Roleplaying a rogue modron - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Roleplaying a rogue modron

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
richard_k
Oct 06, 2004 4:12:44 Hi all. Im starting up in a new campaign and Im playing yep u guessed it a rogue modron. SInce ive never played one before, most DMs i play with consider them silly, 'sigh', I want to know what others feel a rogue modron should role play like. thanks all.
#2
zombiegleemax
Oct 06, 2004 5:45:20 I think that the concept of rogue modrons is one to absolutely enrich the PS setting. They can degrade into silliness quite easily, but if you focus on the "exploration" and philosophic aspects of these beings, I think you'll have lots of fun with them. Question the order in all things. Ask "why" things are the way they are, and why they are so widely accepted. Keep in mind, though, that you were a "normal" modron once, so your approach to try and understand things is still somewhat awkward and not based on your emotions, but rather logic. Don't just play them as something that's there for levity, play them as if they were a mixture of a newborn and a machine. Then, I think, you should do fine.

Keep us updated as to how things work out for you with that character!
#3
zombiegleemax
Oct 06, 2004 10:13:29 Treat every plane as though it were Mechanus; expect to see rules and order everywhere, and try to establish what those rules actually are - even if you're standing in the middle of Limbo.
#4
incenjucar
Oct 06, 2004 10:53:41 I think, to a large degree, the 'silly' thing comes from the fact that rogues are essentially 'children' early on, albeit with a very limited form of knowledge. They've seen the multiverse for possibly eons (or minutes), but only now have they been able to question it fully.

If all else fails, play it as Spock Jr.
#5
nedlum
Oct 06, 2004 11:14:06 Never get any jokes.
#6
Charles_Phipps
Oct 07, 2004 10:59:05 I played a Rogue Modrone once, I had the character having been built as an "infilitration" unit in order to help promote the concept of order abroad. I had intended to play it for laughs but then I touched on a dark place with Modrones.

The idea that a Modrone might snap because he realizes the world ISN'T purely lawful and instead decides that it must become so BY implementing those laws on an unwanting world.

He eventually became a villain in our campaign and some strange quasi-sci fi stuff emerged from it like the desire to replace all human beings with Modrones using some strange technology.
#7
zombiegleemax
Oct 08, 2004 20:03:23 Have you ever played the computer games Planscape:Torment Richard? Their is a rouge modron in that that you can take as an NPC in your party. Loved the little box. Nodron was his name. He was more on the silly side saying things like "that does not compute" but he is an example. I have also played a rouge modron, alas only for a short time (the entire party was killed in The Abyss after trying to interfer with one of Red Shrouds? [the succubus on the Layer of Infinate Portals] numerous plans). I tried to play him as a very intelligent PC who (he was a wizard) was very unwise about the Planes. Didn't understand different cultures, religions or alignements. Got him and the party into lots of trouble but generally got them out of it as well in some clever way. He was very ordered and stractured in a chaoticly complex manner, if that makes sence. Just things like ordering his books by colours and writing in multiple languages (he was trying to learn every lauguage on the Planes so that they could be merged and the peoples of the planes brought into a more ordered existance). It was fun.
#8
zombiegleemax
Oct 09, 2004 2:25:49
Nodron was his name.

Nordom actually. Backwards for Modron. ;)
#9
richard_k
Oct 09, 2004 5:48:25 Yeah Sinker I've played Planescape Torment, geez, I think I've played it more than Fallout and Baldurs gate combined. Hmm theres some good suggestions there and I tink I may use a few. I still dont know why wizards doesnt like the Modrons, cause well, they did bring out the Warforged and come on thats not much sillier than a modron.
PS. Nordom was voiced by Dan Castalanetta the guy who plays Homer in the Simpsons. There were a few well known voices in that game. Like the guy who played "Q" in Star Trek Next Generation was Trias the Deva. Theres a few others but my memory for names is crap.
#10
zombiegleemax
Oct 23, 2004 2:29:27 Basically, rogue modrons will take everything literally and reply to rhetorical questions. They believe that the multiverse is controlled by the laws of mechanus and discount such things as chance. It's only a matter of knowing how those laws work, like the Guvners.

Which is true, because the D&D game, whatever edition, is based on governing rules. However, despite what Einstein may have claimed, it's "gods" (i.e. the players) DO roll dice, and thus there is both chance and fate involved in play.
#11
zombiegleemax
Oct 25, 2004 17:52:46 Perhaps another good example of how you could play a Modron would be to base it on Data from Star Trek. Except that instead of trying to grasp the concept of emotion, you try to grasp the concept of chaos. One good roleplaying tool would be a calculator so you can quickly compute some chances and continuously give chance-estimates.
#12
ripvanwormer
Oct 25, 2004 18:03:09
Except that instead of trying to grasp the concept of emotion, you try to grasp the concept of chaos.

Exactly. There's no reason modrons shouldn't experience emotions. They could have valves and tubes in their bodies distributing precise amounts of love, anger, sorrow, bitterness, altruism, disgust, happiness, disappointment, excitement, restlessness, apathy, ambition, greed, and so on exactly when they need these emotions to occur. Of course, rogue modrons could occasionally "run out" of one emotion or another, unable to experience it for a time until its body is able to create more.

Modron emotions might be "milked" by other races, who could use them as addictive drugs.
#13
zombiegleemax
Oct 26, 2004 1:25:05 In my mind it really depends on how your proposed PC feels about being cast out/cut off from the others in mechanus. I see three broad possibilities:

(1) On the run. Someone realized you weren't right in Mechanus and you barely got off the plane without being recycled. The world around you is incredibly hostile. Nothing makes sense in the world anymore and there are (real or imagined) assassins trailing you. You have the souls of a really stressed out bueracrat in an "office" filled with the greatest freak show ever assembled. Your priorities are just to cover your butt and survive. As an ex-modron you might desire "companions" around you just because you can't imagine the idea of operating or surviving by yourself. You might "integrate" into a lawful group that isn't based into Mechanus such as the Hardheads (at least these monkeys can help defend you from attacks). Choose a straightforward class that allows you to confront or evade a hostile world, such as Fighter, Rogue, or Sorceror.

(2) Seeking reunion. Once you were part of Mechanus, a part that was barely aware of the difference between yourself and the other parts. It was bliss, or perhaps perfection, or even heaven. Now you are sadly fallen from what you once were. Seek enlightenment to return to a higher state of being. Inside your "box" you attempt to gain Zen-like wisdom. The Ciphers might hold appeal, but so does the Minds Eye (or earlier Godsmen). Contemplative classes make the most sense like Druid, or especially Monk or Wizard.

(3) Oh wow, I never imagined anything like this could exist. Once you were a part of Mechanus - but there is so much more to the planes than just that! How will you ever create a systematic inventory of everything to see and do? This is version has more comic relief potential than the others but there is also a purity of innocence as well. Pinochio, though not thouroughly lawful isn't a bad source of inspiration. Your priorities are two fold (er..binary) (1) experiencing the "wow" factor of the planes and (2) trying come up with a system for everything. Choose a class that helps you get around or is dedicated to something spectacular like Cleric or Ranger.

Hope that helps.

-Eric Gorman
#14
sildatorak
Oct 26, 2004 10:26:03
They could have valves and tubes in their bodies distributing precise amounts of love, anger, sorrow, bitterness, altruism, disgust, happiness, disappointment, excitement, restlessness, apathy, ambition, greed, and so on exactly when they need these emotions to occur.

It would be very funny if someone threw a towel around him, held him down, and used a paper clip to connect his happiness supply directly to his brain so that he could be happy whenever he wanted. :D
#15
zombiegleemax
Oct 26, 2004 10:32:20 ...and then jumped out of a building and only survived a fireball attack because his shoe came off, and then later found a peculiar bird-shaped mimir in the same building?
#16
weenie
Oct 26, 2004 19:31:26
...and then jumped out of a building and only survived a fireball attack because his shoe came off, and then later found a peculiar bird-shaped mimir in the same building?

Wow, those things were mimirs? I guess that explains it all, including the ending... no, wait... no it doens't.
#17
richard_k
Oct 28, 2004 21:19:50 I had a thought the other day, well this morning, and I was thinking about Astro Boy and how hes got that special heart thing that lets him feel emotions, so as I'm playing an artificer what would be some good stats or stuff for making a "heart of emotion" or some similar item name.
#18
objulen
Nov 07, 2004 1:57:18 An interesting twist for the stereotype rouge modron would be a dustman or bleaker, a rouge modron who suffered so much turmoil and pain from being cast out of mechanus and having all its beliefs shattered that it came to the conclusion that there was no purpose or point to the multiverse and either just accepted that or sought a way to escape.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 richard_k Oct 06, 2004 4:12:44	Hi all. Im starting up in a new campaign and Im playing yep u guessed it a rogue modron. SInce ive never played one before, most DMs i play with consider them silly, 'sigh', I want to know what others feel a rogue modron should role play like. thanks all.
#2 zombiegleemax Oct 06, 2004 5:45:20	I think that the concept of rogue modrons is one to absolutely enrich the PS setting. They can degrade into silliness quite easily, but if you focus on the "exploration" and philosophic aspects of these beings, I think you'll have lots of fun with them. Question the order in all things. Ask "why" things are the way they are, and why they are so widely accepted. Keep in mind, though, that you were a "normal" modron once, so your approach to try and understand things is still somewhat awkward and not based on your emotions, but rather logic. Don't just play them as something that's there for levity, play them as if they were a mixture of a newborn and a machine. Then, I think, you should do fine. Keep us updated as to how things work out for you with that character!
#3 zombiegleemax Oct 06, 2004 10:13:29	Treat every plane as though it were Mechanus; expect to see rules and order everywhere, and try to establish what those rules actually are - even if you're standing in the middle of Limbo.
#4 incenjucar Oct 06, 2004 10:53:41	I think, to a large degree, the 'silly' thing comes from the fact that rogues are essentially 'children' early on, albeit with a very limited form of knowledge. They've seen the multiverse for possibly eons (or minutes), but only now have they been able to question it fully. If all else fails, play it as Spock Jr.
#5 nedlum Oct 06, 2004 11:14:06	Never get any jokes.
#6 Charles_Phipps Oct 07, 2004 10:59:05	I played a Rogue Modrone once, I had the character having been built as an "infilitration" unit in order to help promote the concept of order abroad. I had intended to play it for laughs but then I touched on a dark place with Modrones. The idea that a Modrone might snap because he realizes the world ISN'T purely lawful and instead decides that it must become so BY implementing those laws on an unwanting world. He eventually became a villain in our campaign and some strange quasi-sci fi stuff emerged from it like the desire to replace all human beings with Modrones using some strange technology.
#7 zombiegleemax Oct 08, 2004 20:03:23	Have you ever played the computer games Planscape:Torment Richard? Their is a rouge modron in that that you can take as an NPC in your party. Loved the little box. Nodron was his name. He was more on the silly side saying things like "that does not compute" but he is an example. I have also played a rouge modron, alas only for a short time (the entire party was killed in The Abyss after trying to interfer with one of Red Shrouds? [the succubus on the Layer of Infinate Portals] numerous plans). I tried to play him as a very intelligent PC who (he was a wizard) was very unwise about the Planes. Didn't understand different cultures, religions or alignements. Got him and the party into lots of trouble but generally got them out of it as well in some clever way. He was very ordered and stractured in a chaoticly complex manner, if that makes sence. Just things like ordering his books by colours and writing in multiple languages (he was trying to learn every lauguage on the Planes so that they could be merged and the peoples of the planes brought into a more ordered existance). It was fun.
#8 zombiegleemax Oct 09, 2004 2:25:49	Nodron was his name. Nordom actually. Backwards for Modron. ;)
#9 richard_k Oct 09, 2004 5:48:25	Yeah Sinker I've played Planescape Torment, geez, I think I've played it more than Fallout and Baldurs gate combined. Hmm theres some good suggestions there and I tink I may use a few. I still dont know why wizards doesnt like the Modrons, cause well, they did bring out the Warforged and come on thats not much sillier than a modron. PS. Nordom was voiced by Dan Castalanetta the guy who plays Homer in the Simpsons. There were a few well known voices in that game. Like the guy who played "Q" in Star Trek Next Generation was Trias the Deva. Theres a few others but my memory for names is crap.
#10 zombiegleemax Oct 23, 2004 2:29:27	Basically, rogue modrons will take everything literally and reply to rhetorical questions. They believe that the multiverse is controlled by the laws of mechanus and discount such things as chance. It's only a matter of knowing how those laws work, like the Guvners. Which is true, because the D&D game, whatever edition, is based on governing rules. However, despite what Einstein may have claimed, it's "gods" (i.e. the players) DO roll dice, and thus there is both chance and fate involved in play.
#11 zombiegleemax Oct 25, 2004 17:52:46	Perhaps another good example of how you could play a Modron would be to base it on Data from Star Trek. Except that instead of trying to grasp the concept of emotion, you try to grasp the concept of chaos. One good roleplaying tool would be a calculator so you can quickly compute some chances and continuously give chance-estimates.
#12 ripvanwormer Oct 25, 2004 18:03:09	Except that instead of trying to grasp the concept of emotion, you try to grasp the concept of chaos. Exactly. There's no reason modrons shouldn't experience emotions. They could have valves and tubes in their bodies distributing precise amounts of love, anger, sorrow, bitterness, altruism, disgust, happiness, disappointment, excitement, restlessness, apathy, ambition, greed, and so on exactly when they need these emotions to occur. Of course, rogue modrons could occasionally "run out" of one emotion or another, unable to experience it for a time until its body is able to create more. Modron emotions might be "milked" by other races, who could use them as addictive drugs.
#13 zombiegleemax Oct 26, 2004 1:25:05	In my mind it really depends on how your proposed PC feels about being cast out/cut off from the others in mechanus. I see three broad possibilities: (1) On the run. Someone realized you weren't right in Mechanus and you barely got off the plane without being recycled. The world around you is incredibly hostile. Nothing makes sense in the world anymore and there are (real or imagined) assassins trailing you. You have the souls of a really stressed out bueracrat in an "office" filled with the greatest freak show ever assembled. Your priorities are just to cover your butt and survive. As an ex-modron you might desire "companions" around you just because you can't imagine the idea of operating or surviving by yourself. You might "integrate" into a lawful group that isn't based into Mechanus such as the Hardheads (at least these monkeys can help defend you from attacks). Choose a straightforward class that allows you to confront or evade a hostile world, such as Fighter, Rogue, or Sorceror. (2) Seeking reunion. Once you were part of Mechanus, a part that was barely aware of the difference between yourself and the other parts. It was bliss, or perhaps perfection, or even heaven. Now you are sadly fallen from what you once were. Seek enlightenment to return to a higher state of being. Inside your "box" you attempt to gain Zen-like wisdom. The Ciphers might hold appeal, but so does the Minds Eye (or earlier Godsmen). Contemplative classes make the most sense like Druid, or especially Monk or Wizard. (3) Oh wow, I never imagined anything like this could exist. Once you were a part of Mechanus - but there is so much more to the planes than just that! How will you ever create a systematic inventory of everything to see and do? This is version has more comic relief potential than the others but there is also a purity of innocence as well. Pinochio, though not thouroughly lawful isn't a bad source of inspiration. Your priorities are two fold (er..binary) (1) experiencing the "wow" factor of the planes and (2) trying come up with a system for everything. Choose a class that helps you get around or is dedicated to something spectacular like Cleric or Ranger. Hope that helps. -Eric Gorman
#14 sildatorak Oct 26, 2004 10:26:03	They could have valves and tubes in their bodies distributing precise amounts of love, anger, sorrow, bitterness, altruism, disgust, happiness, disappointment, excitement, restlessness, apathy, ambition, greed, and so on exactly when they need these emotions to occur. It would be very funny if someone threw a towel around him, held him down, and used a paper clip to connect his happiness supply directly to his brain so that he could be happy whenever he wanted. :D
#15 zombiegleemax Oct 26, 2004 10:32:20	...and then jumped out of a building and only survived a fireball attack because his shoe came off, and then later found a peculiar bird-shaped mimir in the same building?
#16 weenie Oct 26, 2004 19:31:26	...and then jumped out of a building and only survived a fireball attack because his shoe came off, and then later found a peculiar bird-shaped mimir in the same building? Wow, those things were mimirs? I guess that explains it all, including the ending... no, wait... no it doens't.
#17 richard_k Oct 28, 2004 21:19:50	I had a thought the other day, well this morning, and I was thinking about Astro Boy and how hes got that special heart thing that lets him feel emotions, so as I'm playing an artificer what would be some good stats or stuff for making a "heart of emotion" or some similar item name.
#18 objulen Nov 07, 2004 1:57:18	An interesting twist for the stereotype rouge modron would be a dustman or bleaker, a rouge modron who suffered so much turmoil and pain from being cast out of mechanus and having all its beliefs shattered that it came to the conclusion that there was no purpose or point to the multiverse and either just accepted that or sought a way to escape.