dreast
2017-09-05, 09:56 AM
When modrons go rogue, they are typically swiftly dispatched by their fellow modrons with neither passion nor remorse. Occasionally, a modron who goes rogue by developing a sense of self will undertake a strange transformation, taking on the body of a quadrone regardless of their previous form; these modrons can occasionally escape detection long enough to escape Mechanus, but are far more likely to survive if the transformation happens during or in the aftermath of the great Modron March, where modrons of all ranks are occasionally abandoned in chaotic environs if it is deemed necessary for the greater Law. However, there is an alternative transformation that can happen when a monodrone is inflicted with a spark of chaos.
Monodrones lack the sentience to become truly rogue, even if chaos inflicts them; their alignment remains lawful neutral. Instead, they become marked by shrinking to tiny size (with a corresponding loss of strength), and they abandon any previous directive in favor of reporting the conditions of their "fall" to chaos. Upon receiving their report, these fallen monodrones are inevitably immediately destroyed by the duodrones they report to, who then pass the report all the way up the chain to Primus himself. Future monodrones that fly from the Modron Cathedral will be hardened against similar fates, although Chaos seems to have an infinite number of ways to subvert the purity of the modron form. The complexity of promotion inevitably eliminates this self-reporting mechanism from a modron.
Monodrones abandoned during the Modron March (which can number in the thousands) who fall to chaos will exhibit this transformation, but lacking the ability to report to a duodrone, this directive inevitably falls away and the rogue monodrone's actions become unpredictable. Needing neither food nor sleep, rogue monodrones can sit in place for centuries, or imitate insects they see by buzzing around without purpose, or attempt to renew whatever directive they had before their fall (marching in place, cleaning the area they find themselves in, keeping a room orderly, etc.). Already replaced by another monodrone on Mechanus, they have no compulsion to return there, even if they had the means to conceive a plan to do so.
A lawful spellcaster who seeks a variant familiar could do worse than a tiny monodrone. While they lack the ability to attack (unlike a pseudodragon or imp variant familiar), their truesight and ability to fly can combine to be a powerful tool to the master willing to see through their eyes. The ritual to bind a monodrone requires a lawful master, who is then perceived as the monodrone's proper overseer by the rogue monodrone. When a monodrone familiar dies, it disintegrates to dust; however, the find familiar spell can be cast again by the monodrone's master to give the spirit of the monodrone its tiny body back, ready and eager to serve once more. Note that monodrones are constructs and as such can be healed by the Mending cantrip (in the rare case an attack doesn't destroy them outright). Monodrone familiars are often given names like Dingbot or Sparkplug, which in the one concession to the spark of chaos that lingers in their minds, they will adopt as their own.
Masters with modron familiars are advised to avoid traveling to Mechanus. That said, if a rogue monodrone can't be located that fits a lawful master's desire to possess one, it is always possible to make one if you can capture (or hire someone to capture) a monodrone in Mechanus. Good luck!
Stat block:
Rogue Monodrone
Tiny construct, lawful neutral
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 5 (1d8 + 1)
Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft.
Str 4 Dex 13 Con 12 Int 4 Wis 10 Cha 5
Senses Truesight 120 ft, passive Perception 10
Languages Modron
Challenge 0
Disintegration: If the monodrone dies, its body disintegrates into dust, leaving behind its weapons and anything else it was carrying.
Monodrones lack the sentience to become truly rogue, even if chaos inflicts them; their alignment remains lawful neutral. Instead, they become marked by shrinking to tiny size (with a corresponding loss of strength), and they abandon any previous directive in favor of reporting the conditions of their "fall" to chaos. Upon receiving their report, these fallen monodrones are inevitably immediately destroyed by the duodrones they report to, who then pass the report all the way up the chain to Primus himself. Future monodrones that fly from the Modron Cathedral will be hardened against similar fates, although Chaos seems to have an infinite number of ways to subvert the purity of the modron form. The complexity of promotion inevitably eliminates this self-reporting mechanism from a modron.
Monodrones abandoned during the Modron March (which can number in the thousands) who fall to chaos will exhibit this transformation, but lacking the ability to report to a duodrone, this directive inevitably falls away and the rogue monodrone's actions become unpredictable. Needing neither food nor sleep, rogue monodrones can sit in place for centuries, or imitate insects they see by buzzing around without purpose, or attempt to renew whatever directive they had before their fall (marching in place, cleaning the area they find themselves in, keeping a room orderly, etc.). Already replaced by another monodrone on Mechanus, they have no compulsion to return there, even if they had the means to conceive a plan to do so.
A lawful spellcaster who seeks a variant familiar could do worse than a tiny monodrone. While they lack the ability to attack (unlike a pseudodragon or imp variant familiar), their truesight and ability to fly can combine to be a powerful tool to the master willing to see through their eyes. The ritual to bind a monodrone requires a lawful master, who is then perceived as the monodrone's proper overseer by the rogue monodrone. When a monodrone familiar dies, it disintegrates to dust; however, the find familiar spell can be cast again by the monodrone's master to give the spirit of the monodrone its tiny body back, ready and eager to serve once more. Note that monodrones are constructs and as such can be healed by the Mending cantrip (in the rare case an attack doesn't destroy them outright). Monodrone familiars are often given names like Dingbot or Sparkplug, which in the one concession to the spark of chaos that lingers in their minds, they will adopt as their own.
Masters with modron familiars are advised to avoid traveling to Mechanus. That said, if a rogue monodrone can't be located that fits a lawful master's desire to possess one, it is always possible to make one if you can capture (or hire someone to capture) a monodrone in Mechanus. Good luck!
Stat block:
Rogue Monodrone
Tiny construct, lawful neutral
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 5 (1d8 + 1)
Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft.
Str 4 Dex 13 Con 12 Int 4 Wis 10 Cha 5
Senses Truesight 120 ft, passive Perception 10
Languages Modron
Challenge 0
Disintegration: If the monodrone dies, its body disintegrates into dust, leaving behind its weapons and anything else it was carrying.