Does this sound "fun"?

[NecroDancer]

The party will be headed to a town called Hearts Faith during the great modron march. They also have certain objects they need to complete alone or together in HF.

When they get to the town the modrons are prepped to march through it and the villagers beg the heroes to try to stop the mondrons (nigh impossible so they'll settle for the PCs slowing them down while people evacuate). However while the heros stall the modron's army and try to complete their own objectives a two headed adult white dragon with barbarian abilities flies in and starts kidnapping modrons (to foreshadow a group of evil knights).

So the heros need to
1). Complete the objectives for their chosen factions

2). Delay the modrons (they may avoid doing this)

3). Dodge a white dragon (the dragon is focused on the modrons not the heros so this won't be as hard as it seems)

I'll be running this a bit like a war game which is a bit different from what I'm use to but I think the players may enjoy the chance of pace.

[Sigreid]

Why are the modtrons a problem for the village? They aren't generally the type to smash up the place.

[JackPhoenix]

Why are the modtrons a problem for the village? They aren't generally the type to smash up the place.

Sounds like Great Modron March. Every few (hundred?) years, Primus sends modron en masse to map out the planes. The route is always the same, problem is, there may be a village where nothing was centuries ago... and modrons aren't likely to change their course just because of a minor obstacle like that. Even if modrons don't destroy everything deliberately, thousands of them marching through the land, not paying attention to obstacles like houses, cattle and bystanders stupid enough to get out of their way means trouble.

[NecroDancer]

Sounds like Great Modron March. Every few (hundred?) years, Primus sends modron en masse to map out the planes. The route is always the same, problem is, there may be a village where nothing was centuries ago... and modrons aren't likely to change their course just because of a minor obstacle like that. Even if modrons don't destroy everything deliberately, thousands of them marching through the land, not paying attention to obstacles like houses, cattle and bystanders stupid enough to get out of their way means trouble.

Yep it's tGMM, I added a bit of homebrew tweaks to it

[Sigreid]

Sounds like Great Modron March. Every few (hundred?) years, Primus sends modron en masse to map out the planes. The route is always the same, problem is, there may be a village where nothing was centuries ago... and modrons aren't likely to change their course just because of a minor obstacle like that. Even if modrons don't destroy everything deliberately, thousands of them marching through the land, not paying attention to obstacles like houses, cattle and bystanders stupid enough to get out of their way means trouble.

So the idea is they will just crash through walls and such instead of walking around obsticles?

To OP, sure. Sounds like it could be fun.

[Pex]

Adding in the dragon makes me think, "Oh great, what else is going to happen to make this worse" and start feeling helpless. If you need the dragon to set up future events the PCs will face then have it just be flavor text. Make it clear the dragon, at this time, is not a threat to the PCs by snatching modrons a great distance away. Also express how the modrons in the dragon's vicinity are fighting it and keeping it occupied.

[mgshamster]

I like the idea of having faction missions.

As for the dragon, have it off in the distance, taking out modrons in the ack of the line. Make it part of the backdrop as a foreshadowing tool, rather than something that directly interacts with the PCs.

Also, be aware, every time I've run this chapter, the players complained about the heavy railroading. Maybe make it a little more obvious from the beginning that they can't reroute the modrons and they just need to come up with stalling tactics. For example, the interim mayor could say, "I've already spoken with them and they refuse to change path. Just stall them as much as you can so we can get everyone out of here. Once they arrive, then help out with any stragglers on the evacuation front."

[Ruslan]

I get the feeling the PCs are a small fish in a big pond here. If your players like this kind of play, go for it. Fair warning, many players wouldn't. They'd prefer something more ... heroic that "delay Modrons, survive the dragon".

[M Placeholder]

I like it, it sounds fun. Just a thought - where is Hearts Faith, and considering that white dragons are the most bestial of all the chromatics, what is it doing kidnapping what are practically metal boxes?

[NecroDancer]

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep the dragon to the background (for now).

As to answer the question of why the dragon is hunting down metal box: an evil group of knights are capturing modrons to perform twisted experiments on them and fusing them to their own bodies. I wanted to give the group more "pizazz" so the idea of them hiring weird new NPCs excites me.

The white dragon would be interested in the thrill of the hunt and getting the chance to hunt down modrons is why he is working for the knights (he was also promised a portal to the beast-lands as well). I changed up the white dragon and gave him ranger spells instead of barbarian levels (so he can now cast pass without a trace and hunters mark).

[TrinculoLives]

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep the dragon to the background (for now).

As to answer the question of why the dragon is hunting down metal box: an evil group of knights are capturing modrons to perform twisted experiments on them and fusing them to their own bodies. I wanted to give the group more "pizazz" so the idea of them hiring weird new NPCs excites me.

The white dragon would be interested in the thrill of the hunt and getting the chance to hunt down modrons is why he is working for the knights (he was also promised a portal to the beast-lands as well). I changed up the white dragon and gave him ranger spells instead of barbarian levels (so he can now cast pass without a trace and hunters mark).

Good lord, the knights chose a poor time to be kidnapping modrons. I mean... won't Primus send more modrons to save those who were taken?

[NecroDancer]

Good lord, the knights chose a poor time to be kidnapping modrons. I mean... won't Primus send more modrons to save those who were taken?

In the adventure the modron march starts 100 years earlier than expected. That's because Orcus (who is now a god called Tenebrous) killed Primus and sent the modrons out to look for his wand (it makes sense in context)