Monday, January 3, 2011

General Rules: Monsters - Modron, Pentadrone

Pentadrone Modron (from Dragon Magazine #354))
Medium Construct (Extraplanar, Lawful)

Hit Dice: 6d10+20 (53 hit points)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 feet
Armor Class: 21 (+2 Dexterity, +9 natural); touch 12, flat-footed 19
BAB/Grapple: +4/+10
Attack: Slam +10 melee (2d6+9, bludgeoning, 20 x2)
Full Attack: Slam +10 melee (2d6+9, bludgeoning, 20 x2)
Space/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet
Special Attacks: Paralysis gas
Special Qualities: All-around vision, coordinated ally, construct traits, darkvision 60 feet, fixed initiative, levitation gas, low-light vision, modron leader, resistance to acid 10, resistance to cold 10, resistance to fire 10
Saves: Fortitude +2, Reflex +4, Will +6
Abilities: Str 22, Int 17, Wis 16, Dex 12, Con -, Cha 16
Skills: Gather Information +4, Hide +11, Knowledge: any one +9, Listen +12, Search +11, Spot +16, Survival +11, Tumble +8
Feats: Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Track
Environment: Mechanus
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful neutral
Advancement: By character class

Like a clockwork starfish on rickety by apparently strong legs, this creature has a single eye on each appendage and a small tube on its top that subtle angles towards those around it.

Quadrones can speak Axiomatic and three common languages of the Three Worlds such as Enslaic or Sorglish.

Combat
As the most advanced of the base modrons, pentadrones have a complex set of responsibilities. They must interpret and pass down orders from the hierarchs to the hundreds of thousands of quadrones and then onto the millions of lesser modrons. They must also hunt down and destroy their own kind when they turn rogue. To manage these duties, pentadrones are introspective and edeeply analytical. They attempt to study every obstacle carefully for all possible solutions, whether faced with a river with no bridge or being severely outnumbered by a pack of demons looking for a plaything.

Once they decide on a plan, they immediately launch their assault. The dramatic shift from quiet observation to sudden attack can be quite effective in catching opponents off guard. Unlike the monodrones and duodrones and to a lesser extent the tridrones and quadrones, pentadrones constantly reevaluate their plans and are capable of abandoning a plan already in action to pursue another. Again, these shifts are typically dramatic and sudden.

Knowing their importance among the base modrons, pentadrones have a stronger survival instinct than other modrons and with draw from fights to save themselves. As with so many aspects of modron life, this can easily be interpreted as an emotional act, but in reality, it is merely the most logical course of action in many circumstances. If the situation dictates that staying in the fight, even at the cost of its own life, would have the greatest outcome for other modrons, then a pentadrone fights with as much determination as the single-minded monodrone. They fully understand the significance of the Energy Pool and know that the destruction of their current form is only temporary.

All-Around Vision (Ex): The sensory organs on all sides of a pentadrone allow it to look in any direction, bestowing a +4 racial bonus on Search and Spot checks. Opponents gain no flanking bonuses when attacking a pentadrone.

Coordinated Ally (Ex): Modrons work exceptionally well with other lawful allies. When successfully aided on a skill check or attack roll by a lawful-aligned ally, or when aiding another lawfully aligned creature, they apply or gain a +3 bonus on their checks or attack rolls (instead of the normal +2 bonus). Furthermore, modrons gain a +4 bonus on attack rolls against an opponent flanked by a lawful-aligned ally (instead of the normal +2 bonus).

Fixed Initiative (Ex): Modrons are rigid in their actions, even in the most chaotic situations. As a result, a modron's initiative check is always equal to half its Hit Dice plus its Dexterity modifier for initiative. When combat begins, a modron uses this number as its initiative - it never rolls an initiative check. A pentadrone modron's initiative is always 4.

Levitation Gas (Su): Pentadrones possess a gas emitter that, when aimed downward, allows them to float as per a levitate spell cast by a 5th level wizard. After a pentadrone levitates in this manner, it cannot use its gas emitter to levitate or spray paralysis gas for 5 rounds.

Modron leader (Ex): Pentadrones are capable of giving orders to any mordon of a lesser caste.

Paralysis Gas (Su): Pentadrones can emit a 30-foot line of paralysis gas. Creatures caught within the area must make a DC 16 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 2d4 rounds. The DC is Charisma-based. After a pentadrone uses its gas emitter to spray paralysis gas, it cannot use it again for levitation or paralysis gas for 5 rounds.

Construct: Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, disease, death effects, paralysis, stunning, sleep, and similar effects. Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage. Destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points, cannot be raised. Cannot be healed with healing magic unless it specifically says it works on constructs, and does not heal on its own.

Skills: Modrons have a +2 racial bonus to Listen and Spot checks.

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