The Plane of Nirvana
is a plane of balance && absolute order.
It is equally hot and cold,
light and dark, <>
and made of equal parts of solid and liquid.
The chief inhabitants of this plane are
known as modrons and live in a rigid caste system under the absolute rule
of Primus the One.
Nirvana is laid out like a great wheel with
the Tower of Primus at the hub.
The wheel is infinitely wide but divided
into 64 sectors, <UA ZONE note : sector = 8 squares. there are
a total of 64 sectors> <16 misc squares left over makes 538 squares>
each sector with its own governor.
Four <4> sectors become a region, <UA
ZONE note : region = 32 squares. there are a total of 16 regions>
maintained by its ruler,
and <4> regions are ruled by a viceroy
as a single quarter. <UA ZONE note : quarter = 128 squares. there
are a total of 4 quarters>
The 4 quarters are ruled by Primus.
Access to this great wheel is possible
by astral means <link?> or by portals that connect to [Arcadia], [Acheron],
and the [Plane of Concordant Opposition],
but the locations of these portals change
as the wheel revolves around the Tower of Primus.
In modron's society all beings are classified,
all actions regulated,
and all procedures delineated.
<UA idea : instead of
displaying character name, or monster name, during combat,
use the classification. eg.
UVC9 -- undead.vampire.cleric.9,
instead of displaying VAMPIRE,
during the combat screen. so, in code, this just manifests as a variant
on the standard cout>
Obedience to the laws is immediate and
unquestioned.
The society is separated into the base
modrons who are the largest in number and act as the servant class,
and the hierarch modrons,
who are the leaders, enforcers, and governors.
The castes are as follows:
| Monodrones (300 million +) | General laborers |
| Duodrones (55 million +) | Complex tasks |
| Tridrones (6 million +) | Multiple tasks, minor supervision |
| Quadrones (1.5 million +) | Multiple complex tasks, supervision |
| Pentadrones (500 thousand +) | Lesser police, law enforcement |
| Decatons (100) | Physical welfare of the base modron |
| Nonatons (81) | Police supervision |
| Octons (64) | Governors of the sectors of Nirvana |
| Septons (49) | Inspectors |
| Hextons (36) | Generals of the armies of Nirvana |
| Quintons (25) | Bureau chiefs and record-keepers |
| Quartons (16) | Rulers of the regions of Nirvana |
| Tertians (9) | Judges |
| Secundi (4) | Viceroys of the 4 quarters |
| Primus (The One) | Absolute ruler of Nirvana |
<in the manner of devils (ie. greater,
lesser, arch-, etc.), the above could be added as an (italics) to
the names of the individual creatures>
<small note (total = 300 million +,
etc.) could be added to the #A>
Modrons will always check with superiors
if confronted with a situation beyond their expertise or <not> covered
by the regulations.
If the question is beyond the knowledge
of their immediate superior,
it is relayed up the chain of command.
Most base modron questions stop at a [pentadrone]
or [decation].
Queries concerning regulations sometimes
reach the quintons,
and a precious few inquiries reach the
tertians.
The modrons are not affected by any illusions
or magic that affects the mind (beguilement, charm, domination,
hold, hypnosis, and sleep are examples.)
Fear and other emotion spells have
no effect,
and the modrons are unaffected by attacks
based in the Positive or Negative Planes (including <incl.> life-draining
or life-stealing). <b&w + lnk>
All modrons save vs. cold, fire, and acid
attacks at +1 and take damage at -1 per die.
The upper tier,
the modron hierarchs,
are never surprised.
Their precision of order allows them to
determine the initiative sequence in a melee round.
Each hierarch also has the following spell-like
powers that it can perform,
once per melee round at a time,
at will:
clairaudience,
clairvoyance,
[command],
[dimension door],
[teleport without error], <slight change
in wording>
and [wall of force].
The hierarchs are able to travel the Astral
and <&> Ethereal Planes, <lnk & lnk>
but they will never do so unless commanded
by Primus.
Modrons speak their own precise,
complex tongue,
the language from which lawful neutral
speech is derived. <dmg=done>
All modrons can communicate telepathically,
the distance is determined by rank as follows:
| Rank | Miles |
| Decaton | 44 |
| Nonaton | 63 |
| Octon | 80 |
| Septon | 190 |
| Hexton | 216 |
| Quinton | 238 |
| Quarton | 384 |
| Tertian | 405 |
| Secundi | 420 |
| Primus | All Nirvana |
Base modrons slain anywhere
simply return to the energy pool of Nirvana,
re-forming as new modrons in 9 days.
In times of excess population,
the lower levels are promoted,
and the highest tier,
the pentadrones,
has its numbers reduced;
the infirm or damaged pentadrones
are sent to the pool permanently.
<basically, 9 days after you kill a
modron, your computer crashes. or, does it?>
<space>
Hierarch modrons
slain in Nirvana also become part of the energy pool and are reborn in
9 days.
<space>
Those slain elsewhere return to Primus directly
and are not reborn.
The gap in the hierarchy is then filled
by promoting a lower hierarch 1 stage into the vacant position.
The process is repeated to fill the new
gap in the lineup,
until an outstanding pentadrone
is promoted to the hierarchy as a decaton.
This promotion requires 1 day,
during which time the promoted modron changes
shape into its new form and takes no other action.
Promotion can be initiated by any hierarch
higher than the one promoted.
Likewise, demotion can be made by a higher
hierarch,
sending the offending creature back to
the energy pool for later rebuilding.
As long as [Primus] is alive,
the ranks of the hierarchs remain fairly
constant.
Should [Primus] be slain,
the 4 [secundi] vie for his position in
a contest lasting a week.
The contest is to slay as many powerful
chaotic creatures (measured in levels) as possible.
The slayers of [Primus] are judged immediately
chaotic and are worth 100 times their level.
The succeeding [secundus] is invested with
the spirit of [Primus] and becomes the new One and Prime,
master of [Nirvana].
Rogue Units: There is a very small
chance that modron units encountered will be defective in some way,
either through natural decay or exposure
to outside, chaotic forces.
This is most common in the base modrons,
though there are cases of a few hierarchs
being affected in this way,
but never with any creature of [quarton]
status or higher.
Rogue modrons do not act in accordance
with [Primus]' wishes and directives;
they break laws and disobey orders,
and may prove violent.
These rogues are usually hunted down by
the efficient pentadrone police force commanded by the nonatons.
<redo this whole section -- data entry should be right, but redo after a reading of BATTLESYSTEM>
The Armies of Nirvana: There are
36 great armies on the plane of Nirvana,
each a powerful fighting force.
Each of the 16 regions of the plane has
its own army,
and the [secundi] have 2 armies each in
addition to their regional forces.
The tertians
have 3 armies to aid in law enforcement and punishment.
The final 9 armies serve [Primus] directly,
1 as the official tower guards and the
other 8 available for dispatch as needed.
<all of the following could be re-formatted for clarity>
Each army is commanded by a [hexton],
and comprises 4 corps,
each corps led by 40 pentadrones
in telepathic hookup with the [hexton].
Each corps has 2 divisions
commanded by 20 pentadrones,
and each division has 4 brigades
led by 10 pentadrones.
Each brigade has 4 regiments,
the regiment being the standard tactical
unit and led by 5 pentadrones.
There are 70 officers,
192 NCOs,
252 messengers,
and 2628 line troops in a brigade for a
total of 3142.
<size, maybe different font for those
wiki links>
A regiment consists of 2 "battles"
plus <+> a squad
of winged [monodrone] messengers and a special squad of 12 pentadrones.
Each battle is led by 4 quadrones
and consists of 6 companies of monodrones,
2 companies of duodrones,
a special company of tridrones,
a squad of quadrones,
and another squad of messengers.
The 8 regular commanders are each divided
into 2 wings plus a headquarters unit.
Each company consists of 12 squads and
3 officers.
A squad numbers 12 troops and will contain
an NCO of the same type as the troops.
Special units of messengers,
"shock troops,"
and the like may be attached to the headquarters'
units of brigades,
divisions,
and corps.
<finish links to base & hierarch targets>
Nikosandros wrote:
Col_Pladoh wrote:
That's it as I recall things.
Thanks!
Another question, if I may...
One race of creatures that has always fascinated me from AD&D is the Modrons. I can't quite place my fascination with those alien, geometrical creatures, but somehow they strike the same cords with me as Abbot's Flatland, De Chirico metaphysical paintings or Escher's impossible geometries.
Anyway... enough of my inane
ramblings, my question is: where did you get the inspiration for the Modrons?
Heh...
Oddly enough, I was just
thinking of the Modrons earl;ier this week, mainly because of some questions
about alignment.
Onwards!
The fact is I can not remember
if I initially envisaged that race or if another of the designers at TSR
did.
I do recall vividly detailing
them, but who conceived the Modrons I can not say.
They do fit into the LN
plane perfectly, though, I do believe.
Cheers,
Gary
Nikosandros wrote:
Col_Pladoh wrote:
They do fit into the LN
plane perfectly, though, I do believe.
Just so. I've recently used them ito good effect n a very funny non-combat encounter in which the PCs had to deal with the modron bureaucracy of Nirvava...
The paladin and the LG cleric
whre especially miffed when they were fined for chaotic behaviour... 
Heh,
Single-minded attention to duty is the motto of the modrons. As I would relate to my players when their PCs encountered them:
"Work. Work. Work."
Whatever was set forth was what all their attention got.
I do like your fining the
LG PCs for chaotic behavior 
Cheers,
Gary
