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Metallic Dragon

2021-06-18T22:29:44Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:64B4:5F9F:2A18:22AE: /* Silver Dragon */

'''Metallic Dragons''' are one of the many specific breeds of [[dragon]] native to [[Dungeons & Dragons]] and [[Pathfinder]]. They are one of the two most iconic family groupings of D&D dragons, alongside the [[Chromatic Dragon]]s. Lesser D&D dragon families have include the [[Catastrophic Dragon]]s, [[Gem Dragon]]s, [[Oriental Dragon]]s (or "Imperial Dragons", for [[Pathfinder]]), [[Planar Dragon]]s, and [[Epic Dragon]]s.

In an expansion of the [[alignment]] mechanic, chromatics helped define what our frenemies on TVTropes calls "Color Coded For Your Convenience", where the general color-scheme of a dragon immediately helps you figure out what they are as a general rule.

Metallic Dragons are based on the colors of various metals and are traditionally portrayed as the "goodly dragons". There has been some contention about this over the years; as most metallics are "noble" metals like copper, gold and silver, whereas "baser" metal-based dragons were given a tentative life as the <s>[[Ferrus Manus|Ferrus]]</s> [[Ferrous Dragon]] sub-family in [[Dragon Magazine]] #170 and #356, for AD&D and 3rd edition respectively. In 4th edition, meanwhile, WoTC pointed out that "Always Good" creatures are kind of less than useful to DMs, [[Derp|since most parties won't play evil campaigns]] and there's only so many times you can use "the super-intelligent and ultra-wise being of good is misguided/a dick/incorrect/mistaken" before it feels hollow. So they changed the default Metallic alignment to Unaligned and portrayed them as usually meaning well, but being arrogant and inhuman and so having lots of believable reasons to get in the way of heroes without being the malicious monsters of their chromatic kin. Using them as questgivers or mentors doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone.

The patron god of all Metallic Dragons is [[Bahamut]], whose status as being based on platinum makes him unique.

They can crossbreed as revealed in the 3.5e draconomicon but not as often as chromatics.
The dragons themselves usually have two breath weapons i.e silver having ice breath and paralyze gas.

Now i know your wondering does this mean dragons can crossbreed with other dragon types(i.e chromatic+metallic).
The answer is yes, but the child is usually viewed as an abberation and hunted down. That said, it ''is'' possible for a dragon to care for it, but thats extremely rare as each dragon is unique after all.

==The original five==
The iconic quintet of Metallic Dragons in D&D goes: Brass, Bronze, Copper, Silver and Gold, ascending in power (at least from copper through silver to gold). Unfortunately, this quintet hasn't entirely sunk into the fantasy consciousness the same way that the [[Chromatic Dragon|Red/Blue/Black/White/Green]] quintet has. At the very least, it rather throws off the theme when three are noble metals and two are copper alloys, though at least all five metals have historically been used as coins so the theme does make sense with some thought.

===Brass Dragon===
Chatterboxes. Brass Dragons prefer hot dry areas like deserts. Brass Dragons like nothing more than sunbathing in a good spot and prattling with a stranger for hours on end, even if they have to bury them up to the neck in sand to do so. They favor things that can talk in their hoards like sentient objects and Genies bottles. Brass Dragons have big head crests, and kind of look like dinosaurs. They are the everyman/socialite of metallic dragons, talking their way out of trouble and building networks of contacts and informants. If you want to include a dragon in your campaign, but aren't sure how throw in a Brass Dragon quest giver.
<gallery>
Brass dragon MM 1e.png
Brass dragon MCV1.jpg
Brass dragon MM 2e.png
Brass dragon 3e.jpg
Brass dragon Draconomicon.png
Brass dragon MM 5e.jpg
</gallery>

===Bronze Dragon===
Honorable champions of order, but prone to [[Lawful Stupid]]. Also live on coasts, makes good fluff for Dragonborn marines.
<gallery>
Bronze dragon MM 1e.png
Bronze dragon MCV1.jpg
Bronze dragon MM 2e.png
Bronze dragon 3e.jpg
Bronze dragon Draconomicon.jpg
Bronze dragon MM 5e.jpg
</gallery>

===Copper Dragon===
The Copper Dragons are most known for being the practical jokers of the Metallic Dragons.
<gallery>
Copper dragon MM 1e.png
Copper dragon MCV1.jpg
Copper dragon MM 2e.png
Copper dragon 3e.jpg
Copper dragon MM2 4e.jpg
Copper dragon MM 5e.jpg
</gallery>

===Gold Dragon===
Regal and imperious, Gold Dragons traditionally hold the position of being the mightiest of the Metallic Dragons, although that has been shaken up before - most notably in 4th edition. Originally, Gold Dragons were designed to more of an "eastern dragon" body-structure, with long, serpentine, wingless bodies and flowing mustaches. Their bodies have changed to match the standard "western dragon" archetype, but the pseudo-mustaches seem here to stay.
<gallery>
Gold dragon MM 1e.png
Gold dragon Monster card.jpg
Gold dragon MCV1.jpg
Gold dragon MM 2e.png
Gold dragon 3e.jpg
Gold dragon MM2 4e.jpg
Gold dragon MM 5e.jpg
</gallery>

===Silver Dragon===
While the copper, silver, and gold dragons all have the ability to polymorph themselves into humanoids and have sex with live among mortals, silver dragons are noted for being by far the most fond of doing this. If you come across a creature with the half-dragon template, it probably got its dragon half from a silver dragon. They're basically the [[furries]] of the dragon world. There's even an entire human subrace, the Silverbrow humans, who are the result of a LOT of human-on-silver-dragon action, which you can't say about any of the other types of dragons. What we're trying to say is that they're slut dragons.
<gallery>
Silver dragon MM 1e.png
Silver dragon Monster card.jpg
Silver dragon MCV1.jpg
Silver dragon MM 2e.png
Silver dragon 3e.jpg
Silver dragon MM2 4e.jpg
Silver dragon MM 5e.jpg
</gallery>

==Other metallic dragons==
Whilst a few additions to the Metallic family tree have appeared here and there - mostly in the [[Forgotten Realms]] - it was [[4e|4th Edition]] that took the stance of shaking up some sacred cows. Pointing out that 1: Bronze and Brass threw off the Noble Metal theme of the "core" metallics, and 2: Bronze, Brass and Copper have always been hard for anyone except the most fanatically invested [[neckbeard]] to tell apart, they removed both Bronze and Brass, delegating them to a later appearance in the Metallic version of the Draconomicon and replacing them with new Adamantine and Iron Dragon species.
similar dragons called ferrous dragons... which is weird alloys would be a better name covered somewhere else

===Adamantine Dragon===
[[File:Adamantine Dragon.png|200px|thumb|right|An adamantine dragon.]]
Adamantine Dragons are heavily-armored Metallics native to the [[Underdark]], who may arguably be more powerful than even Gold Dragons, with distinctive beak-like snouts and a breath weapon that deals thunder damage. They are essentially the Metallic analogue to the Purple Dragon, favoring the [[Underdark]] as their domicile of choice. These dragons were entirely unique to 4e; AD&D had featured an Adamanti'''t'''e Dragon, but that was a [[Planar Dragon]] native to the Twin Paradises of [[Bytopia]].
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===Mercury Dragon===
Fickle, whimsical and highly chaotic, the Mercury Dragon is an obscure beastie that is native to the [[Forgotten Realms]], having first appeared in the original Faerun-set [[Draconomicon]] before hitting the big leagues with a place in the AD&D Monstrous Manual, followed by 3rd edition's "Dragons of Faerun" and then the 4e Metallic Draconomicon. Traditional Mercury Dragons use laser beam breath weapons and reflection-based attacks. The 4e version is a superb shapeshifter that might as well be made of living metal - picture a draconic T-1000 Terminator - and wields a poisonous breath weapon.
<gallery>
Mercury dragon MM 2e.png
Mercury dragon 3e.jpg
Mercury dragon 4e.jpg
</gallery>

===Mithril/Mithral Dragon===
The [[Spelljammer]] splatbook ''Practical Planetology'' introduced Mithril Dragons, which are endemic to the tidally locked planet of Radole. They are Chaotic Neutral, and unlike other dragons, have no desire for hoarding treasure, instead spending their lives trying to outdo each other's sick aerial maneuvers on the molten sunward side of Radole. Their breath weapon is a beam of blinding light.
<gallery>
Mithril dragon SJR4.jpg
</gallery>

4th edition's Mithral Dragons are the elite of the Metallic Dragon family tree, native to the [[Astral Sea]] and wielding a diverse array of powers that allow them to bend space and time to their will. In this, they could be argued as a spiritual inheritor to the original Adamantite Dragon, but their arrogant self-righteousness and desire to change the world - regardless of what the world thinks - is perhaps closer to the 4e rendition of [[Couatl]]s.

===Orium Dragon===
[[File:Orium_Dragon.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The most unique metallic dragon of 4th edition.]]
Entirely unique to 4th edition, Orium Dragons are red-gold colored dragons, with serpentine heads, necks and tails mounted on a rather feline body frame. Based on "orium", WoTC's trademarkable name for "Orichalcum", they are obsessive historians who seek out ancient ruins to maintain, preserve and restore. Their unique breath weapon is a gout of toxic vapor, which then coalesces into a snake-like construct that keeps on fighting on its own after being exhaled.
{{clear}}

{{D&D-Dragons}}

[[Category:Pathfinder]]

Modron

2021-06-18T04:45:03Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:64B4:5F9F:2A18:22AE: /* Modron Hierarchy */

[[File:Monodrone planscape supplement pg008.jpg|right|thumb|Ceiling monodrone is watching you orchestrate]]
Modrons are a race of Lawful Neutral Outsiders introduced into [[Dungeons & Dragons]] in 1st edition (MM2, pg 86), native to the plane of Nirvana, AKA [[Mechanus]]. In AD&D 2nd edition, thanks to the [[Planescape]] setting, they were the primary inhabitants of the extreme lawful-neutral plane of Mechanus. In D&D 3rd edition's Manual of the Planes, they share Mechanus with the Formians (giant ant-people) when their lawful good / lawful neutral plane went too lawful (thanks a lot, [[Lawful Stupid|Harmonium]]!) and was annexed by Mechanus.

Modrons first appeared as living geometric shapes - spheres, cubes, pyramids, etcetera. In 2nd edition, to try and make them look less goofy, they were redesigned with a more clockwork cyborg motif. They are perhaps one of the most iconic races invented for Planescape.

Modrons divide their territory in Mechanus into four areas, called Quarters. Each Quarter is then divided into another four sub-areas, called Regions. And Regions are divided again into another four sub-sub-areas called Sectors.

== Modron Mentality==
Modrons are what D&D sometimes calls "Exemplars", extraplanar beings that exist as living embodiments of a particular [[Alignment]]. Naturally, Modrons are associated with Lawful Neutral, though as was common for the edition, the precise method by which they exhibit this bumps them pretty firmly into [[Lawful Stupid]] territory.

The Modron mindset can be likened to that of a computer. And not a fancy AI, either; your basic cheap "garbage in, garbage out" 80s-esque piece of junk. Modrons have no real individual personalities, no capacity to understand anything besides basic logic, and are driven by an insatiable need to try and bring order from chaos, sense from nonsense-- even if it only makes sense to themselves. So integral is the idea of logic and order to them that Modrons actually cannot understand the existence of any Modron that doesn't belong to either the same caste, the cast directly below them, or the caste directly above them - a tridrone, for example, would understand other tridrones, duodrones and quadrones, but would not recognize the "Modronity" or even the very existence of a pentadrone (seeing only a strange, incomprehensible shape when looking at one); a monodrone would be too simple to communicate with.

All that is right happens because it must inescapably ''be'', and all that which is wrong must ''not'' be. This is the closest thing Modrons have to a philosophy, based on their concept that all life and direction springs from a single great pool of logical action.

Needless to say, they are a nightmare to deal with. Imagine trying to deal with a city-spanning bureaucracy where every single bureaucrat is socially interchangeable with all the others, has no individual personality, and makes no effort to share information between them. A single barmy could spend centuries trying to get a simple matter resolved, because they keep inadvertently restarting their applications. Clever berks have a slightly easier time with this, using paint or ink or some such to apply unique marks to individual Modrons so as to be able to tell them apart, which works because a Modron will not even acknowledge these markings unless instructed by a superior to remove them.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples of this is the adventure path called The Great Modron March. The titular March is noted for being as destructive as a rampaging horde of demons at the best of times, and is even worse when it suddenly occurs several centuries before it should. One of the earliest adventures involves a town that is trying to plead with the Modrons to at least give them time to evacuate: they worked out a diplomatic bargain with the Modrons before the last march, creating designated routes for the Modrons to use so they wouldn't hurt anyone as they passed through the town to the portal they were after. Thing is, the Modrons won't, indeed cannot, accept that the town's layout has changed in the three centuries since it was last used, and so they refuse to deviate from those established routes. Thusly, the party's goal in this adventure is to try and do damage control as a veritable sea of crazed clockwork cyber-angels march through the city, destroying and killing anything that falls in their way.

Their rigid psychology is proof against any attempt at tampering, even for modrons not on Mechanus and part of the hivemind. All modrons are immune to mind-affecting enchantments, charms, illusions or beguilements. Spells or effects that induce emotions are also completely impotent even to the lowest monodrone. Even their physiology is so bloody-minded stubborn about staying alive that all damage rolls made against modrons are at -1 for each die rolled.

== Modron Hierarchy ==
[[File:Base_modrons_by_Dillon.jpg|thumb|right|One, Two, Three,<br> Four, Five... point-one]]
Modrons exist in hierarchy, their very social structure based on the idea of delegation of authority; command decisions emanate from Primus itself, slowly going down the racial line until it is complete. Caste determines physical shape, abilities, social role and mental capacity. In ascending order, they go as follows; the first five castes form the "Base Modrons", whilst the other nine castes form the "Hierarch Modrons".

If a Modron is slain or otherwise rendered invalid to fulfill its purpose, a random Modron from the next lowest caste is promoted up to fill the void. The position they vacate is filled by a lower-caste modron with another promotion, and another, until the lack trickles down to the monodrone level; what happens here depends on edition. In some editions one Monodrone actually splits in two like a unicellular organism (in 4e any modron higher in rank than a monodrone would actually split into four monodrones on death), but in other editions a new monodrone simply walks out of this thing called the Creation Pool that Primus sits in. Because Mechanus is infinite in size like all planes, this happens so often that a constant stream of monodrones is perpetually marching out of the pool 24/7.

The lowest five castes are the "base" modrons, with animal up to moron intelligence.

'''Monodrones''' are responsible for general labor. Appearing as small metal spheres with a single eye, a pair of spindly metal legs, and either a pair of arms or a pair of wings, these single-task Modrons are virtually mindless, capable of undertaking only a single task at a time. Order them to fight, and they mechanically attack whatever they see, even one another if they are not ordered to stop first. These form the vast bulk of the Modrons numbers. They cannot speak, though they can understand orders. These are the type of Modron that would be the janitors at a fast food restaurant.

'''Duodrones''' are charged with performing complex tasks that a monodrone is too stupid to handle, up to and including directing monodrones. Appearing as rectangular shapes with four spindly metal limbs, duodrones are bi-functional, capable of handling two tasks simultaneously. This gives them slightly greater intelligence than monodrones; for example, a duodrone who was ordered to fight would kill all enemies in sight and then go in search of new enemies, rather than simply attack other nearby Modrons. Duodrones can speak, but only in a limited fashion; about all they're capable of is clearly reporting their operations and observations. These are the type of Modron that would prepare the food at a fast food restaurant.

'''Tridrones''' are capable of performing multiple tasks simultaneously and are also minor supervisors; these are the Modrons who command the duodrones. They resemble walking pyramids, pointy side down, with a single-eyed face on each side of their body, three legs and three arms. They are usually given a single general directive, which they then subdivide into simpler tasks and assign to their duodrone underlings. They are even capable of planning limited objectives on their own. These are the type of Modron that would run the drive-through at a fast food restaurant.

'''Quadrones''' are capable of performing multiple complex tasks simultaneously, which also makes them the supervisors of Base Modronkind. Appearing as mechanical cubes with a face on one side, two legs, two arms and either a pair of wings or a second pair of arms, they are the first caste to approach human-grade sapience, being "four-function" creatures that can report actions and observations, make plans, react to unexpected occurrences and act to remedy them. This type of Modron would run the cash registers at a fast food restaurant.

'''Pentadrones''' form the lesser police officers of the Modron race, being charged with law enforcement. Their primary task is the prevention of Modrons going rogue. As the borderline between Base and Hierarch Modrons, these outsiders are five-function beings that can communicate, operate, monitor, plan and manage. They resemble mechanical five-legged starfish with a face on each "arm" and five spindly mechanical legs growing underneath them, which are used to walk. These modrons would be the manager at a fast-food restaurant.
[[File:Hierarch Modrons from MM2.png|thumb|right]]
The castes above this level are "hierarch" modrons of average up to godlike intelligence, and each caste requires a strictly regimented number that should exist at each caste level at any time -- no more ''and'' no less. They each have telepathy for communication at increasingly crazy distances, for the purpose of the hivemind mesh. They are so hyper-OCD organized that they never roll for initiative but choose their place in turn order. Every hierarch modron has the following at-will abilities: clairaudience, clairvoyance, command word, dimension hop, teleport (with 0% mis-jump), and forcewall. Hierarch modrons slain in Mechanus will self-resurrect in a few days; slain elsewhere, their souls return to their god, and a promotion chain is automatically triggered to fill the absent position. Hierarch modrons will never willingly leave Mechanus unless commanded by Primus.

'''Decatons''' are charged with overseeing the physical welfare of the base Modrons. There are one-hundred in existence at any given time; one for each Sector and one for each army. They resemble metal spheres with ten tentacles around their bodies standing on stumpy legs. They have access to a variety of curative spells that only affect Modrons, and can also levitate at will. This modron would be the area manager at a fast-food business.

'''Nonatons''' make up the police supervision of the Modrons. Their numbers are kept at eighty-one. Nine serve the octons by carrying their orders, sixty-four monitor the decatons of the realm, and the remaining eight monitor the decatons of the armies. They appear as, depending on edition, one-eyed cylinders with a ring of tentacles or giant caterpillar things with a monodrone-like face.

'''Octons''' are the governors of the Sectors, meaning there are only sixty-four octons in all of Mechanus. Octons are distinguished by the metallic collar that grows around their neck, from which sprouts eight tentacle arms. They are provided levitation by these collars, which enables them to move through air and water with equal ease and grace.

'''Septons''' are governmental inspectors, forty-nine in number, responsible for ensuring that each octon is performing its duties satisfactorily. They resemble humanoids with large, bald heads, and smaller versions of the same collars that grow from an octon's shoulders; septons cannot fly like octons, but they can move perfectly through water.

'''Hextons''' are the generals of the Modron armies. There are thirty-six of them. Hextons resemble six-armed humanoids, having two large human-like arms, each of which ends in a six-fingered hand, and four claw-tipped tentacles, as well as a pair of fan-like wings that join at their shoulders.

'''Quintons''' are bureau chiefs and record keepers for Modron territory. They number twenty-five. These Modrons have the appearance of tall, stockily built humanoids with two pairs of arms, a prehensile tail, and fanlike wings similar to those of a Hexton.

'''Quartons''' are the governors of the Regions, meaning there are only sixteen of these Modrons in existence at any one time. They have the appearance of 12ft-tall humanoids with four jointed arms and the same fan-like wings as the Hextons and Quintons.

'''Tertions''' are the judges of the Modron race. There are only nine, with two assigned to each Secundi and one reporting directly to Primus. They resemble 12ft tall, bald humans with long horns jutting from the sides of their head and long, prehensile-tails that end in a ball like a mace's head.

'''Secundi''' are the governors of the four Quarters, meaning there are only four of them. They answer directly to Primus. They appear as incredibly tall and thin humanoids with deep-set eyes. These modrons would be the board of directors in a fast food company.
[[File:Primus Dragon 341.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Primus, the One and the Prime, as portrayed in [[3.5e]]. Note that he looks different than what he is described like - this is because this is a picture of him after being reintroduced in Dragon Magazine as a [[Vestige]].]]
The highest caste has only one occupant, and it is the only god-type modron. It has telepathy that extends to all modrons in the same plane, along with the usual benefits of immortality and divine power. All modron clerics pray to the occupant of the highest caste, who responds efficiently and grants their divine spells for the day.

'''Primus''' is the One and the Prime, the god-like entity that is the ultimate source of the Modron race. He is their overarching will, their mind, their soul. All that they do ultimately stems from him. If seen in person, this entity manifests as the upper torso of an enormous androgynous humanoid rising from a pool of incandescent energy - the life essence of the Modron race - with its right hand obscured by rainbow-hued light and its left hand obscured by ink-black shadows. Primus does not create avatars, and Primus never leaves Mechanus. Primus's first concern is always the well-being of the modron species as a whole. Unlike other gods who will resurrect from the plane's quintessence if slain, Primus is "resurrected" by the immediate promotion of a Secundus, which triggers a highly organized civil war to determine which secudus is ascended, and which will in turn trigger a chain of promotions. Since modrons are a hive-mind, this new Primus will know everything the previous Primus knew. This Modron would be the almighty God-CEO of a fast food company.

In canon, Primus got killed before the start of the AD&D adventure-line "The Great Modron March", when Orcus (in his undead incarnation as Tenebrous) snuck into Mechanus and killed him, then stole his identity and set the March off early to look for his precious Wand so he could use it to restore himself to life. Though Orcus canonically got his Wand back, revived himself and left, allowing the Modrons to generate a new Primus, Dragon Magazine #341 states that the Primus that Tenebrous killed ended up becoming a Vestige. As a Vestige, Primus will not manifest to a [[Binder]] already binding Tenebrous, and grants bonuses for acting in a mechanical manner (that is, doing the same set of actions in multiple rounds), Lawful aligned attacks, and the ability to issue a Command spell once every 6 rounds.

== Rogue Modrons ==
It happens rarely, but sometimes, Modrons go rogue (this can happen with other outsiders as well, but for some reason Modrons are the only ones where it happens enough for said exceptions to be notable). They start to develop a personality and a mind of their own, becoming distinctive beings rather than interchangeable cogs. Only Modrons of at least quadrone rank seem to be capable of going rogue; the lower three castes are simply too mindless to develop that level of a sense of self. Modrons typically seek to destroy these rogues whenever they appear in order to return their essence to the logic-pool for recycling, fearing either their contamination of the Modron race or their depletion of the Modron logic-pool.

The most awesome modron ever is probably Nordom, the "backwards Modron", from [[Planescape: Torment]], who is an iconic example of a rogue. Rogue modrons are the most frequent source of modron PCs, being capable of self-interest and a certain amount of free will. They ''must'' be of lawful alignment (being only "chaotic" in relation to other modrons), and their brains tend to melt when they attempt to interact with chaotic people.

==Modrons in the World Axis==
Modrons made their way into the [[World Axis]] in [[Dragon Magazine]] #414 and [[Dungeon Magazine]] #186. Here, they are stated to be a result of a [[Archomental|primordial]] called the Prime Architect, which discovered the plane of the Accordant Expanse, a kind of polar opposite to the [[Far Realm]] as a plane of pure logic, order and stasis. This inspired him to undertake a project of massive proportions, which accidentally caused a multitude of breaches to the Far Realm to form as well as attracting the attention of Mak Thuum Ngatha, the Nine-Tongued Worm. The Prime Architect managed to repel the aberrant god, but was mortally wounded; the Primordial then bathed itself in the pure energies of cosmic Order emanating from the Accordant Expanse and was transformed into the entire modron race, which sealed up most of the Far Realm breaches and then built [[Mechanus]] as a demiplane within the Accordant Expanse before migrating there and creating Primus to rule themselves.

4e modrons have a distinct hierarchy, which goes as follows. Additionally, modrons have a more clockwork appearance in this cosmology, and a more [[Transformers]] like aesthetic; higher ranks of modrons are literally made by lower-ranked modrons physically meshing together and pooling their minds and "flesh" into a single higher being.

Base Modrons:
* Monodrone: General Laborer
* Duodrone: Skilled Laborer
* Tridrone: Supervisor
* Quadrone: Manager
* Pentadrone: Law Enforcer

Hierarchs:
* Decaton: Administrator
* Nonaton: Arbiter
* Octon: Mayor
* Septon: Inspector
* Hexton: General
* Quinton: Councilor
* Quarton: Governor
* Tertian: Judge
* Secundus: Viceroy
* Primus: Absolute Ruler

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Modron-monodrone-MM2 page87.jpg|From Monster Manual II
Duodrone 1e.png
Tridrone 1e.png
Quadrone 1e.png
Pentadrone 1e.png
Monodrones march by Adam Rex.jpg|[[/r9k/]]? Try /r(9*10^9)k/
Decaton overseer.jpg|Middle-management has its perks. Like five extra eyes, and luscious lips.
Modron_simple.png|Early concept art?
Primus 1e.png|1e Primus
Primus from blood-wars game.jpg|Primus, as he appeared in the [[Blood War]]s [[card game]].
Primus 2e.jpg|Primus and Tenebrous, from ''The Great Modron March''.
2e_Monodrone.gif| A monodrone, as they appeared in 2e
Duodrone 2e.jpg|A duodrone, as they appeared in 2e
Tridrone 2e.jpg|A tridrone, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Quadrone.gif|A quadrone, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Quadrone_2.gif|Another 2e quadrone
Quadrone 4e.jpg|A 4e quadrone
Pentadrone 2e.jpg|A pentadrone, as they appeared in 2e
Pentadrone PoL.jpg|Another 2e pentadrone
2e_Decaton.gif|A decaton, as they appeared in 2e
Decaton PoL mechanus.jpg|A decaton from ''Planes of Law''
2e_Nonaton.gif|A nonaton, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Octon.gif|An octon, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Septon.gif|A septon, as they appeared in 2e
Septon PoL.jpg|Another 2e septon
2e_Hexton.gif|A hexton, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Quinton.gif|A quinton, as they appeared in 2e
Quarton.PNG|A quarton, as they appeared in 2e
Secundus PoL.jpg|A secundus
Modron trial.jpg
</gallery>

{{D&D2e-Races}}
{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Modron

2021-06-18T04:42:56Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:64B4:5F9F:2A18:22AE: /* Modron Hierarchy */

[[File:Monodrone planscape supplement pg008.jpg|right|thumb|Ceiling monodrone is watching you orchestrate]]
Modrons are a race of Lawful Neutral Outsiders introduced into [[Dungeons & Dragons]] in 1st edition (MM2, pg 86), native to the plane of Nirvana, AKA [[Mechanus]]. In AD&D 2nd edition, thanks to the [[Planescape]] setting, they were the primary inhabitants of the extreme lawful-neutral plane of Mechanus. In D&D 3rd edition's Manual of the Planes, they share Mechanus with the Formians (giant ant-people) when their lawful good / lawful neutral plane went too lawful (thanks a lot, [[Lawful Stupid|Harmonium]]!) and was annexed by Mechanus.

Modrons first appeared as living geometric shapes - spheres, cubes, pyramids, etcetera. In 2nd edition, to try and make them look less goofy, they were redesigned with a more clockwork cyborg motif. They are perhaps one of the most iconic races invented for Planescape.

Modrons divide their territory in Mechanus into four areas, called Quarters. Each Quarter is then divided into another four sub-areas, called Regions. And Regions are divided again into another four sub-sub-areas called Sectors.

== Modron Mentality==
Modrons are what D&D sometimes calls "Exemplars", extraplanar beings that exist as living embodiments of a particular [[Alignment]]. Naturally, Modrons are associated with Lawful Neutral, though as was common for the edition, the precise method by which they exhibit this bumps them pretty firmly into [[Lawful Stupid]] territory.

The Modron mindset can be likened to that of a computer. And not a fancy AI, either; your basic cheap "garbage in, garbage out" 80s-esque piece of junk. Modrons have no real individual personalities, no capacity to understand anything besides basic logic, and are driven by an insatiable need to try and bring order from chaos, sense from nonsense-- even if it only makes sense to themselves. So integral is the idea of logic and order to them that Modrons actually cannot understand the existence of any Modron that doesn't belong to either the same caste, the cast directly below them, or the caste directly above them - a tridrone, for example, would understand other tridrones, duodrones and quadrones, but would not recognize the "Modronity" or even the very existence of a pentadrone (seeing only a strange, incomprehensible shape when looking at one); a monodrone would be too simple to communicate with.

All that is right happens because it must inescapably ''be'', and all that which is wrong must ''not'' be. This is the closest thing Modrons have to a philosophy, based on their concept that all life and direction springs from a single great pool of logical action.

Needless to say, they are a nightmare to deal with. Imagine trying to deal with a city-spanning bureaucracy where every single bureaucrat is socially interchangeable with all the others, has no individual personality, and makes no effort to share information between them. A single barmy could spend centuries trying to get a simple matter resolved, because they keep inadvertently restarting their applications. Clever berks have a slightly easier time with this, using paint or ink or some such to apply unique marks to individual Modrons so as to be able to tell them apart, which works because a Modron will not even acknowledge these markings unless instructed by a superior to remove them.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples of this is the adventure path called The Great Modron March. The titular March is noted for being as destructive as a rampaging horde of demons at the best of times, and is even worse when it suddenly occurs several centuries before it should. One of the earliest adventures involves a town that is trying to plead with the Modrons to at least give them time to evacuate: they worked out a diplomatic bargain with the Modrons before the last march, creating designated routes for the Modrons to use so they wouldn't hurt anyone as they passed through the town to the portal they were after. Thing is, the Modrons won't, indeed cannot, accept that the town's layout has changed in the three centuries since it was last used, and so they refuse to deviate from those established routes. Thusly, the party's goal in this adventure is to try and do damage control as a veritable sea of crazed clockwork cyber-angels march through the city, destroying and killing anything that falls in their way.

Their rigid psychology is proof against any attempt at tampering, even for modrons not on Mechanus and part of the hivemind. All modrons are immune to mind-affecting enchantments, charms, illusions or beguilements. Spells or effects that induce emotions are also completely impotent even to the lowest monodrone. Even their physiology is so bloody-minded stubborn about staying alive that all damage rolls made against modrons are at -1 for each die rolled.

== Modron Hierarchy ==
[[File:Base_modrons_by_Dillon.jpg|thumb|right|One, Two, Three,<br> Four, Five... point-one]]
Modrons exist in hierarchy, their very social structure based on the idea of delegation of authority; command decisions emanate from Primus itself, slowly going down the racial line until it is complete. Caste determines physical shape, abilities, social role and mental capacity. In ascending order, they go as follows; the first five castes form the "Base Modrons", whilst the other nine castes form the "Hierarch Modrons".

If a Modron is slain or otherwise rendered invalid to fulfill its purpose, a random Modron from the next lowest caste is promoted up to fill the void. The position they vacate is filled by a lower-caste modron with another promotion, and another, until the lack trickles down to the monodrone level; what happens here depends on edition. In some editions one Monodrone actually splits in two like a unicellular organism (in 4e any modron higher in rank than a monodrone would actually split into four monodrones on death), but in other editions a new monodrone simply walks out of this thing called the Creation Pool that Primus sits in. Because Mechanus is infinite in size like all planes, this happens so often that a constant stream of monodrones is perpetually marching out of the pool 24/7.

The lowest five castes are the "base" modrons, with animal up to moron intelligence.

'''Monodrones''' are responsible for general labor. Appearing as small metal spheres with a single eye, a pair of spindly metal legs, and either a pair of arms or a pair of wings, these single-task Modrons are virtually mindless, capable of undertaking only a single task at a time. Order them to fight, and they mechanically attack whatever they see, even one another if they are not ordered to stop first. These form the vast bulk of the Modrons numbers. They cannot speak, though they can understand orders. These are the type of Modron that would be the janitors at a fast food restaurant.

'''Duodrones''' are charged with performing complex tasks that a monodrone is too stupid to handle, up to and including directing monodrones. Appearing as rectangular shapes with four spindly metal limbs, duodrones are bi-functional, capable of handling two tasks simultaneously. This gives them slightly greater intelligence than monodrones; for example, a duodrone who was ordered to fight would kill all enemies in sight and then go in search of new enemies, rather than simply attack other nearby Modrons. Duodrones can speak, but only in a limited fashion; about all they're capable of is clearly reporting their operations and observations. These are the type of Modron that would prepare the food at a fast food restaurant.

'''Tridrones''' are capable of performing multiple tasks simultaneously and are also minor supervisors; these are the Modrons who command the duodrones. They resemble walking pyramids, pointy side down, with a single-eyed face on each side of their body, three legs and three arms. They are usually given a single general directive, which they then subdivide into simpler tasks and assign to their duodrone underlings. They are even capable of planning limited objectives on their own. These are the type of Modron that would run the drive-through at a fast food restaurant.

'''Quadrones''' are capable of performing multiple complex tasks simultaneously, which also makes them the supervisors of Base Modronkind. Appearing as mechanical cubes with a face on one side, two legs, two arms and either a pair of wings or a second pair of arms, they are the first caste to approach human-grade sapience, being "four-function" creatures that can report actions and observations, make plans, react to unexpected occurrences and act to remedy them. This type of Modron would run the tills of a fast food restaurant.

'''Pentadrones''' form the lesser police officers of the Modron race, being charged with law enforcement. Their primary task is the prevention of Modrons going rogue. As the borderline between Base and Hierarch Modrons, these outsiders are five-function beings that can communicate, operate, monitor, plan and manage. They resemble mechanical five-legged starfish with a face on each "arm" and five spindly mechanical legs growing underneath them, which are used to walk. These modrons would be the manager at a fast-food restaurant.
[[File:Hierarch Modrons from MM2.png|thumb|right]]
The castes above this level are "hierarch" modrons of average up to godlike intelligence, and each caste requires a strictly regimented number that should exist at each caste level at any time -- no more ''and'' no less. They each have telepathy for communication at increasingly crazy distances, for the purpose of the hivemind mesh. They are so hyper-OCD organized that they never roll for initiative but choose their place in turn order. Every hierarch modron has the following at-will abilities: clairaudience, clairvoyance, command word, dimension hop, teleport (with 0% mis-jump), and forcewall. Hierarch modrons slain in Mechanus will self-resurrect in a few days; slain elsewhere, their souls return to their god, and a promotion chain is automatically triggered to fill the absent position. Hierarch modrons will never willingly leave Mechanus unless commanded by Primus.

'''Decatons''' are charged with overseeing the physical welfare of the base Modrons. There are one-hundred in existence at any given time; one for each Sector and one for each army. They resemble metal spheres with ten tentacles around their bodies standing on stumpy legs. They have access to a variety of curative spells that only affect Modrons, and can also levitate at will. This modron would be the area manager at a fast-food business.

'''Nonatons''' make up the police supervision of the Modrons. Their numbers are kept at eighty-one. Nine serve the octons by carrying their orders, sixty-four monitor the decatons of the realm, and the remaining eight monitor the decatons of the armies. They appear as, depending on edition, one-eyed cylinders with a ring of tentacles or giant caterpillar things with a monodrone-like face.

'''Octons''' are the governors of the Sectors, meaning there are only sixty-four octons in all of Mechanus. Octons are distinguished by the metallic collar that grows around their neck, from which sprouts eight tentacle arms. They are provided levitation by these collars, which enables them to move through air and water with equal ease and grace.

'''Septons''' are governmental inspectors, forty-nine in number, responsible for ensuring that each octon is performing its duties satisfactorily. They resemble humanoids with large, bald heads, and smaller versions of the same collars that grow from an octon's shoulders; septons cannot fly like octons, but they can move perfectly through water.

'''Hextons''' are the generals of the Modron armies. There are thirty-six of them. Hextons resemble six-armed humanoids, having two large human-like arms, each of which ends in a six-fingered hand, and four claw-tipped tentacles, as well as a pair of fan-like wings that join at their shoulders.

'''Quintons''' are bureau chiefs and record keepers for Modron territory. They number twenty-five. These Modrons have the appearance of tall, stockily built humanoids with two pairs of arms, a prehensile tail, and fanlike wings similar to those of a Hexton.

'''Quartons''' are the governors of the Regions, meaning there are only sixteen of these Modrons in existence at any one time. They have the appearance of 12ft-tall humanoids with four jointed arms and the same fan-like wings as the Hextons and Quintons.

'''Tertions''' are the judges of the Modron race. There are only nine, with two assigned to each Secundi and one reporting directly to Primus. They resemble 12ft tall, bald humans with long horns jutting from the sides of their head and long, prehensile-tails that end in a ball like a mace's head.

'''Secundi''' are the governors of the four Quarters, meaning there are only four of them. They answer directly to Primus. They appear as incredibly tall and thin humanoids with deep-set eyes. These modrons would be the board of directors in a fast food company.
[[File:Primus Dragon 341.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Primus, the One and the Prime, as portrayed in [[3.5e]]. Note that he looks different than what he is described like - this is because this is a picture of him after being reintroduced in Dragon Magazine as a [[Vestige]].]]
The highest caste has only one occupant, and it is the only god-type modron. It has telepathy that extends to all modrons in the same plane, along with the usual benefits of immortality and divine power. All modron clerics pray to the occupant of the highest caste, who responds efficiently and grants their divine spells for the day.

'''Primus''' is the One and the Prime, the god-like entity that is the ultimate source of the Modron race. He is their overarching will, their mind, their soul. All that they do ultimately stems from him. If seen in person, this entity manifests as the upper torso of an enormous androgynous humanoid rising from a pool of incandescent energy - the life essence of the Modron race - with its right hand obscured by rainbow-hued light and its left hand obscured by ink-black shadows. Primus does not create avatars, and Primus never leaves Mechanus. Primus's first concern is always the well-being of the modron species as a whole. Unlike other gods who will resurrect from the plane's quintessence if slain, Primus is "resurrected" by the immediate promotion of a Secundus, which triggers a highly organized civil war to determine which secudus is ascended, and which will in turn trigger a chain of promotions. Since modrons are a hive-mind, this new Primus will know everything the previous Primus knew. This Modron would be the almighty God-CEO of a fast food company.

In canon, Primus got killed before the start of the AD&D adventure-line "The Great Modron March", when Orcus (in his undead incarnation as Tenebrous) snuck into Mechanus and killed him, then stole his identity and set the March off early to look for his precious Wand so he could use it to restore himself to life. Though Orcus canonically got his Wand back, revived himself and left, allowing the Modrons to generate a new Primus, Dragon Magazine #341 states that the Primus that Tenebrous killed ended up becoming a Vestige. As a Vestige, Primus will not manifest to a [[Binder]] already binding Tenebrous, and grants bonuses for acting in a mechanical manner (that is, doing the same set of actions in multiple rounds), Lawful aligned attacks, and the ability to issue a Command spell once every 6 rounds.

== Rogue Modrons ==
It happens rarely, but sometimes, Modrons go rogue (this can happen with other outsiders as well, but for some reason Modrons are the only ones where it happens enough for said exceptions to be notable). They start to develop a personality and a mind of their own, becoming distinctive beings rather than interchangeable cogs. Only Modrons of at least quadrone rank seem to be capable of going rogue; the lower three castes are simply too mindless to develop that level of a sense of self. Modrons typically seek to destroy these rogues whenever they appear in order to return their essence to the logic-pool for recycling, fearing either their contamination of the Modron race or their depletion of the Modron logic-pool.

The most awesome modron ever is probably Nordom, the "backwards Modron", from [[Planescape: Torment]], who is an iconic example of a rogue. Rogue modrons are the most frequent source of modron PCs, being capable of self-interest and a certain amount of free will. They ''must'' be of lawful alignment (being only "chaotic" in relation to other modrons), and their brains tend to melt when they attempt to interact with chaotic people.

==Modrons in the World Axis==
Modrons made their way into the [[World Axis]] in [[Dragon Magazine]] #414 and [[Dungeon Magazine]] #186. Here, they are stated to be a result of a [[Archomental|primordial]] called the Prime Architect, which discovered the plane of the Accordant Expanse, a kind of polar opposite to the [[Far Realm]] as a plane of pure logic, order and stasis. This inspired him to undertake a project of massive proportions, which accidentally caused a multitude of breaches to the Far Realm to form as well as attracting the attention of Mak Thuum Ngatha, the Nine-Tongued Worm. The Prime Architect managed to repel the aberrant god, but was mortally wounded; the Primordial then bathed itself in the pure energies of cosmic Order emanating from the Accordant Expanse and was transformed into the entire modron race, which sealed up most of the Far Realm breaches and then built [[Mechanus]] as a demiplane within the Accordant Expanse before migrating there and creating Primus to rule themselves.

4e modrons have a distinct hierarchy, which goes as follows. Additionally, modrons have a more clockwork appearance in this cosmology, and a more [[Transformers]] like aesthetic; higher ranks of modrons are literally made by lower-ranked modrons physically meshing together and pooling their minds and "flesh" into a single higher being.

Base Modrons:
* Monodrone: General Laborer
* Duodrone: Skilled Laborer
* Tridrone: Supervisor
* Quadrone: Manager
* Pentadrone: Law Enforcer

Hierarchs:
* Decaton: Administrator
* Nonaton: Arbiter
* Octon: Mayor
* Septon: Inspector
* Hexton: General
* Quinton: Councilor
* Quarton: Governor
* Tertian: Judge
* Secundus: Viceroy
* Primus: Absolute Ruler

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Modron-monodrone-MM2 page87.jpg|From Monster Manual II
Duodrone 1e.png
Tridrone 1e.png
Quadrone 1e.png
Pentadrone 1e.png
Monodrones march by Adam Rex.jpg|[[/r9k/]]? Try /r(9*10^9)k/
Decaton overseer.jpg|Middle-management has its perks. Like five extra eyes, and luscious lips.
Modron_simple.png|Early concept art?
Primus 1e.png|1e Primus
Primus from blood-wars game.jpg|Primus, as he appeared in the [[Blood War]]s [[card game]].
Primus 2e.jpg|Primus and Tenebrous, from ''The Great Modron March''.
2e_Monodrone.gif| A monodrone, as they appeared in 2e
Duodrone 2e.jpg|A duodrone, as they appeared in 2e
Tridrone 2e.jpg|A tridrone, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Quadrone.gif|A quadrone, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Quadrone_2.gif|Another 2e quadrone
Quadrone 4e.jpg|A 4e quadrone
Pentadrone 2e.jpg|A pentadrone, as they appeared in 2e
Pentadrone PoL.jpg|Another 2e pentadrone
2e_Decaton.gif|A decaton, as they appeared in 2e
Decaton PoL mechanus.jpg|A decaton from ''Planes of Law''
2e_Nonaton.gif|A nonaton, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Octon.gif|An octon, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Septon.gif|A septon, as they appeared in 2e
Septon PoL.jpg|Another 2e septon
2e_Hexton.gif|A hexton, as they appeared in 2e
2e_Quinton.gif|A quinton, as they appeared in 2e
Quarton.PNG|A quarton, as they appeared in 2e
Secundus PoL.jpg|A secundus
Modron trial.jpg
</gallery>

{{D&D2e-Races}}
{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Zerthimon

2021-06-18T04:10:33Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:64B4:5F9F:2A18:22AE:

'''Zerthimon''' is a mytho-historical character in the [[Planescape]] setting of [[Dungeons & Dragons]], revered by the [[githzerai]] as their spiritual leader and founder, who fought alongside Gith to free them from the [[illithid]]s and then spoke up against her tyrannical plans, causing The Sundering Of Two Skies that divided the ancient gith-kin into the modern githzerai and [[githyanki]].

Unusually, Zerthimon's status and to an extent his lore has actually changed in between edition.

When the githzerai were first detailed in the Outer Planes Appendix for the Monstrous Compendium, Zerthimon was actually a ''mythical'' figure, said to have perished in battle against Gith and from there ascended to a demigod status. It was believed he was building his strength elsewhere in the planes, and would ultimately return to lead the githzerai to true paradise. This meant that the githzerai Zerths were not only [[gish|multiclassed fighter/mages]], but also acted as priests of Zerthimon. This strange religion was an underground phenomena, as [[Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith]], wizard-king of the githzerai and their equivalent to [[Vlaakith CLVII]], saw it as a potential threat to his authority.

Fate was to intervene when [[Bioware|Black Isle]] created the CRPG [[Planescape: Torment]]. In it, they introduced the party member Dak'kon, a stoic and grim Zerth, whose crisis of faith lead to the sacking of [[Shra'kt'lor]] by the [[githyanki]]. He presented Zerthimon not as a myth, but as a matter of fact, and removed all mention of both "The Great Githzerai" and Zerthimon's supposed death & ascension. Dak'kon's huge popularity went on to solidify Zerthimon's presence from mere religious belief to a full-fledged fact of the githzerai existence, especially as the githzerai became more atheistic as editions passed.

4th edition, of course, stuck its oar in, with an extensive writeup of the githzerai in "The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos". Whilst making no mention of the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon, which outraged many Planescape [[grognard]]s, it asserted that Zerthimon was a real figure, who opposed Gith for her ineptitude as treating the gith as anything other than soldiers in her army. They fought, he defeated her, and then led to the githzerai to found their own civilization in the [[Elemental Chaos]]. It also presented three common beliefs as to what actually happened to Zerthimon; that he ascended to become a psionic entity analoguous to a god; that he ultimately died, was buried with honors, but then they forgot where; and, interestingly, a new option: that he became a [[lich]] to try and guide his people for all eternity, only to flee from them into the depths of the Chaos when he realized what a monster he had become. Amusingly, in-universe, this last option is widely regarded as heresy by githzerai ''and'' githyanki, with the latter objecting to the idea that their race's greatest enemy could become immortal, like their own beloved leader.

Fifth edition instead sticks to one answer, that Zerthimon rose in rebellion against Gith, was killed by her, and the heavily-reworked Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith led them into Limbo to escape the wrath of the githyanki. It also goes back to the oldest version of the story, that the githzerai believe that all that died was Zerthimon's body, and, much like Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith exists in a kind of in-between state as a being of immense mystical and psychic power shackled to a decrepit meat-husk, Zerthimon's mind still exists in a transcendent being of pure psionic and magical energy that will one day return and lead his people unto freedom and paradise.

To this end, there is no mention made of conflict between the newer, more-benevolent Menyar-Ag and Zerthimon.

==The Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon==
Seeing as how Dak'kon is a Zerth, and thusly effectively a priest of Zerthimon, Planescape: Torment introduced us to the priestly teachings of Zerthimon. Known as the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon, this is a series of historical lessons and parables that the player can unlock in the game if their Intelligence and Wisdom is sufficiently high.

Befitting Planescape, the Unbroken Circle is a highly contentious bit of lore - not because of its quality, but because at the game's end, if you talk to the Practical Incarnation of the Nameless One, he confesses to having ''made'' the Unbroken Circle for Dak'kon. Admittedly, the term is used both for the teachings of Zerthimon ''and'' the ever-shifting ring of stone/metal that they're written on. Further, Dak'kon himself refers to the 6th Circle being the one that led to his crisis of faith and the devastation of Shra'kt'lor, and would surely be aware of if it was an outright fake or not, leaving to Planescape fans endlessly debating how much these parables are the "real" ones or not.

But, in the absence of anything else to contradict them, most fans are content to take the Unbroken Circle's parables as factual, and just assume the Practical Incarnation made the physical Unbroken Circle as a token to try and use Dak'kon.

===The First Circle===
'''Know''' that we are the First People. Once all was chaos. The First People were thought drawn from chaos. When the First People came to '''know''' themselves, they were chaos no longer, and became flesh.

With their thoughts and '''knowing''' of matter, the People shaped the First World and dwelled there with their '''knowing''' to sustain them.

Yet the flesh was new to the People and with it, the People came not to '''know''' themselves. The flesh gave rise to new thoughts. Greed and hates, pains and joys, jealousies and doubts. All of these fed on each other and the minds of the People were divided. In their division, the People were punished.

The emotions of the flesh were strong. The greed and hates, the pains and joys, the jealousies and doubts, all of these served as a guiding stone to enemies. In becoming flesh, the First People became enslaved to those who '''knew''' flesh only as tools for their will. '''Know''' these beasts were the '''[[illithid]]s.'''

The '''illithids''' were a race that had come not to '''know''' themselves. They had learned how to make other races not '''know''' themselves.

They were the tentacled ones. They lived in flesh and saw flesh as tools for their will. Their blood was as water and they shaped minds with their thoughts. When the '''illithids''' came upon the People, the People were a people no more. The People became slaves.

The '''illithids''' took the People from the First World and brought them to the False Worlds. As the People labored upon the False Worlds, the '''illithids''' taught them the Way of the Flesh. Through them, the People came to '''know''' loss. They came to '''know''' suffering. They came to '''know''' death, both of the body and mind. They came to '''know''' what it is to be the herd of another and have their flesh consumed. They came to '''know''' the horror of being made to feel joy in such things.

The Unbroken Circle is the '''knowing''' of how the People lost themselves. And how they came to '''know''' themselves again.

'''Parable:''' Strength lies in knowing oneself. If you do not '''know''' yourself, you are lost and will become a tool for others.

It takes the Nameless One 12+ [[Wisdom]] to understand this parable.

===The Second Circle===
'''Know''' that flesh cannot mark steel. '''Know''' that steel may mark flesh. In '''knowing''' this, Zerthimon became free.

'''Know''' that the tentacled ones were of flesh. They relied on the flesh and used it as tools for their will. One of the places where flesh served their will were the Fields of Husks on the False Worlds of the '''illithids'''.

The Fields were where the bodies of the People were cast after the '''illithids''' had consumed their brains. When the brain had been devoured, the husks came to be fertilizer to grow the poison-stemmed grasses of the '''illithids'''. Zerthimon worked the Fields with no '''knowing''' of himself or what he had become. He was a tool of flesh, and the flesh was content.

It was upon these fields that Zerthimon came to '''know''' the scripture of steel. During one of the turnings, as Zerthimon tilled the Fields with his hands, he came across a husk whose brain remained within it. It had not been used as food. Yet it was dead.

The thought that one of the husks had died a death without serving as food for the '''illithids''' was a thought Zerthimon had difficulty understanding. From that thought, came a desire to '''know''' what had happened to the husk.

Embedded in the skull of the husk was a steel blade. It had pierced the bone. Zerthimon realized that was what had killed the husk. The steel had marked the flesh, but the flesh had not marked the steel.

Zerthimon took the blade and studied its surface. In it, he saw his reflection. It was in the reflection of the steel that Zerthimon first '''knew''' himself. Its edge was sharp, its will the wearer's. It was the blade that would come to be raised against Gith when Zerthimon made the Pronouncement of Two Skies.

Zerthimon kept the blade for many turnings, and many were the thoughts he had about it. He used it in the fields to aid his work. In using it, he thought about how it was not used.

The '''illithids''' were powerful. Zerthimon had believed that there was nothing that they did not '''know'''. Yet the '''illithids''' never carried tools of steel. They only used flesh as tools. Everything was done through flesh, for the tentacled ones were made of flesh and they '''knew'''' flesh. Yet steel was superior to flesh. When the blade had killed the husk, it was the flesh that had been weaker than the steel.

It was then that Zerthimon came to '''know''' that flesh yielded to steel. In '''knowing''' that, he came to '''know''' that steel was stronger than the '''illithids'''.

Steel became the scripture of the People. '''Know''' that steel is the scripture by which the People came to '''know''' freedom.

'''Parable:''' Ignorance is not a weakness, if one remains aware that one is ignorant and embraces the opportunity to learn.

Or, as the Nameless One puts it: "I learned that not '''knowing''' something can be a tool, just like flesh and steel, if upon encountering it, you attempt to '''know''' its nature and how it came to be."

It takes the Nameless One 12+ [[Wisdom]] to understand this parable.

===The Third Circle===
Zerthimon labored many turnings for the '''illithid''' Arlathii Twice-Deceased and his partnership in the cavernous heavens of the False Worlds. His duties would have broken the backs of many others, but Zerthimon labored on, suffering torment and exhaustion.

It came to pass that the '''illithid''' Arlathii Twice-Deceased ordered Zerthimon before him in his many-veined galleria. He claimed that Zerthimon had committed slights of obstinance and cowardice against his partnership. The claim had no weight of truth, for Arlathii only wished to '''know''' if flames raged within Zerthimon's heart. He wished to '''know''' if Zerthimon's heart was one of a slave or of a rebel.

"Zerthimon surrendered to the '''illithid''' punishment rather than reveal his new-found strength. He '''knew''' that were he to show the hatred in his heart, it would serve nothing, and it would harm others that felt as he. He chose to endure the punishment and was placed within the Pillars of Silence so he might suffer for a turning."

Lashed upon the Pillars, Zerthimon moved his mind to a place where pain could not reach, leaving his body behind. He lasted a turning, and when he was brought before Arlathii Twice-Deceased, he gave gratitude for his punishment to the '''illithid''' as was custom. In so doing, he proved himself a slave in the '''illithid''' eyes while his heart remained free.

By enduring and quenching the fires of his hatred, he allowed Arlathii Twice-Deceased to think him weak. When the time of the Rising came, Arlathii was the first of the '''illithid''' to '''know''' death by Zerthimon's hand and die a third death.

'''Parable:''' Endure. In enduring, grow strong.

It takes the Nameless One 14+ [[Wisdom]] to understand this parable.

===The Fourth Circle===
'''Know''' that the Rising of the People against the '''illithid''' was a thing built upon many ten-turnings of labor. Many of the People were gathered and taught in secret the ways of defeating their '''illithid''' masters. They were taught to shield their minds, and use them as weapons. They were taught the scripture of steel, and most importantly, they were given the '''knowing''' of freedom.

Some of the People learned the nature of freedom and took it into their hearts. The '''knowing''' gave them strength. Others feared freedom and kept silent. But there were those that '''knew''' freedom and '''knew''' slavery, and it was their choice that the People remain chained. One of these was Vilquar.

Vilquar saw no '''freedom''' in the Rising, but opportunity. He saw that the '''illithid''' had spawned across many of the False Worlds. Their Worlds numbered so many that their vision was turned only outwards, to all they did not already touch. Vilquar's eye saw that much took place that the '''illithid''' did not see. To the Rising, the '''illithid''' were blinded.

Vilquar came before his master, the '''illithid''' Zhijitaris, with the '''knowing''' of the Rising. Vilquar added to his chains and offered to be their eyes against the Rising. In exchange, Vilquar asked that he be rewarded for his service. The '''illithid''' agreed to his contract.

At the bonding of the contract, a dark time occurred. Many were betrayals Vilquar committed and many were the People that the '''illithids''' fed upon to stem the Rising. It seemed that the Rising would die before it could occur, and the '''illithid''' were pleased with Vilquar's eye.

It was near the end of this dark time when Zerthimon came to '''know''' Vilquar's treacheries. In '''knowing''' Vilquar's eye, Zerthimon forced the Rising to silence itself, so that Vilquar might think at last his treacheries had succeeded, and the Rising had fallen. He '''knew''' that Vilquar's eye was filled only with the reward he had been promised. He would see what he wished to see.

With greed beating in his heart, Vilquar came upon the '''illithid''' Zhijitaris and spoke to his master of his success. He said that the Rising had fallen, and the '''illithids''' were safe to turn their eyes outwards once more. He praised their wisdom in using Vilquar's eye, and he asked them for his reward.

In his greed-blindness, Vilquar had forgotten the '''knowing''' of why the People had sought freedom. He had lost the '''knowing''' of what slavery meant. He had forgotten what his '''illithid''' masters saw when they looked upon him. And so Vilquar's betrayal of the People was ended with another betrayal. Vilquar came to '''know''' that when Vilquar's eye has nothing left to see, Vilquar's eye is useless.

The '''illithid''' gave to Vilquar his reward, opening the cavity of his skull and devouring his brain. Vilquar's corpse was cast upon the Fields of Husks so its blood might water the poison-stemmed grasses.

'''Parable:''' If you choose to see only what is before you, then you will only see part of the whole, and that makes you no better than being blind.

It takes the Nameless One 15+ [[Wisdom]] to understand this parable.

===The Fifth Circle===
Zerthimon was the first to '''know''' the way of freedom. Yet it was not he that first came to '''know''' the way of rebellion.

The '''knowing''' of rebellion came to the warrior-queen Gith, one of the People. She had served the '''illithids''' upon many of the False Worlds as a soldier, and she had come to '''know''' war and carried it in her heart. She had come to '''know''' how others might be organized to subjugate others. She '''knew''' the paths of power, and she '''knew''' the art of taking from the conquerors the weapons by which they could be defeated. Her mind was focused, and both her will and her blade were as one.

The turning in which Zerthimon came to '''know''' Gith, Zerthimon ceased to '''know''' himself. Her words were as fires lit in the hearts of all who heard her. In hearing her words, he wished to '''know''' war. He '''knew''' not what afflicted him, but he '''knew''' he wished to join his blade to Gith. He wished to give his hate expression and share his pain with the '''illithids'''.

Gith was one of the People, but her '''knowing''' of herself was greater than any Zerthimon had ever encountered. She '''knew''' the ways of flesh, she '''knew''' the '''illithids''' and in '''knowing''' herself, she was to '''know''' how to defeat them in battle. The strength of her '''knowing''' was so great, that all those that walked her path came to '''know''' themselves.

Gith was but one. Her strength was such that it caused others to '''know''' their strength. And Zerthimon laid his steel at her feet.

'''Parable:''' There is great strength in numbers, but there is great power in one, for the strength of the will of one may gather numbers to it. There is strength not only in '''knowing''' the self, but '''knowing''' how to bring it forth in others.

It takes the Nameless One 16+ [[Wisdom]] to understand this parable.

===The Sixth Circle===
Upon the Blasted Plains, Zerthimon told Gith there cannot be two skies. In the wake of his words, came war.

So it came to pass that the People had achieved victory over their '''illithid''' masters. They '''knew''' freedom. Yet before the green fires had died from the battlefield, Gith spoke of continuing the war. Many, still filled with the bloodlust in their hearts, agreed with her. She spoke of not merely defeating the '''illithids''', but destroying all '''illithids''' across the Planes. After the '''illithids''' had been exterminated, they would bring war to all other races they encountered.

In Gith's heart, fires raged. She lived in war, and in war, she '''knew''' herself. All that her eyes saw, she wanted to conquer.

Zerthimon spoke the beginnings of that which was against Gith's will. He spoke that the People already '''knew''' freedom. Now they should '''know''' themselves again and mend the damage that had been done to the People. Behind his words were many other hearts of the People who were weary of the war against the '''illithid'''.

'''Know''' that Gith's heart was not Zerthimon's heart on this matter. She said that the war would continue. The '''illithid''' would be destroyed. Their flesh would be no more. Then the People would claim the False Worlds as their own. Gith told Zerthimon that they would be under the same sky in this matter. The words were like bared steel.

From Zerthimon came the Pronouncement of Two Skies. In the wake of his words came war.

'''Parable:''' Zerthimon's devotion to the People was such that he was willing to protect them from themselves. He knew the '''illithids''' had come not to '''know''' themselves in their obsession with control and domination. So he chose to stop Gith before she carried the People to their deaths. There must be balance in all things, or else the self will not hold.

It takes the Nameless One 18+ [[Wisdom]] to understand this parable.

This caused Dak'kon's crisis of faith; he considered the possibility that Zerthimon's will had been broken in earlier Circles and that he had been transformed into an unwitting sleeper-agent, that rather than splitting his race in an attempt at stopping his people from becoming like their adversaries Zerthimon was permanently dividing them in the service of secret and evil masters.

===The Seventh Circle===
This Circle is mentioned in PS:T to be a hidden circle; Dak'kon has never seen it before, which only fuels the "how canon is the Unbroken Circle?" debates. To unlock it, the Nameless One needs 16+ [[Intelligence]].

'''Know''' that the Rising of the People against the '''illithid''' was a thing built upon many turnings. Many were the People who lived and died under time's blade while the Rising was shaped.

The Rising was shaped upon a slow foundation. Steel was gathered so that it might mark '''illithid''' flesh. A means of '''knowing''' the movements of the '''illithids''' were established, at first weak and confused, then stronger, like a child finding its voice. When the movements were '''known''', then the '''illithids''' were observed. In observing them, their ways of the mind were '''known'''.

When the ways of the '''illithid''' were '''known''', many of the People were gathered and taught in secret the means to shield their minds, and the way to harness their will as weapons. They were taught the scripture of steel, and most importantly, they were given the '''knowing''' of freedom.

These things were not learned quickly. The '''knowing''' of much of the ways was slow, and in all these things, time's weight fell upon all. From the '''knowing''' of one's reflection in a steel blade, to the '''knowing''' of submerging the will, to the '''knowing''' of seeing itself. All of these things and more the People built upon. In time, they came to '''know''' the whole.

'''Parable:''' Time is your ally, not your enemy. Patience can sharpen even the smallest of efforts into a weapon that can strike the heart of an empire. Your victories may be small, but over time, a greater victory may be achieved.

It takes the Nameless One 19+ [[Wisdom]] to understand this parable and convey its teachings to Dak'kon.

===The Eighth Circle===
This Circle is mentioned in PS:T to be a hidden circle; Dak'kon has never seen it before, which only fuels the "how canon is the Unbroken Circle?" debates. To unlock it, the Nameless One needs 19+ [[Intelligence]].

'''Know''' that a mind divided divides the man. The will and the hand must be as one. In '''knowing''' the self, one becomes strong.

'''Know''' that if you '''know''' a course of action to be true in your heart, do not betray it because the path leads to hardship. '''Know''' that without suffering, the Rising would have never been, and the People would never have come to '''know''' themselves.

'''Know''' that there is nothing in all the Worlds that can stand against unity. When all '''know''' a single purpose, when all hands are guided by one will, and all act with the same intent, the Planes themselves may be moved.

A divided mind is one that does not '''know''' itself. When it is divided, it cleaves the body in two. When one has a single purpose, the body is strengthened. In '''knowing''' the self, grow strong.

'''Parable:''' Pursue not only knowledge, but focus and discipline; not '''knowing''' oneself can physically divide you and bring forth your weakness. If you '''know''' yourself, not only can you take strength from that, but your focus can reveal the weakness of others who do not '''know''' themselves.

It takes the Nameless One 19+ [[Wisdom]] to understand this parable and convey its teachings to Dak'kon.

This restores Dak'kon's faith by reassuring him that Zerthimon ''did'' have his people's best interests at heart; that he acted out of moral certitude and a refusal to compromise in the face of what he knew to be a deep and everlasting wrong. It also helps him to heal his own divided mind in the process through its teachings.

{{Gith}}