Sunday 5 July 2015

Fragments from the Modronomicon


http://juliedillon.deviantart.com/art/March-of-the-Modrons-51763324
Im not so in love with the cute mechanical minion type modrons but Julie does it so well i like it anyway

Fragments from the Modronomicon the book of law


I always liked modrons as demons of law. I have my own spin on them which I will get too but I have my influences. Virtues in early Stormbringer rpg are a biggie and under used. Also influenced by my friends RQ game I played for years. There were lots of different magic systems in play, well developed since RQ1 days we played 4 years while at uni. As we summoned law demons that actually made up the structure of the universe. Players began to mess with them and found the were weakening universe almost as badly as enemies and were possibly pawns. All the paths to power had bottlenecks which players learned after breaking them were set with good reason. Im a big Moorcock fan and have been messing with Law-Choas axiom in gaming since a teenager. Hinduism and Jainism are pretty interesting source for ideas of micro and macro cosmos and time and souls and atoms.

10 Seldom Known Modron Facts

1.They already know outcome of battle but play along anyway fatalistically as bound by karma of law. They were created in the beginning and see time unfold quite differently

2. If forced to reveal a secret of the universe they self destruct reducing the mass of the universe and the total number of modrons and increasing the foothold of chaos

3. Some refer to modrons as demons of law as they may be summoned, banished, enslaved and bound by magicians specializing in such things

4. Stasis is a state when time and space become still and all becomes one forever. The universe fell from this state in the beginning but may yet return to it, or perhaps the state waxes and wanes eternally

5. Modrons behind the scenes of reality seen by mortals, operate and maintain the great celestial machine that runs time and space, the machine is currently broken

6. Chaos is the enemy of the forces of law who commands powers of finality. The great weapon death destroys the spawn of cosmic anarchy and helps restore the universe to a state of constancy

7. When a modron dies it's power returns to the source, a fountain head of divine power where it is recycled into new form. Possibly a modron or a tiger or a flame or lightning bolt. Many modrons are lost in false bodies and if they can be found the cosmos might be restored

8. Modrons are actually the basis of all matter in the universe. Atoms that make up everything are actually modrons. Energy forms that follow laws may be modrons possibly incarnate for only milliseconds. Chaos makes things broken from causality and that do not obey laws of science

9. Modrons prefer not to struggle in the great patterns of the cosmos. They take no pleasure when they kill but rather seek non involvement in affairs of mortals. Only when chaos breaches the flow of natural force do modrons have to intervene and repair the subsystems of reality

10. Pleasure and pain are fleeting things modrons accept with perfect clarity and understanding. Wild emotions are shunned and and disturb the modrons eternal peace and spiritual evolution

10 Modron Variations

1.Mechanons - based on clockwork and mechanical principles and will use technology and weapons such as repeating crossbows, fire casters, gas, gunpowder and other technology. Seemingly mechanical beings may carry or have built in weapons.

2.Kronons - based on principles of time can manifest time echoes as illusionary duplicates (one per HD per day like the wizard spell). May know of past and future events but reluctant to talk to mortals. Greater ones night recruit mortals and send back or forth in time for a quest. Appear as simple geometric shapes with dim glow.

3.Aurons - beings of light and energy, can fire a d3/HD beam once per HD per day of energy. Glowing polyhedrons of light, difficult to look at. All have true sight.

4.Atomicons - make up basic matter of reality and can unite to form modrons with higher HD. Some planes of reality this is more difficult and requires more HD of modrons to create a larger one. If killed with a saving throw will break into smaller HD modrons

5.Veriticons - beings of pure maths and logic usually live in a mathematical universe. Once per HD per day can either automatically hit or cause max damage. When glowing bodies damages they leak mathimagical symbols which fade.

6.Staticons - beings of pure stasis opposed to motion and time. They are crystaline and can go into stasis one round per HD. When in stasis they cannot be moved or harmed. If they make a saving throw they could use this defensively to resist a fireball or visible spell attack.

7.Cryons - beings of decelerated matter and appear ice covered and cold to the touch. Resistant to all cold they can radiate a field 1" radius per HD that inflicts one HP damage per HD. Surfaces will become slick and iced up and some items will become frozen and brittle.

8.Pyrons - beings of accelerated matter and appear glowing red and even burst into flame when angered.  Resistant to all fire and heat they can radiate a field 1" radius per HD that inflicts one HP damage per HD. Surfaces will become hot and incendiary items like grass or straw might ignite.

9.Voltons - beings of accelerated energy, many which last only brief lives mostly to fight chaos or as ashort lived stage in modron evolution. Can fire a d3/HD lightning bolt once per HD per day. They glow and crackle with electricity. They smell of ozone and you might feel static shocks when approaching them.

10.Datons - beings of knowledge who transmit cosmic blueprints to other modrons to unfold the great plan of law on the universe. They may be forced to answer simply questions and some are specialists in certain fields. If questioned about great secrets mortals are not fit to know they explode reducing the power of law in the multiverse until the source is renewed. Mostly will answer a question with one word per HD. 10 HD can cast contact other plane spells daily.

4 comments:

  1. Very thoughtful. I remember Storm bringer RPG fondly, too

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  2. Modrons are a useful foil for chaotic greedy murder hobos.

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  3. I'm finally interested in modrons.Well done.

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  4. this is one of your most amazing posts.

    ReplyDelete

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