The great modrons march

[wwanno]

I am currently reading the module. I tought it was a singole great adventure but now I see it is an anthology.
Did some of you DMed it? How did you filled in the gaps (like the two months time gap between chapters 1 & 2)?
Maybe I could throw in "the eternal boundary".

Suggestions? Tips? Advices?

 

[Crothian]

I kind of ran it. My idea was that while the main campaign was going on the Modrons would do their thing. The PCs did not really care what was going on with the Modrons. They were there for the adventures and kind of investigate and where involved but they were focused more on the campaign and didn't really care that much about it. I think I did maybe the first three chapters but I didn't take it farther as the group just wasn't interested.

 

[wwanno]

I woul like to run it so that PCs can travel the whole great wheel.

I hope their sense of wonder will compel them to follow the march.

 

[Crothian]

I woul like to run it so that PCs can travel the whole great wheel.

I hope their sense of wonder will compel them to follow the march.

I think if you make that the point of the game then it will work. My doing it as a sideshow was not the way to do it with that group.

 

[SkidAce]

Maybe you could think of a reason for them to precede the path of the Modron March.

Following could work of course...just thinking out loud.

 

[wwanno]

The problem with my plan is the whole path of the march. It is soo long. It spans from plane to plane and only at specific points something happens. I fear to change a roleplay campaign into a monologue of me as DM describing the planes to the players.
The modrons march across Arcadia, Limbo, Bytopia, Elysium, Arborea, Ysgard, Pandemonium, the Grey Wastes, Baator (I say Baator!!!), but no adventures take place there.
Not to mention that some of those enviroment could kill the PC or drive them mad. Not thei inhabitants, just the nature of the planes.
And even if I make the PCs struggle to survive those planes, it will become soon really boring becouse it will be a sequence of saving throws to avoid those effects.

I am concerned.

 

[SkidAce]

Because of (insert plot idea), the adventurers (following/preceding) The Modron March are immune to the worst of the planar effects.

Several planes are passed through uneventfully, with only a sense of wonder at the uniqueness and grandeur, while others have various obstacles the adventurers must (solve/combat) in order to continue.

Perhaps they fail to solve an obstacle and get left behind by the March. As their "protections" begin to fade over days or weeks, they must find a short cut to catch up with the March, perhaps climbing a limb of the World Tree, or sailing down the Lethe or the Styx...dun dun dun.

 

[DMZ2112]

I'm currently using it to frame a run-through of all the major published Planescape adventures culminating in Dead Gods and Faction War. Modron adventure, a couple of other adventures, next modron adventure, a couple more other adventures...

In the beginning I went from the Mechanus/Automata modron adventure into the first Doors to the Unknown adventure and then on to Eternal Boundary. The overall arc of the campaign has a geographic flow when there is one available but admittedly there is a lot of returning to Sigil.

I'm getting around the hostile nature of the planes in general by having some mentor NPCs on hand who help when asked and in return for favors.

 

[wwanno]

My PCs will be clueless (I will introduce them to the planes with "to Baator and back" ) .

Now this is (at the moment, I know it will change a lot) my "mental flowchart":
1- I will start with the first chapter of the GMM as soon as they arrive to Sigil.
I will place a NPC with them (the one who get poisoned at the start of chapter IV), and he will explain the basics.
2- When they come back to sigil, the NPC leaves. At this point they are involved in "the great boundary". They have a house (recived from Jysson) but no money (I will skip that part of the reward), and the gp from the prime material plane have no value here, gold is too malleable to be used for anything really durable and the lack of materials makes "iron" the real valuable metal. They are in need and are hired to find the missing sod.
3- The NPC contacts the PC and hires them as guards. He intends to follow the march. He is in possession of a wand of "analyze portal". This way the PCs can be aware of what they are going to face and prepare themselves.


How is it? Do you like? Suggestions for the faction the NPC belongs to? I was thinking to the "revolutionary league", so he can act as a member of another faction all the time and provide a nice twist when he reveal himself.

 

[DMZ2112]

My PCs will be clueless (I will introduce them to the planes with "to Baator and back" ) .

I've run that a few times. It's pretty solid.

1- I will start with the first chapter of the GMM as soon as they arrive to Sigil.

Just a note that the hook on the first chapter of the GMM is weak tea, unless your party is a bunch of consummate do-gooders. You might want to give it some thought. I had one of my mentor NPCs ask the PCs to help Jysson and they still came really close to just ditching the book (and Jysson) on several occasions,

Spoiler

especially once the crazy-high-level wizardess showed up and started trying to kill them.

Not to mention the leg beholders.

gp from the prime material plane have no value here, gold is too malleable to be used for anything really durable and the lack of materials makes "iron" the real valuable metal.

Okay, but they'll have plenty of iron, too, unless they're fighting with stone and wood weapons and armor. Also, a lack of materials? In the second largest port of trade in all reality? It's your campaign, but if I were a player I would cry foul.

I was thinking to the "revolutionary league", so he can act as a member of another faction all the time and provide a nice twist when he reveal himself.

It has merit, but remember that with a party of clueless you're going to have to /explain/ the factions before someone turning stag is going to have any meaning to them.