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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

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Tue, 2007-04-03 22:04
#1
Darvon
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

I originally sent this message to scalemail after their return of the modrons article, but after I had fired it off I figured if there was any place to get the answer it would be here Smiling

Regarding Quadrones, text descriptions of Quadrones always state (Regardless of the source) that they have either four, or sometimes 6, faces. However in every piece of artwork I've ever seen they always only ever have one face, and it's always a winged Quadrone variant to boot.

Do you know which interpretation is 'correct', or even if there has ever been artwork made of a Quadrone that didn’t have wings and a single face?

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Tue, 2007-04-03 22:17
#2
Duckluck
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

It means "face" as in "faces of a cube," not "face" as in "that thing with eyes and a mouth in it." So they have six faces (top, bottom, rear, left, right, front), but only one (the front) has a face on it. Do you get what I mean?

Tue, 2007-04-03 22:25
(Reply to #2) #3
ripvanwormer
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

They do have sensory organs on each face, but I wouldn't assume that all of those faces look human; I said in another thread very much like this one that their sensory organs are going to be things like levels, compasses, astrolabes, thermometers, and other mechanical devices - not eyes, noses, or mouths, which are going to be confined to their front face.

A problem with this interpretation is that Ken Lipka's article in Dragon #354 says in the quadrone description, "Eyes on every side of the cube watch you as it passes." The illustration, as Darvon notes, definitely does not show eyes on the other sides of the cube.

My interpretation is that the various instruments built into a quadrone's body, taken together, may effectively function as eyes, but they don't look like them.

Tue, 2007-04-03 23:45
(Reply to #3) #4
Darvon
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

That would make sense to an extent:

Quote:
It means "face" as in "faces of a cube," not "face" as in "that thing with eyes and a mouth in it."

I did some more looking around after this though and found the original quadrone had a pair of eyes on all 4 sides*, so Ken's description is accurate in that regard. http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/aprilfools_modron3.jpg.

It seems that every image and text description contradicts all others in a small way, but saying that current# Quadrones have 4 sides* with sensory organs but only the front one has a humanoid facial structure works for me.

#Around the time of the Rogue March.
*Not counting the top and bottom, the same way the pyramid shaped Tridrone is said to have three sides.

P.S Nodron from PS:T was a non flyer variant (aka: Had four arms instead of two and two wings). So to answer my own question there is artwork for at least a single non flyer. Smiling
http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/pst/encounters/characters/nordom/concept_nordom_s.jpg
http://www.rpgclassics.com/shrines/pc/planescape/images/characters/nordom.jpg

Wed, 2007-04-04 09:47
(Reply to #4) #5
420
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

'Darvon' wrote:

I did some more looking around after this though and found the original quadrone had a pair of eyes on all 4 sides*, so Ken's description is accurate in that regard. http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/aprilfools_modron3.jpg.


That could be an ear on the side.

From AD&D Monster Manual II:

Quote:
As they have sensory organs on all 6 sides, quadrones are never surprised under normal circumstances.

From the Manual of the Planes web enhancement Modrons:

Quote:
A quadrone appears as a cube with six spiderlike limbs (two legs and four arms). Equipped with sensory organs on all six sides of its cubic body, a quadrone can utilize its senses to detect sights, sounds, and smells up to 150% as far away as a human can under similar circumstances.

So it looks like they have at least one kind of sensory organ per side, but possibly more.

-420

Fri, 2007-04-06 12:00
(Reply to #5) #6
Zjelani
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

I noticed that inconsistency between the text and nearly all images of them. I hadn't thought about "sensory organs" not equaling "humanoid faces". That is an interesting take.

Personally, I figured that standard quadrones do have faces on all 4 sides (again, excluding top and bottom). However, when they are exiled/outcast/whatever and are transformed into whichever PC race (Planewalker's Handbook, PS3e, Dragon 354), part of that transformation is only having 1 face to better fit in.

That's just my take and certainly doesn't fit all existing canon and most any artwork.

Fri, 2007-04-06 15:13
(Reply to #6) #7
420
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

'Zjelani' wrote:
Personally, I figured that standard quadrones do have faces on all 4 sides (again, excluding top and bottom).

Every official reference I've found says "all six (6) sides", where did you get the exclusion of top and bottom?

-420

Mon, 2007-04-09 14:21
(Reply to #7) #8
Zjelani
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

'420' wrote:
Every official reference I've found says "all six (6) sides", where did you get the exclusion of top and bottom?

-420

To be honest, rather than official references, I have used them with faces on all 4 sides for two reasons:
1) They are QUADrones, and figured 4 faces would be more appropriate than 6.
2) Although a face always looking up might be useful on occasion, the one that constantly looks at the ground (and gets sat upon!) would be a bit silly. Not that a walking cube isn't silly enough already...

Basically, 4 faces has just always made a lot more sense to me. I'll have to double check if I specified it in the article, but in my campaigns non-exiles have 4 faces. Same thing with tridrones - they have 3 faces, not 4, because they are TRIdrones.

Might not fit exactly with descriptions, but as mentioned, nearly all of the artwork doesn't fit with descriptions. Besides, if I have no problem assaulting canon with almost 25% of all modrons turning evil, I obviously don't have problem saying "No, they only have 4 faces, not 6." Smiling

But that's just me. I figure 1, 4, or 6 faces is a pretty minor difference between campaigns. I'd personally love to see some really nice artwork with a 4 (or even 6) faced quadrone.

Mon, 2007-04-09 14:53
(Reply to #8) #9
420
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

'Zjelani' wrote:
Although a face always looking up might be useful on occasion, the one that constantly looks at the ground (and gets sat upon!) would be a bit silly. Not that a walking cube isn't silly enough already...
Ah, but wouldn't it be handy for the winged variety? Up and down are definite considerations in three dimensional combat. (Remember the lessons of The Wrath of Khan.)

-420

Mon, 2007-04-09 16:19
(Reply to #9) #10
Kobold Avenger
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

I'd go with the form that Tony DiTerrlizzi drew them as, but with the sensory organs being a single small eye on three other sides of the face.

Mon, 2007-04-09 16:42
(Reply to #10) #11
Iavas
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

The way I see it, the humanoid face has one primary function - interaction with other races. Assuming that Modrons have some sort of hive-mind, although I cannot currently recall if that is the case statwise, they would have no need to communicate with each other by mouth. Thus the only reason they have the mouth and other humanoid-like features is to facilitate interracial communication. It is unlikely that they would need to talk to people on all sides of them at once, particularly with the lower castes having somewhat limited mental capabilities, so they would only have one humanoid face, the other cube's sides having other sort of sensory equipment, as already mentioned. It fits both the 2e art and the description, no?

Mon, 2007-04-09 17:33
(Reply to #11) #12
ripvanwormer
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

On the other hand, giving them precisely four humanish faces (I note Ken's article in Dragon gives them six) gives a nice parallel with tridrones, who with three faces, and pentadrones, who have five faces. They can have less humanish sensory organs on their other sides (tridrones too).

But then, shouldn't duodrones have two faces?

Thu, 2007-04-19 19:16
(Reply to #12) #13
Elder Elemental...
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Quadrones, one 'face' or multiple??

But if duodrones were two-faced, how could the monodrones ever trust them so implicitly?

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