D&D 5E My Take on the Modron (Houserule)

[Stalker0]

A while ago, a did a take on what I considered "True Slaad", aka an enemy that is actually chaotic enough to represent the described paragons of chaos: D&D 5E - 5e Updates: Monstrous Compendium


I have also run an altered version of Modron. While I generally like the modron, they still are not "ordered enough" for my tastes, so I used a few tweaks to make them even more so. I've run this a few times in different games and generally had a fun experience.


Aura of Order (Pentadrones and higher): Any creature within 100 ft of the modron (including the modron itself) uses a result of 10 when making a d20 roll regardless of the rolled result. When rolling damage, the average result is used. This also applies to ranged attacks made against targets within the aura's radius.

Group Mind: A modron may use the help action to grant a modron of exactly one rank higher a +1 to all d20 rolls. Multiple modron may perform the same action up to +10.



So what these two abilities do is this. A modron either will ALWAYS hit certain party members, and ALWAYS pass their saves....or they will NEVER hit and NEVER pass. But when you have a group of modron, they can work together to bump their bosses result. This often forces the party to target the weaker modron first and take them out in order to get the boss modron below the critical threshold, otherwise the high modron becomes a very scary threat as it never fails to deliver punishment to the party on its turn. You can also do several ranks of modron at once, creating a pyramid that the party has to chop through one layer at a time.

It creates a very fun unique dynamic to combat. while it can be fun for a party to watch a modron go knowing it literally cannot hurt them, it can be terrifying to see the power of a higher level modron they literally cannot stop without some bonus or weakening of its lessers. It often requires a change of tactics from the norm and really solidies the modron as a true exemplar of order.

 

[J-H]

That does sound fun.
My other problem with the Modrons is that they are all very low CR in the MM.

 

[LordEntrails]

Extremely swingy.
Doesn't mean it wouldn't be usable, but seem like it is going to require more DM prep and simulation of the combat. And if the players don't take the right action, very deadly.
Not opposed to it, and it's a very interesting design mechanic, but I think has to be used very carefully.

 

[dave2008]

A while ago, a did a take on what I considered "True Slaad", aka an enemy that is actually chaotic enough to represent the described paragons of chaos: D&D 5E - 5e Updates: Monstrous Compendium


I have also run an altered version of Modron. While I generally like the modron, they still are not "ordered enough" for my tastes, so I used a few tweaks to make them even more so. I've run this a few times in different games and generally had a fun experience.


Aura of Order (Pentadrones and higher): Any creature within 100 ft of the modron (including the modron itself) uses a result of 10 when making a d20 roll regardless of the rolled result. When rolling damage, the average result is used. This also applies to ranged attacks made against targets within the aura's radius.

Group Mind: A modron may use the help action to grant a modron of exactly one rank higher a +1 to all d20 rolls. Multiple modron may perform the same action up to +10.

I love the idea. My only question at this time is: why limit the group mind bonus to the higher CR modron? Is there a downside to giving any modron the benefit?

 

[dave2008]

Extremely swingy.
Doesn't mean it wouldn't be usable, but seem like it is going to require more DM prep and simulation of the combat. And if the players don't take the right action, very deadly.
Not opposed to it, and it's a very interesting design mechanic, but I think has to be used very carefully.

I don't follow. If there is no die-roll, how can it be more swingy or swingy at all. It is the same on every roll. That seems like the opposite of swingy or am I missing something?

 

[Stalker0]

I don't follow. If there is no die-roll, how can it be more swingy or swingy at all. It is the same on every roll. That seems like the opposite of swingy or am I missing something?

their point (which is true) is that dependent on the scenario you get into one of two states with a given modron:

1) The modron or party lands all attacks and makes all saves.
2) The modron or party fails all attack and fails all saves.

So while most combats each round tends to be a mix of hits and misses, a modron round tends to swing wildly from one or the other. Now there is nuance in that not every save DC and attack roll is the same number, and so one player might always hit and another always miss, balancing out the books....but in practice it does tend to be swingy which is the point. It creates a very intimidating obstacle for the players to overcome, but the roar becomes a whimper once they get over the hurdle and get the bonus below a certain point.

 

[Stalker0]

I love the idea. My only question at this time is: why limit the group mind bonus to the higher CR modron? Is there a downside to giving any modron the benefit?

There are two reasons for this:

Thematically: In lore, modrons only communicate with modrons one rank higher or lower than themselves. So this mechanic reinforces that flavor.

Mechanically: It creates a pyramid structure of power, where 3 tiers of modron in a fight can't all just make the one boss a super foe, the lower modrons can buff up the middle ones, and maybe the middle ones decide to fight or buff up the boss. And so it creates tiers of the pyramid for the players to attack, adding interesting nuance to a modron combat.

 

[J-H]

The average on a d20 is 10.5. Half of the rolls should be 10, and half of them should be 11.
Perhaps the Modrons get the 11s and their opponents get the 10s?
It's a slight edge while maintaining something approaching statistical fairness.

 

[Savage Wombat]

The average on a d20 is 10.5. Half of the rolls should be 10, and half of them should be 11.
Perhaps the Modrons get the 11s and their opponents get the 10s?
It's a slight edge while maintaining something approaching statistical fairness.

Clever, but we have at least one magic item (Clockwork Amulet) that establishes that the Forces of Law inflicting balance on your attack roll makes it a ten.

 

[dave2008]

their point (which is true) is that dependent on the scenario you get into one of two states with a given modron:

1) The modron or party lands all attacks and makes all saves.
2) The modron or party fails all attack and fails all saves.

So while most combats each round tends to be a mix of hits and misses, a modron round tends to swing wildly from one or the other. Now there is nuance in that not every save DC and attack roll is the same number, and so one player might always hit and another always miss, balancing out the books....but in practice it does tend to be swingy which is the point. It creates a very intimidating obstacle for the players to overcome, but the roar becomes a whimper once they get over the hurdle and get the bonus below a certain point.

OK, that is not how I was understanding "swingy," but that makes sense. Follow up question: how do things like Bless or other modifiers work in the aura?