I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
I believe I coined it anew, specifically to allude to the caste system and the fact that they are not a part of it. "Outcast" works, but I wanted something a bit less generic to avoid the "rogue" problem going forward. I'm pretty stoked that you dig it.BendBars/Lift Gates said:1. You call them "outcaste," which is not a word. Either you meant "outcast" or you intentionally coined a new word, alluding to their hierarchical caste system, and their expulsion from it. Either way, keep the term "outcaste," because I think it's awesome.
*shrug* I think it might help a little bit with their "silly" reputation to see them as standing over most other humanoids, rather than down there with the dwarves, but it probably doesn't matter. Five feet kind of makes sense given the "five foot squares" of 3e/4e, and the inherent hilarity of having a modron that thought the world corresponds to these 5-foot squares in reality. And 6 works with the Rule of Three (kind of). So it's kind of a toss up in my mind. I stuck with 6 because I didn't see a reason to change it from 2e, but whatevs.2. Quadrones have always been 6' in height, but honestly that always sort of bugged me. I automatically imagine them being shorter, and the proportions of something so boxy being so tall gnaws at me. In my version, I had quietly bumped them down to 5' and hoped no Planescape veterans would call me out on it.
*smack* Thanks for calling that out, I forgot to change Storm Horns from the Bariaur document.3. The paragon path. Awesome, but there are a couple of formatting errors. First, the quote is awkwardly split between two adjacent columns. Second, the second two powers read "Storm Horns Utility 12" and "Storm Horns Attack 20," respectively.
Durrrrr....
I just HAD to make some mechanic with that name. I was a little worried about giving them damage at all, to be honest. But if you think it's a little light, I can certainly ramp it up. Equal to level sounds like a nice scaling effect to me.4. Modron March is a really awesome feat, and I love how creative you get with modron abilities. Honestly, I was kind of stumped for making the modrons seem cool enough. I wonder if 5 damage is enough, though, at paragon levels. Maybe damage equal to your level?
I do enjoy the way that 4e "persuades" you to role-play combat sometimes. I also like the dynamic this causes if the modron goes after someone soft and evasive like a goblin. "Excuse me, Mr. Goblin, but I told you to STAY PUT!" *smash*5. Relentless Persistence is fantastic. It's a really subtle effect, but it's exactly what 4e does best: using rules to quietly suggest the character of a creature.
6. Autocrossbow confuses me a little bit. How many crossbows do you have mounted on you? 10? Can you fire ten times without reloading, but then you have to spend 10 minor actions to reload them all?
First, "A number of them." I deliberately avoided saying how many because I didn't want a clever player trying to game the number of bolts and the number of shots and the number of crossbows.
Second, the intent was to just have 1 minor action to reload them all, but I see where that's vague. I'll change it around.
7. Aviatronics seems cool, and a good compromise between non-flying PCs and winged quadrones, but I don't get what the advantage of flying while shifting is, unless I missed some way that modrons get to shift several squares.
Mostly, you get to ignore difficult terrain (like the elves), and if you are for some reason granted more shifting squares, you can use them. That was the thought behind it, anyway.
8. I feel like they ought to have an ability that benefits allies, to highlight their organization and teamwork-oriented nature. Or maybe I should just play that modron warlord I've been dreaming about.
I avoided doing this because I didn't want to overly pigeonhole them into the "leader" role, which is easy to do with any Lawful being, I think (and, unlike the planetouched, they didn't need much of a stronger theme than they had). Plus, they're pretty much always described as not quite getting the motives of others, so I'm not sure there's anything inherently inspiring about a metal box telling you to "Berk those jinks in their leatherheads! Don't pike what I tell your face! Harys Hatchys has discounts at 40% off! Attack!"
On the other hand, a modron warlord could either go that hilarious route, or be truly eerie. "Why do you listen to that blunderbox?" "Because he is our commander and we listen to our commander...."
9. Like in their original incarnation, I don't think a bonus against Illusions would be out of order.
Well, they do get a bonus to Perception and a bonus to Will saves. More general than a bonus against illusions, but still helpful when facing them.