Modronoid
Medium Construct
Hit Dice: 6d10+12 (45 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+8 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+8
Attack: Arm blade +9 melee (1d6+4/19-20)
Full Attack: 2 arm blades +9 melee (1d6+4/19-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Arm blades
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., living construct traits, linked modron, low-light vision, spell resistance 10, vulnerability to metal-affecting powers
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 9
Skills: Listen +6, Spot +7
Feats: Alertness, Iron Will, Weapon Focus (arm blades)
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary, team (2–4), squad (5–12), patrol (13–25), platoon (26–84), or company (85–144)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic neutral
Advancement:—
Level Adjustment: —
A stocky man-shaped thing covered in gleaming metallic plates. Shorter and heavier than an average human, the gaps in its armor reveal glimpses of mutilated humanoid flesh forced into a mechanical frame. Chunks of its body have been sutured to or replaced by bizarre machine-like organs, including vicious blades that slide out of a sheathe implanted in each of its forearms. The creature still has humanoid eyes glaring from its helmet-like head. What's left of its face shows nothing but pain, despair and murderous fury.
A modronoid is an artificial horror created by a deranged arcane spellcaster grafting parts from a base modron to a humanoid. This procedure is enough to drive both the “donor” modron and “host” humanoid completely insane, driven to kill everyone they see and, in their brief moments of lucidity, try to destroy themselves. Implanting part of the donor modron's brain into the host can prevent this “modron madness” to create a sane modronoid that will slavishly follow orders, although this complex procedure can still drive the modronoid crazy and does nothing to improve its intelligence.
The life force of a modronoid is linked to the life force of the modron its parts came from, so if one of them dies the other immediately perishes. The mutilated remains of the modron donors are restrained and kept alive in some secure place so they can't die and destroy their linked modronoid. The modrons too badly damaged to survive by themselves are kept alive in vats of a strange sludge. This life support ichor is probably a alchemical fluid of some kind, although rumors claim it's made from the processed corpses of modrons whose modronoid fusion surgeries failed. That should be impossible though, as such modrons would have their remains vanish back to Mechanus when they die.
A typical modronoid stands 5 feet tall and weighs about 300 pounds.
Combat
Modronoids attack with howling fury, hurling themselves into melee combat with their arm blades. An "insane" modronoid, or one left to its own devices, tries to kill any non-modron or non-modronoid it sees. A "sane" modronoid being directed by its creator, or a supervisor its master ordered it to obey, will slavishly and unimaginatively follow any order its controller gives it.
Unless otherwise directed, modronoids fight until they kill all their opponents or die. They have no fear of death, which would end the agonizing pain of their existence.
Arm Blades (Ex): Each of the modronoid's arms is fitted with a retractable short-sword sized blade. An arm blade does 1d6 piercing damage and threatens a critical hit on a natural attack roll of 19–20.
Linked Modron (Ex): A modronoid's construct parts are implants taken from a base modron that is kept alive in a helpless condition. If either the base modron or modronoid is killed, the link is severed and the other linked creature immediately dies. The modron's corpse will vanish back to Mechanus since it is an extraplanar creature, including the parts implanted into the modronoid. The base modron and modronoid are connected by a silver cord (see the
astral projection spell) and do not need to be on the same plane of existence, but both die if the silver cord is severed.
Living Construct Traits: Immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, and energy drain. Cannot heal damage naturally. Subject to stunning, ability damage, and ability drain. Subject to spells that target either constructs or living creatures.
Vulnerability to Metal-Affecting Powers (Ex): A modronoid takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from effects that target its metallic components, such as the
chill metal and
heat metal spells, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.
A modronoid is affected normally by rust attacks, such as those of a rust monster or a
rusting grasp spell.
The spell
transmute metal to wood gives the modronoid a –2 penalty on the attack and damage rolls of its arm blades and –2 reduction to its natural armor bonus. If it rolls a natural attack roll of 1 or 2 with a transmuted arm blade the weapon splinters, reducing the damage to 1d3+4 piercing with no critical threat multiplier. Every time a transmuted modronoid is struck with a natural attack roll of 19 or 20 it loses an additional point of armor bonus.
The spell
repel metal or stone pushes a modronoid away from the caster as if it were a hurricane force wind that uses the caster's spell DC for its Fortitude saving throws. See the Weather rules for Powerful Storms for the wind effects of a hurricane.
In Planescape
Modronoids were invented by a barmy wizard named Valran Stonefist, a member of the Society of Sensation faction. Valran worked with the Tacharim, an outcast group of murderous and chaotic thugs, with the ultimate aim of creating an army of modronoids. The base modrons he used in his experiments were abducted from a highly abnormal Great Modron March. Every 289 years, a great host of modrons march around the Great Wheel on a tour of the Outer Planes, but this Great March did not match the 289-year cycle, which was truly strange behavior for the clockwork-like modrons.
Valran Stonefist ended up having his brain implanted into the body of a Decaton, becoming the first
hierarch modronoid. Adventurers reportedly slew the decaton modronoid Valran at The Flower Infernal in Gehenna, the Tacharim's headquarters and main base.
Originally appeared in The Great Modron March (1997).
