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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hexmage-EN" data-source="post: 8329298" data-attributes="member: 79428">Talking about modrons leads me to an even greater example of change over the editions in both design and lore: the marut.[ATTACH=full]139781[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]139782[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]139783[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]139784[/ATTACH]Maruts in 2E, 3E, and 4E are all creatures of inflexible law that appear to be made of stone. In 2E and 3E in particular, the maruts enforced the inevitability of death.3E folded the marut into a new group called the inevitables, which were effectively one of two replacements for the modrons as the inhabitants of Mechanus along with the formians (not to be confused with the older fomorians). The marut as an inevitable maintained its role as enforcer of death and a punisher of those who would avoid it, whereas the other inevitables focused on enforcing other laws of the multiverse.4E got rid of the inevitables but effectively expanded the role of the maruts to encompass their former role. No longer merely enforcers of the inevitability of death, the 4E maruts were created by an alliance of gods (bodies crafted by Moradin and souls crafted by other gods of Law) to be impartial arbiters in terms of disputes between the gods, the creators of the first written language (which put the language of the gods into writing), and enforcers of order throughout the Astral Sea. With Mechanus not yet introduced into 4E, the maruts became a presence throughout the Astral Plane with multiple fortresses of law in which contracts were stored and protected, the two greatest being the Tower of Judgement (where the first and most powerful marut was said to dwell) and the Bastion of Inevitiability, which maps the Astral Plane thanks to its ability to teleport vast distances whenever any explorer of the plane enters a new, unmapped location. When the modrons were brought into 4E towards the end of the line they and the maruts were able to coexist without infringing on each other's conceptual space, the maruts being impartial arbiters of law between the lawful gods and the modrons being the components of Primus, a more alien form of law beyond the gods.5E brought about the most radical change to the maruts, nearly completely reinventing them. Now more metallic than stone and bearing a slight visual similarity to the modrons (with very little coming from the designs of previous editions), the 5E maruts are stationed in the Hall of Concordance within Sigil. A unique being called the Kolyarut (which in 3E was a kind of inevitable rather than a unique individual) dispatches maruts to punish violators of agreements that were made before the Kolyarut. The 5E marut is also a veritable powerhouse at CR 25, capable of dealing a constant amount of damage with each attack and even forcibly teleporting itself and up to two targets to the Hall of Concordance in Sigil.Personally, I like the 4E take on the marut the best as arbiters of law that even the Lawful gods defer to, as well as their wider distribution and number of roles they can fulfill in a campaign where exploration of the Astral Plane occurs. They also helped to populate the Astral Sea of 4E, fitting in alongside githyanki, angels, and corals. The 5E marut has a unique design and its sheer power is notable, but they seem like they would be very limited in terms of when a DM could actually use them due to having such a very specific purpose and enormous power that eclipses that of several demon lords. I'm honestly a bit curious what the thought process was behind making 5E maruts so limited in scope. Even if you ditch their link to the Hall of Concordance they're so powerful that I'm struggling to think what else you could use them for other than serving as Mechanus' equivalent to pit fiends or something.</blockquote>

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