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-- Cager proverb
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Copyright 1999 text and art by Belarius ( Planar / neuter modron (quadrones) / 4+4 HD / LN )
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Insanity is relative. Ask a Bleaker at the Gatehouse, and he'll tell you. Whether or not you're insane depends on who you are and who you were. An excellent example is the Rogue Unit, a trio of rogue modrons in Sigil. Thing is, they don't know they're rogue. They believe with all of their mechanical little hearts that they are still a part of the modron hierarchy. As such, they don't call themselves "The Rogue Unit." The term was first coined by Baeneral Pikestaff, the first to realise their condition. |
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Most cutters believe the rogues when they state they're part of the hierarchy. After all, chant is that a rogue is a disempowered quadrone, which lacks the ability to fly. The rogues can certainly fly. Similarly, they retain their combat skills and rigid thought patterns. The dark behind their abilities is simple: they believe themselves to one non-rogue, so they can act as non-rogue. A similar case apparently exists in Bedlam, where the rogue modron judge Trictacalus has retained the shape and abilities of a decaton since the last Modron March through sheer force of belief. This, plus the fact that they took some powerful magical items built for modrons with them when they went rogue, make them a dangerous triad of Law. Their story began when four quadrones were sent to Sigil to locate and eliminate other rogues. A spin-off of the change at the top of the modron hierarchy, these modrons had instructions to destroy all modrons who had gone rogue, not just those who had the ability to command those of a lesser rank [i.e. those who had not yet transformed into the PC race]. The modrons went about their search with typical modronic efficiency, making themselves known as rogue-killers from the first.
Breaking orders, a member of the group used an item normally restricted to killing rogues. The thugs were promptly dispatched. The trio escaped, and began to wander Sigil looking for a way back to Mechanus to get reinforcements.
And so the charade has continued. The Rogue Unit follows the orders it receives telepathically from Baeneral, believing his actions are really a disguise to "fool the unlawful." The three still patrol Sigil "in search of rogue modrons." They are loosing more and more of their grasp on the old order, but persevere, and haven't lost any abilities yet, including their ability to command lesser-ranking modrons.    |
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.
The
first modron they targeted was Ylem,
a barmy spellcaster who tries to create spellhaunts. Being
painfully obvious, they immediately grabbed the attention of
Zadara,
who funds Ylem. She hired some thugs to eliminate the
modrons, on the theory that they wouldn't listen to
intimidation (true), that they would return to Sigil if
ejected (true again), and that they had no lives to speak of
anyway (arguably true). Unfortunately, the thugs she hired
were a little too eager. Upon capturing the modrons, they
decided to torture them for a while, to see if they could
experience fear, terror, whatever (chant goes they were some
kind of twisted Sensates). They killed the modrons slowly,
and when the first of their number died, they quietly and
unknowingly went rogue from their dying brother's mental
scream.
It
just so happens that, nearby, Baeneral Pikestaff was using
some magical items of his own to study the minds of those
around him. He happened to hit the mind of one of the new
rogues. Now, normally the sheer order beyond mortal
understanding that is the modron mind will drive a berk
crazy. But not so with the Rogue Unit. Baeneral discovered a
chaotic undercurrent of thought that made their minds
bearable. He turned on his device's powers of transmission
and began to fake a stream of orders from a "nearby
pentadrone." The orders ran along the lines of "refer to
Baeneral Pikestaff for further orders, as he is one of us in
disguise."