D&D General Modrons should be terrifying

[Greg K]

I have never used Modrons (and never will), but I pictured them as being like Daleks or Cybermen.

 

[Umbran]

Supposedly a perfect crystal at absolute zero has no entropy...and that sounds pretty modron-ish.

Well, lowest possible entropy, anyway.

And, btw, there's a problem with cold attacks - no thermodynamic process happens without generation of waste heat. So, if you use a cold attack, you end up pumping that heat somewhere, and that somewhere goes up in entropy as much as the cold went down, plus a little.

One idea for the Great Machine is that it is ultimately designed to break the laws of thermodynamics, to prevent the otherwise inevitable drive to entropy. But, it will only serve that purpose in full when the entire multiverse is converted into it.

 

[Steampunkette]

Thermodynamics in three simple statements.

You can't win.
You can't lose.
You can't break even.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Thermodynamics in three simple statements.

You can't win.
You can't lose.
You can't break even.

assuming it exactly describes reality, which in a world of fire breathing lizards might not be the case.

 

[Krachek]

I don’t know much about official Modron lore,
but usually there is more fun to tweak them according to personal favorite, either be the Borg, the cylon, or any sci-fi universe, blade runner, Asimov.
Sentient construct, is a pretty interesting tool.
Do they have soul in term of DnD, do they want individuality, those theme have already been explore by author, but why not offer those to the players. Even the warforge can be link to modron instead of usual lore.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

I always thought it would be fun if the forces of law and chaos had similar-but-different versions of the classes--Law has wizards and paladins, Chaos has sorcerers and barbarians, etc.

Also, perhaps modrons are so lawful their attacks don't do variable damage--maybe an attack always does 4 damage instead of 1d6 or something.

(BTW, with the same average a larger number of dice will produce a less variable range--3d4 vs 1d10+2 for example.)

I really like this.

I think Modron as a group (if you get enough of them) should get lair actions as they slowly but surely sort everything around them.

I also like the idea that the next group of modrons get advantage on their attack/saves for the first roll as they know how your group will attack.

I had this idea known as pecking order, where your modrons of different types roll initiative and the more powerful modrons type get the highest ranking, the next gets the next level of initiative as they sort themselves.

I don’t know much about official Modron lore,
but usually there is more fun to tweak them according to personal favorite, either be the Borg, the cylon, or any sci-fi universe, blade runner, Asimov.
Sentient construct, is a pretty interesting tool.
Do they have soul in term of DnD, do they want individuality, those theme have already been explore by author, but why not offer those to the players. Even the warforge can be link to modron instead of usual lore.

The warforged as experiments of the modron as they attempt to make somebody a being of order, but it doesn't quite work sounds like a great plot hook to me.

Perhaps it is because the soul hasn't been integrated into the machine yet?

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Order without mercy becomes tyranny. Modrons can look a comic element, but some Asian videogames show enemies as constructs, living machines or animated statues (I guess to avoid Chinese censure).

Other option could be the creation of "evil clones" by means of "reverse engineering", for example a wicked order cult.

Some times some creatures are dreadful because the initial look is harmless, for example the animatronics of Five Night at Freddy's.

 

[Baron Opal II]

You put enough Modrons together and they are like lego. You can get something that looks like those killing machines from Labrynth.

The limit of their interchangable parts should only be limited by their collective imagination.

You should check out The Metal Monster by A. Merritt. I would wager that's the main inspiration for modrons came from. If not, it is an excellent source to inspire further modron developments.

EtA: Which, at a couple points in the story the metal creatures do assemble into a larger organism. (Forgot the main point of the reply.)

Thermodynamics in three simple statements.

You can't win.
You can't lose.
You can't break even.

Ah, I remembered it as:

• You can't win.
• You can't break even.
• You can't leave the game.

Even so, magic is our way to break those rules!

 

[Blue Orange]

Well, lowest possible entropy, anyway.

And, btw, there's a problem with cold attacks - no thermodynamic process happens without generation of waste heat. So, if you use a cold attack, you end up pumping that heat somewhere, and that somewhere goes up in entropy as much as the cold went down, plus a little.

One idea for the Great Machine is that it is ultimately designed to break the laws of thermodynamics, to prevent the otherwise inevitable drive to entropy. But, it will only serve that purpose in full when the entire multiverse is converted into it.

Ah, thanks for the correction!

But--that's according to the laws of physics. Magic doesn't have to obey those. Conjuration spells break the law of conservation of mass, you should get burned by a fire shield, a lightning bolt should shock the mage it's extending from, etc.

I do like the idea of a Great Machine fighting the Second Law though.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I may be in the minority here, but I prefer Modrons to be goofy. It reminds me how law without compromise... well, it's goofy. Beraucracy without purpose is goofy. It reminds me of old comedies like Yes, Minister or The IT Crowd.

Now, I also like the juxtoposition of the goofy modrons lead by their much more dangerous, much more sinister superiors the Maruts. These I find a far more Borg-like force if and when you need one.