What exactly is the Great Modron March?

[Psion]

"The Great Modron March" was a series of adventures written by Monte Cook for 2nd Ed, and were pretty highly regarded, as I recall.

As I seem to recall, I was not the only person on the PSML who didn't twig to the GMM anothology. It have potential, but the execution was botched.

1) The adventures showed a very poor attempt at motivating the characters. For example, the early adventures make you hate the little buggers, and the later ones expect you to sympathise with them. (Pkitty's experience also doesn't surprise me.)

2) The levels for the final adventures were above the recommended starting levels for Dead Gods, which these events were a prelude to. And if it comes between running Dead Gods and... well, any other adventure, you run Dead Gods.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

As I seem to recall, I was not the only person on the PSML who didn't twig to the GMM anothology. It have potential, but the execution was botched.

1) The adventures showed a very poor attempt at motivating the characters. For example, the early adventures make you hate the little buggers, and the later ones expect you to sympathise with them. (Pkitty's experience also doesn't surprise me.)

2) The levels for the final adventures were above the recommended starting levels for Dead Gods, which these events were a prelude to. And if it comes between running Dead Gods and... well, any other adventure, you run Dead Gods.

They came out during a lull in my gaming, so I never got to play them. I missed most of the Planescape era, to my regret. I was basing my impression on stuff I'd read here over the past couple of years. Perhaps a bit of Planescape nostalgia has crept in. I was also under the (mistaken) impression that TGMM was a series of which 'Dead Gods' was considered a part. I didn't know it was a sequel, more or less.

 

[Psion]

I was also under the (mistaken) impression that TGMM was a series of which 'Dead Gods' was considered a part. I didn't know it was a sequel, more or less.

Er, yeah. The product, the Great Modron March is an adventure anothology that follows the Modrons around the great ring, an event which happens ahead of schedule. Why this happens you don't find out until Dead Gods, which has the bad guy (

Spoiler

Tenebrous, AKA Orcus

) reflecting on the outcome of this event.

 

[UltimaGabe]

Wow! Thanks for all of the info- I'm especially surprised to find out that The Great Modron March (the module) comes right before Dead Gods- because, as it happens, I have Dead Gods on my computer, via pdf. I read it over a while ago (most of it, anyway) because of my aforementioned interest in the planes- but as it's 2e, I didn't understand half of it. Oh well. Anyone know where I could find a copy/pdf of The Great Modron March? Also, anyone know if TGMM or DG have been converted to 3e or 3.5? I'd love to run them sometime if I could get my hands on a conversion. Any help would be most appreciated.

(Also, out of curiosity, did anyone get the pun in my original post?)

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Oh, no, *I'm* not bitter. Not me. Nope. Uh uh.

For explanation, I was tremendously excited to run the module and its sequel, Dead Gods. I had the PCs there as the modrons streamed out of the portal from Mechanus. Then one PC looked at another and said, "You know what? There are thousands of people here. I bet one of them will figure out why the modrons are marching early."

Then they all packed up and went home.

Bastards.

ROTFLOLFDTSITKSSTSOTFBSABUDKKN!


(Rolling on the floor Laughing out Loud Falling Down The Stairs Into The Keller Stösst Sich The Schädel On The Fußboden bricht sich alle beine und der krankenwagen kommt net!)

 

[Piratecat]

Oh, sure. Ha ha. Go ahead, laugh at the crying DM.

Sniff.

 

[RangerWickett]

Inevitables. Hrm....

The first rule about Pun Club: You don't talk about Pun Club!

 

[Non-human Resources]

Oh, sure. Ha ha. Go ahead, laugh at the crying DM.

Sniff.

The roleplaying is always better when the DM is crying.

 

[Crothian]

Oh, sure. Ha ha. Go ahead, laugh at the crying DM.

Sniff.

Do you include stories of the great march and all things going on with it as backdrops to anything or did you just give up on it? When my players do that I contibnue the plot without them all the while introducing new elements and just showing them that it continues.

 

[Piratecat]

Do you include stories of the great march and all things going on with it as backdrops to anything or did you just give up on it?

Give up on it? Fie! From my story hour, when the group meets a half-orc horizon walker named Shaw:

Nolin and Agar perk up. “You’ve been to the Abyss?”

“Sure,” the half-orc gestures with both hands. “I’ve traveled the planes. You ever been to Sigil?”

“You bet!” exclaims Agar, and the rest of the Defenders gather round as well.

“I love it there, but it’s a little crowded. I don’t know if you know about it, but right now the modrons are marching. I actually got to follow them for a few months! Best decision I ever made. I had some amazing adventures, met some fascinating people, and got some treasure I couldn’t be happier with.” He smiles contentedly.

“Do you know why they’re marching?” asks Nolin, his voice sour.

“Got some theories,” considers Shaw, “but I promised someone I wouldn’t talk about them.”
​

In addition, the Modron March is still a major plot point in the ongoing game six years later, tied to all sorts of continuing mischief. I'm fairly removed from canon, though; recently the last of the modrons made it back to Mechanus, and the entire race -- all 330 + million of them -- keeled over and died simultaneously. The PCs were in the middle of the capitol of Regulus at the time, and it was something of a shock. Now there's a rumor around that they caused the mass deaths. As you can imagine, they're wanted for questioning.