[ Modrons ] [ Base: Monodrone | Duodrone | Tridrone | Quadrone | Pentadrone ] [ Hierarchs ]
Modron, Monodrone
by Axionis Vell, Scholar of the Fraternity of Order
Preface
On the Nature of Purpose
To understand the monodrone is to tumble to a profound truth about order itself. In Mechanus, there is to be no waste, no redundancy, and no excess. Every component here has a role, and every role is filled to its exact capacity. The monodrone embodies this principle to an extreme degree. It is the smallest cog in a machine of infinite scope, and yet, without it, the Great Machine itself would surely grind to a halt.
Some planewalkers might scoff at the monodrone’s simplicity, deriding them as “barely aware” or “a glorified tool.” But this, I would argue, is a short-sighted over-simplification. The monodrone achieves a kind of purity that mortal minds struggle to comprehend: the absolute dedication to a single task, free from doubt, hesitation, or distraction. In this respect, I would posit that it is perhaps the monodrone, and not the philosopher, who exemplifies true enlightenment.
Physical Form
A Paragon of Functionality
A monodrone’s form is exactly as precise as its purpose. These cutters are small, spherical constructs, about two feet in diameter, with a single central eye which dominated their metallic faces. They possess simple limbs—perhaps better termed ‘multipurpose appendages’ that can serve as either arms and legs—allowing them to grasp, carry, climb, and scuttle as required. Their limbs are spartan, lacking adornment or versatility beyond the bare minimum required to perform the tasks assigned to them.
Their bodies are encased in sleek, plates of living metal, which function as both armour and structural reinforcement. These plates are riveted into place with mathematical precision, for every inch of the monodrone’s surface serves a purpose. There is no wasted material, no excess decoration, no allowance for aesthetics. The unblinking central eye serves as their only sensory organ.
Attached to their sides are two small, clockwork-driven wings. These wings enable the monodrone to hover short distances, flitting between gears or across narrow gaps, more increasing the distance they can jump by gliding than actually flying. They are not graceful, but they do not need to be. Their flight serves only to fulfil its purpose, not to impress onlookers.
Role in Modron Society
Monodrones are the lowest caste of all modrons and constitute the largest segment of Mechanus’s population. They are—for lack of a better term—the “hands and feet” of the machine. They do not command, they do not deliberate, and they do not innovate. They exist purely to obey and to act. The entire existence of the monodrone is dedicated to the completion of single, discrete tasks, assigned to them by the duodrones who oversee them.
Common Duties Performed by Monodrones
- Gear Maintenance: Tightening bolts, oiling mechanisms, cleaning, polishing, and clearing debris from the endless gears of Mechanus.
- Material Transport: Carrying cogs, tools, and materials from one worksite to another.
- Message Relays: Serving as messengers, they can relay a message of up to 48 words exactly as it was spoken to them. It is not thought they can understand the message, which is perfect for relaying secret instructions.
- Militia Service: When pressed into military service, monodrones wield spears, fauchards, or crossbows, relying on their overwhelming numbers and unflinching obedience to follow orders, to function as a cohesive unit.
These tasks may seem humble, but every task they perform is essential. If the monodrones did not clean the gears, the whole plane would seize up. If they did not convey instructions, communication would break down. To scoff at a monodrone’s menial labours is to scoff at the notion of a clock’s seconds hand, ignoring its vital role in the march of time.
Assessment of Strengths
- Single-Minded Determination: No creature in the multiverse pursues a task with as much unerring focus as a monodrone.
- Simple Yet Numerous: Individually weak, but devastating in large numbers. An army of monodrones, ordered to strike, will do so with relentless synchronisation.
- Simple Sustenance: Monodrones do not require food, water, or sleep. They sustain themselves by absorbing ambient energy from Mechanus’s air, making them completely self-sufficient.
- Focused Strike: The monodrone can, once per day, perform the same action twice in rapid succession. This ability is rarely seen outside of combat, but it highlights the monodrone’s peculiar nature: it cannot choose what to do, but it can choose to do more of what it is already doing. This may be seen as a crude form of “initiative”—but note that this initiative is still bound by its singular original directive.
Limitations
The monodrone’s abilities are a study in optimisation. It has exactly what it needs to fulfil its function and no more.
- Prime Directive: This is the most famous (and most infamous) feature of the monodrone. Once it has been given an order, it will focus on that one task to the exclusion of all others. If commanded to fight an enemy, it will continue fighting that enemy until either it or the monodrone has died, unless new orders are issued. This “one-track mind” is a blessing in the sense that the monodrone can never be swayed, frightened, or tricked into abandoning its task. However, it is also a hindrance in cases where tactical flexibility is required. Their inability to shift focus can be exploited. Monodrones who have been commanded to “attack the human,” will cease attaching should the human polymorph into another form. Although it should be noted they, as with other modrons, are not fooled by illusions.
- Limited Awareness: Monodrones can only understand and interact with orders from a duodrone. They are completely blind to the workings of castes above the duodrones, being unaware that such beings are even modrons. To a mono drone, the duodrone is the highest form of modronic existence.
- Communication: Monodrones understand the spoken modron language, but cannot read or speak it themselves. As with all beings however, while on Mechanus, they can understand all languages. However, they can act as messengers, able to perfectly repeat up to 48 words that they have been instructed to convey. This is perhaps their most versatile utility. One might compare them to living, walking scrolls—except that they require no parchment, ink, or literacy to fulfill this role.
- Physical Frailty: While their metal bodies offer some protection, a monodrone is a small, relatively simple construct. It cannot withstand sustained punishment.
The Philosophy of the Monodrone
The monodrone exists as the literal foundation of the modron hierarchy. All other modron castes are built atop its labours. Where the quintons keep the ledgers and the hextons draw battle plans, it is the monodrones who sharpen the quills and carry the battle standards. Where the octons govern the regions of Mechanus, it is the monodrones who clean the gears beneath their feet.
One might be tempted to pity them, seeing them as the lowest of the low. But this is a mortal view, clouded by notions of ambition and self-worth. The monodrone is the purest expression of duty. It is not weighed down by conflicting desires, nor plagued by indecision. It exists in a state of pure clarity, doing what it was made to do, unburdened by the need for purpose or explanation.
This purity of existence is, in a sense, a kind of perfection. Mortal creatures dream of finding their purpose in life. The monodrone never dreams—it is born with its purpose ingrained within it. We mortals can only hope to one day find such clarity.
Concluding Remarks
The monodrone is a reflection of order at its most primal level: the clarity of a single purpose. It is the wheel, the cog, the gear that never dreams of being anything else. If the monodrone were able to ask itself, “What am I?”, the answer would be immediate: “I am labour.” Although of course, such introspection is beyond the ken of these simple constructs.
In the classic debates between Sigil’s philosophical bloods, much is made of “freedom of choice” as an ideal. Some argue that the will to decide is the highest virtue. But in some respects those philosophers are fools. The monodrone shows us that true freedom is not in having choices—it is in the absence of choice. It is a freedom from doubt, from hesitation, and from the burdens of self-reflection.
The monodrone does not wander Sigil’s Hive lost in existential crises. It does not second-guess its role in life or its sense of self worth. It simply listens, obeys and acts, and through its action, it achieves perfection of purpose.
If that is not enlightenment, then what is?
—Axionis Vell, Fraternity of Order, Clerk of the Ninth Sector of the Third Quadrant
Monodrone Statistics
- AD&D 2e — original stats can be found here
- D&D 3e — Manual of the Planes modron pdf web enhancement, rescued from the now defunct http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/files/modrons.zip
- D&D 5e — you can find official 5e stats for the monodrone in the 5e Monster Manual, with the absolute barest of descriptions. There’s a more detailed homebrew version here
- Pathfinder 1e — Nice conversion here from the Creature Codex here
- Pathfinder 2e — A great conversion here; from this original article on Reddit
Canonical Sources
- Planescape Campaign Setting: Monstrous Supplement [2e] p16-19,22; great description of the race
- Dragon Magazine #354 [3e] p37-45; the ecology of the modron
- Great Modron March [2e] p8,25,126; monodrones feature throughout the book
- Planes of Law: Mechanus [2e] 13, 22 (2-3,29); how the modrons fit into the grand scheme of Mechanus
Source: Jon Winter-Holt
