I remember there was this type of creature that's a living place: it starts out as an inanimate area, land or terrain, and if I remember correctly even bridges, and after time it becomes animate, and I think it also gains stats too, not sure.
Does anyone know what that type of creature is called?
I've seen one interpretation of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus plane as a clockwork structure extending infinitely in all directions that is Mechanus itself (even though a being identified as Mechanus was killed in some versions of lore). Who can say what it really is if clockwork creations are the "living" creatures in that Lawful Neutral plane and the entire plane is a clockwork creation?
There's also supposedly a plane of the Abyss that is completely one creature.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
In previous editions, a zeitgeist was a fey that took the aspects of the land it inhabited, including the general pathos of its people. A genius loci was a section of land that spontaneously animates.
In previous editions, a zeitgeist was a fey that took the aspects of the land it inhabited, including the general pathos of its people. A genius loci was a section of land that spontaneously animates.
Ah... yes, finally... 3.5 was the edition I remembered having these creatures... genius loci... man, long time ago
I've seen one interpretation of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus plane as a clockwork structure extending infinitely in all directions that is Mechanus itself (even though a being identified as Mechanus was killed in some versions of lore). Who can say what it really is if clockwork creations are the "living" creatures in that Lawful Neutral plane and the entire plane is a clockwork creation?
There's also supposedly a plane of the Abyss that is completely one creature.
Mechanus is the plane, Primus is the being. Sometimes Primus dies, but this doesn't have any effect on Mechanus other than (eventually) causing a Monodron to spontaneously be created to replace the one that was advanced into being a Duodron (as whenever a Modron dies, the closest Modron of the next-lowest caste spontaneously advances to that cast to take its place, causing a ripple-effect through the castes as more Modrons are promoted to take the place of the previously advanced Modron until it reaches the Monodrons).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I've seen one interpretation of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus plane as a clockwork structure extending infinitely in all directions that is Mechanus itself (even though a being identified as Mechanus was killed in some versions of lore). Who can say what it really is if clockwork creations are the "living" creatures in that Lawful Neutral plane and the entire plane is a clockwork creation?
There's also supposedly a plane of the Abyss that is completely one creature.
Mechanus is the plane, Primus is the being. Sometimes Primus dies, but this doesn't have any effect on Mechanus other than (eventually) causing a Monodron to spontaneously be created to replace the one that was advanced into being a Duodron (as whenever a Modron dies, the closest Modron of the next-lowest caste spontaneously advances to that cast to take its place, causing a ripple-effect through the castes as more Modrons are promoted to take the place of the previously advanced Modron until it reaches the Monodrons).
why do modrons only advance when the previous superior officer dies? Considering how they become more powerful as they increase in rank, wouldn't it be more beneficial for them if all modrons were of the highest rank?
I've seen one interpretation of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus plane as a clockwork structure extending infinitely in all directions that is Mechanus itself (even though a being identified as Mechanus was killed in some versions of lore). Who can say what it really is if clockwork creations are the "living" creatures in that Lawful Neutral plane and the entire plane is a clockwork creation?
There's also supposedly a plane of the Abyss that is completely one creature.
Mechanus is the plane, Primus is the being. Sometimes Primus dies, but this doesn't have any effect on Mechanus other than (eventually) causing a Monodron to spontaneously be created to replace the one that was advanced into being a Duodron (as whenever a Modron dies, the closest Modron of the next-lowest caste spontaneously advances to that cast to take its place, causing a ripple-effect through the castes as more Modrons are promoted to take the place of the previously advanced Modron until it reaches the Monodrons).
why do modrons only advance when the previous superior officer dies? Considering how they become more powerful as they increase in rank, wouldn't it be more beneficial for them if all modrons were of the highest rank?
They don't voluntarily advance. It's only something that happens as a result of a hole in their ranks. Remember, they're the physical incarnation of order, there's a specific number of modrons of each rank that exists at any given time (twice as many as the next-highest rank, IIRC). At the lowest ranks, they don't even have a concept of things like individuality, and modrons can't even perceive other modrons that are more than two ranks above or below them.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I've seen one interpretation of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus plane as a clockwork structure extending infinitely in all directions that is Mechanus itself (even though a being identified as Mechanus was killed in some versions of lore). Who can say what it really is if clockwork creations are the "living" creatures in that Lawful Neutral plane and the entire plane is a clockwork creation?
There's also supposedly a plane of the Abyss that is completely one creature.
Mechanus is the plane, Primus is the being. Sometimes Primus dies, but this doesn't have any effect on Mechanus other than (eventually) causing a Monodron to spontaneously be created to replace the one that was advanced into being a Duodron (as whenever a Modron dies, the closest Modron of the next-lowest caste spontaneously advances to that cast to take its place, causing a ripple-effect through the castes as more Modrons are promoted to take the place of the previously advanced Modron until it reaches the Monodrons).
why do modrons only advance when the previous superior officer dies? Considering how they become more powerful as they increase in rank, wouldn't it be more beneficial for them if all modrons were of the highest rank?
They don't voluntarily advance. It's only something that happens as a result of a hole in their ranks. Remember, they're the physical incarnation of order, there's a specific number of modrons of each rank that exists at any given time (twice as many as the next-highest rank, IIRC). At the lowest ranks, they don't even have a concept of things like individuality, and modrons can't even perceive other modrons that are more than two ranks above or below them.
This system of existence feels so rigid; it's amazing it still exists and the modrons haven't gone extinct. How haven't they?
I've seen one interpretation of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus plane as a clockwork structure extending infinitely in all directions that is Mechanus itself (even though a being identified as Mechanus was killed in some versions of lore). Who can say what it really is if clockwork creations are the "living" creatures in that Lawful Neutral plane and the entire plane is a clockwork creation?
There's also supposedly a plane of the Abyss that is completely one creature.
Mechanus is the plane, Primus is the being. Sometimes Primus dies, but this doesn't have any effect on Mechanus other than (eventually) causing a Monodron to spontaneously be created to replace the one that was advanced into being a Duodron (as whenever a Modron dies, the closest Modron of the next-lowest caste spontaneously advances to that cast to take its place, causing a ripple-effect through the castes as more Modrons are promoted to take the place of the previously advanced Modron until it reaches the Monodrons).
why do modrons only advance when the previous superior officer dies? Considering how they become more powerful as they increase in rank, wouldn't it be more beneficial for them if all modrons were of the highest rank?
They don't voluntarily advance. It's only something that happens as a result of a hole in their ranks. Remember, they're the physical incarnation of order, there's a specific number of modrons of each rank that exists at any given time (twice as many as the next-highest rank, IIRC). At the lowest ranks, they don't even have a concept of things like individuality, and modrons can't even perceive other modrons that are more than two ranks above or below them.
This system of existence feels so rigid; it's amazing it still exists and the modrons haven't gone extinct. How haven't they?
Because they're the absolute incarnation of order; they're Lawful given a physical form. The number of modrons in the multiverse is a fixed constant: the moment you kill a modron another modron is automatically spawned on Mechanus. Short of outright destroying Mechanus you can't destroy the modrons anymore than you could kill all demons or kill all celestials. And when modrons fight, what they lack in tactical flexibility and individual power they more than make up for in sheer synchronized inexorability.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Because they're the absolute incarnation of order; they're Lawful given a physical form. The number of modrons in the multiverse is a fixed constant: the moment you kill a modron another modron is automatically spawned on Mechanus. Short of outright destroying Mechanus you can't destroy the modrons anymore than you could kill all demons or kill all celestials. And when modrons fight, what they lack in tactical flexibility and individual power they more than make up for in sheer synchronized inexorability.
What does "absolute incarnation of order" mean in terms of "unkillable?" Why is this any less "unkillable" than anything else in existence?
Also if the modrons are a quantity over quality collective, then are the inhabitants of limbo quality over quantity and more individual and independent of each other?
What does "absolute incarnation of order" mean in terms of "unkillable?" Why is this any less "unkillable" than anything else in existence?
It means that as long as that alignment exists, that plane exists. And as long as that plane exists, the beings native to that plane that represent that alignment will exist. In order to wipe out modrons, you'd have to wipe out the concept of Lawful Neutral. And that's beyond the ability of a god, much less anyone who's less than a god.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Coming back from the binary people of Modron to the original question: There are a few gargantuan creatures that are places to be I know of: One would be the good old dragon turtle. Some (mostly the sleeping ones) dragon turtles look a lot like islands. It's an old concept having a dragon turtle awaken when whatever thing or person the party wanted to find on its back is found and making the getaway quite difficult in one way or another.
Another one are the warforged colossi in the Eberron: rising from the last war. Those are semi- concious construct made for war. They can be entered and have insides that could house crew etc.
You could probably create a number of gigantuan creaures like that.
Is there a Modron caste so high up on the hierarchy that it is practically a city?🤔
That would make for an interesting Modron. Megadrone? Gigadrone? Teradrone? Petadrone? Exadrone? Zettadrone? I like Zettadrone, but maybe that's not even high enough on the hierarchy to be a city.
...and yet, still not as high as a Primus Modron who is not a city. It also doesn't preclude the concept that the Primus as a Modron still subjugated under Mechanus as an entity and plane of Existence.
(As for trying to kill Modrons or having them die out, a Modron is created with each Modron demise or identified rogue. The population growth and decline of straightforward Modrons will always be a zero sum. There will never be a Modron extinction. There is high turnover with a Modron March, though, but even then, the population number doesn't change.)
Heh. Random idea smacked against my brain: A campaign built around a dying Zettadrone city populated with non-Modrons as well as Modrons and you have to find a way to save the non-Modron population (because, unlike Modrons, they will not respawn as new infants). When the Zettadrone (or whateverdrone) dies, it will get replaced by another promoted Modron but the prior whateverdrone will be summarily dismantled, killing the non-Modron inhabitants. There would be several ways to solve this problem that could including saving the whateverdrone, moving the population somehow, or something else.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I think the suggestion is to think of them all being parts of one single planar sized being, just as individual cells within any creature all function together to be, together, one creature.
[Peter Parker squinting through his glasses] Modrons
[Peter looking over his glasses to see more clearly] Bohrok
I've thought about making a dungeon that is, in fact, a super colossal mimic. It has some cool treasure in it that adventurers plunder, then bring out into the world not knowing that the loot is, in fact, baby mimics. Eventually the adventurers go out into the world, bringing the mimic larvae with them. Eventually the baby mimic crawls away to mature and consume more and more victims.
After it gets big enough it takes over/replaces the area it inhabits, turning it into another "dungeon" and the circle of life continues.
I think the suggestion is to think of them all being parts of one single planar sized being, just as individual cells within any creature all function together to be, together, one creature.
A Zettadrone is a superorganism colony of Modrons that functions (and looks) like a city to Outsiders!😱
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I remember there was this type of creature that's a living place: it starts out as an inanimate area, land or terrain, and if I remember correctly even bridges, and after time it becomes animate, and I think it also gains stats too, not sure.
Does anyone know what that type of creature is called?
I don't know what creature you are thinking of, but if you are creating a location you could look at a mimic colony.
Don't have stats but I also immediately remembered the old story about Eric and the gazebo.
Just so you know, it's turtles all the way down! ;p
I've seen one interpretation of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus plane as a clockwork structure extending infinitely in all directions that is Mechanus itself (even though a being identified as Mechanus was killed in some versions of lore). Who can say what it really is if clockwork creations are the "living" creatures in that Lawful Neutral plane and the entire plane is a clockwork creation?
There's also supposedly a plane of the Abyss that is completely one creature.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
In older editions there were “greater mimics” that would pretend to be houses and eat people whole. http://www.mojobob.com/roleplay/monstrousmanual/m/mimigrea.html
In previous editions, a zeitgeist was a fey that took the aspects of the land it inhabited, including the general pathos of its people. A genius loci was a section of land that spontaneously animates.
Ah... yes, finally... 3.5 was the edition I remembered having these creatures... genius loci... man, long time ago
Mechanus is the plane, Primus is the being. Sometimes Primus dies, but this doesn't have any effect on Mechanus other than (eventually) causing a Monodron to spontaneously be created to replace the one that was advanced into being a Duodron (as whenever a Modron dies, the closest Modron of the next-lowest caste spontaneously advances to that cast to take its place, causing a ripple-effect through the castes as more Modrons are promoted to take the place of the previously advanced Modron until it reaches the Monodrons).
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
why do modrons only advance when the previous superior officer dies? Considering how they become more powerful as they increase in rank, wouldn't it be more beneficial for them if all modrons were of the highest rank?
They don't voluntarily advance. It's only something that happens as a result of a hole in their ranks. Remember, they're the physical incarnation of order, there's a specific number of modrons of each rank that exists at any given time (twice as many as the next-highest rank, IIRC). At the lowest ranks, they don't even have a concept of things like individuality, and modrons can't even perceive other modrons that are more than two ranks above or below them.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
This system of existence feels so rigid; it's amazing it still exists and the modrons haven't gone extinct. How haven't they?
Because they're the absolute incarnation of order; they're Lawful given a physical form. The number of modrons in the multiverse is a fixed constant: the moment you kill a modron another modron is automatically spawned on Mechanus. Short of outright destroying Mechanus you can't destroy the modrons anymore than you could kill all demons or kill all celestials. And when modrons fight, what they lack in tactical flexibility and individual power they more than make up for in sheer synchronized inexorability.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
What does "absolute incarnation of order" mean in terms of "unkillable?" Why is this any less "unkillable" than anything else in existence?
Also if the modrons are a quantity over quality collective, then are the inhabitants of limbo quality over quantity and more individual and independent of each other?
It means that as long as that alignment exists, that plane exists. And as long as that plane exists, the beings native to that plane that represent that alignment will exist. In order to wipe out modrons, you'd have to wipe out the concept of Lawful Neutral. And that's beyond the ability of a god, much less anyone who's less than a god.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Coming back from the binary people of Modron to the original question: There are a few gargantuan creatures that are places to be I know of: One would be the good old dragon turtle. Some (mostly the sleeping ones) dragon turtles look a lot like islands. It's an old concept having a dragon turtle awaken when whatever thing or person the party wanted to find on its back is found and making the getaway quite difficult in one way or another.
Another one are the warforged colossi in the Eberron: rising from the last war. Those are semi- concious construct made for war. They can be entered and have insides that could house crew etc.
You could probably create a number of gigantuan creaures like that.
Is there a Modron caste so high up on the hierarchy that it is practically a city?🤔
That would make for an interesting Modron. Megadrone? Gigadrone? Teradrone? Petadrone? Exadrone? Zettadrone? I like Zettadrone, but maybe that's not even high enough on the hierarchy to be a city.
...and yet, still not as high as a Primus Modron who is not a city. It also doesn't preclude the concept that the Primus as a Modron still subjugated under Mechanus as an entity and plane of Existence.
(As for trying to kill Modrons or having them die out, a Modron is created with each Modron demise or identified rogue. The population growth and decline of straightforward Modrons will always be a zero sum. There will never be a Modron extinction. There is high turnover with a Modron March, though, but even then, the population number doesn't change.)
Heh. Random idea smacked against my brain:
A campaign built around a dying Zettadrone city populated with non-Modrons as well as Modrons and you have to find a way to save the non-Modron population (because, unlike Modrons, they will not respawn as new infants). When the Zettadrone (or whateverdrone) dies, it will get replaced by another promoted Modron but the prior whateverdrone will be summarily dismantled, killing the non-Modron inhabitants. There would be several ways to solve this problem that could including saving the whateverdrone, moving the population somehow, or something else.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
[Peter Parker squinting through his glasses] Modrons
[Peter looking over his glasses to see more clearly] Bohrok
I've thought about making a dungeon that is, in fact, a super colossal mimic. It has some cool treasure in it that adventurers plunder, then bring out into the world not knowing that the loot is, in fact, baby mimics. Eventually the adventurers go out into the world, bringing the mimic larvae with them. Eventually the baby mimic crawls away to mature and consume more and more victims.
After it gets big enough it takes over/replaces the area it inhabits, turning it into another "dungeon" and the circle of life continues.
A Zettadrone is a superorganism colony of Modrons that functions (and looks) like a city to Outsiders!😱
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
There is a demi plane that is alive. Its name is Neth.
Dr. Who did something like this too once in the episode "The Doctor's Wife" I think a season 6 episode.
Thank you for your time and please have a very pleasant day.