when a modron of a given caste dies, its body crumbles to nothing, and a modron of the next lowest rank is instantly transformed into a member of the dead modron's caste. Another modron from the next rank below that is "promoted" to fill the gap, and so on down the pyramid until a new monodrone emerges from the energy pool at the heart of Regulus. The promoted modrons lose all memory of their previous existence, immediately knowing their new function in modron society.

Each modron is cognizant only of modrons of the rank directly above them and those below them. For instance, a tridrone recognizes only the lower duodrones and monodrones and the higher quadrones, and the existence of Primus is known only to the four secundi. They can acknowledge the presence of higher modrons, but cannot conceive of such inscrutable beings as members of their race. This presents no challenge to the flow of orders or information, however, as modrons follow the directives of their superiors without question, so orders descend from the highest to the lowest castes as easily as water trickling down steps.

THE GREAT MODRON MARCH Every seventeen years (the amount of time it takes for the largest gear in Regulus to make a full rotation), millions of modrons boil forth from Regulus in a vast river of flesh and metal known as the Great Modron March. The march begins with a spiral route around Axis before embarking on a tour of every plane of existence, from the Outer Sphere, through the Astral, to the Elemental Planes, the Material Plane and its mirrors, the Shadow and Ethereal Planes, before finally returning the way it came back to Regulus. The purpose of the Great Modron March is not entirely clear, but it appears to be a knowledge-gathering mission to observe each of the planes in their turn. The modrons leave a swath of destruction in their wake as they mindlessly stomp out chaos and try to force the local landcape into perfect ordered systems. Countless modrons die on the march, their essences returning to Regulus to form fresh monodrones. The Great Modron March is both a threat and a spectacle, viewed by inhabitants of the planes as half invasion, half parade. ROGUE AND EXILED MODRONS Every so often, orders are misinterpreted, contradictory orders reach a single modron from two different chains of command, or a modron simply becomes aware of its own individuality. Such modrons become rogues, and most go mad and rampage. Rogue modrons are ruthlessly hunted down and destroyed, but a few escape to other planes and wreak havoc. Most rogue modrons are base modrons, and pose little threat to the order of Regulus, but on very rare occasions a hierarch goes rogue. When this happens, it can spread its dissenting voice among all lesser modrons under its command, spreading chaos like a disease until it is put down by its former superiors. Some rogue modrons become aware of their newfound individuality early on, however, and systems are in place that allow them to petition peacefully for exile from the modron collective. Exiled modrons are physically transformed and cut loose from Regulus, free to explore the planes on their own initiative. MODRON TRAITS Modrons are a race of lawful neutral outsiders that hail from the clockwork demiplane of Regulus. A modron possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry).

#type outsider #subtype lawful #subtype modron #subtype extraplanar

Dabus

Every city needs maintenance workers, and the Eternal City of Axis is no exception. In this multiversal hub of law and trade, the tasks of building, wrecking, sanitation, public safety, and every other conceivable job is filled by the enigmatic dabus.

No one is quite sure where the dabus (the name is both singular and plural) came from. The axiomites did not create them like the inevitables or the justicators, nor were they created by a deity like the Axial avengers, nor did they migrate to the city like the formians or visilights. They simply appeared long ago, fading into existence one by one with an instinctual drive to work, and seeing no reason to stop them, the axiomites simply let them do so. Some sages speculate that the plane of Axis itself unconsciously birthed them from its own fabric, but for their part the dabus neither know nor care.

There are millions of dabus in the city who work constantly to keep the city running. Though they are sentient and free willed, dabus do not seem to have any wants or needs besides the maintenance of Axis. When an individual dabus is done with its day's work, it merely disappears before reappearing the next day; no one knows where the dabus go during this time. Dabus are brusque and callous, and give only a perfunctory warning to nearby creatures before they get to work. When the task to which they have set themselves is demolishing an inhabited building, this can be a problem. Axis natives have learned to live with the dabus, but outsiders often see them as an incredible nuisance.

#type outsider #subtype extraplanar #subtype lawful #cr 2

Axial Avenger

Axial avengers are a race of beings tasked with patrolling the Hinterlands of the Eternal City of Axis, the greatest bastion of order in the multiverse. They were created mere centuries ago by Aroden, the god of humanity, with the cooperation of the plane's native axiomites to defend the perimeter of Axis and strike back against the invading proteans and demons. With the loss of Aroden one hundred years ago, the avengers' name has taken on a new meaning as they now seek relentlessly for the secret behind their creator's death.

Due to the axiomites' hand in their creation, Axial avengers possess only slightly more humanity than the automaton-like inevitables, viewing every situation as a complex set of variables and calculations to be weighed against each other. Despite their rigidity, they recognize the importance of peace and harmony and err on the side of good more often than evil. They have a mathematical outlook that makes them seem distant and alien to mortals. Axial avengers often serve as backup to more powerful inevitables and justicators, their analytical minds making them skilled tacticians. When not on patrol or in battle, Axial avengers live spartan lifestyles as they await further orders.

Because of their appearance, Axial avengers are often mistaken for the likewise metallic legion archons of Heaven. Those expecting an archon's mercy from an Axial avenger are in for a rude awakening.

#type outsider #subtype extraplanar #subtype lawful #cr 6

Ramadeen