View source for Great Modron March

{{Event
| image       = Modrons-mechanus-5e.jpg
| caption     = Adventurers hiding from the March.
| name        = Great Modron March
| partof      = 
| othernames  = Modron parade
| type        = March
| deity       = [[Primus]]
| location    = the [[Outer Planes]]
| date        = 
| duration    = 
| schedule    = 
| frequency   = Every 289 years
| basicrefs   = <ref name="MM5e-p224">{{Cite book/Monster Manual 5th edition|224}}</ref><ref name="Dr204-p30-31">{{Cite dragon/204/The Plane Truth Part II: A Journey to the Outlands|30-31}}</ref>
| observedby  = [[Modron]]s
| affected    = 
| activities  = 
| first       = 
| cause       = 
| responsible = 
| subevents   = 
| outcome     = 
| histrefs    = <ref name="MM5e-p224" />
}}
The '''Great Modron March''', sometimes called the '''modron parade''',<ref name="Dr204-p30-31" /> was a periodic tour of the seventeen [[Outer Planes]] of the [[Great Wheel cosmology]] undertaken by thousands of [[modron]]s once every 289 years.<ref name="MM5e-p224" />
{{quote
|Every 289 years, the entire [[multiverse]] goes mad. Like clockwork.
|[[Kwint Stormbellow]], [[rock gnome]] adventurer<ref name="MM5e-p225">{{Cite book/Monster Manual 5th edition|225}}</ref>
}}

==Description==
The March occurred every Grand Cycle of Mechanus. A Grand Cycle was the time it took for the largest gear in the plane to turn once and was subdivided into seventeen cycles, each of which took seventeen years. Thus, the March occurred every 289 years.<ref name="GMM2e-p4">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|4}}</ref>

Thousands of modrons participated in the Great March. The vast majority were [[monodrone]]s, but the voyage also included modrons of higher rank, including hierarchs. A [[quinton]] usually led the entire effort and kept all the records of the voyage. As a consequence of the modron promotion system, a quinton was always present until the very end, as long as at least one modron survived the voyage. A [[hexton]] was in charge of defense, while a [[septon]] was tasked with ensuring that the march progressed smoothly. Four [[octon]]s commanded each one quarter of the full contingent, assisted by [[nonaton]]s. [[Decaton]]s served as liaisons between the base and the hierarch modrons.<ref name="GMM2e-p7-8">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|7-8}}</ref>

At least fifty [[pentadrone]]s patrolled the lower ranks. [[Quadrone]]s served as elite warriors, while [[tridrone]]s and [[duodrone]]s were tasked with herding and carrying out commands to the vast masses of marching monodrones.<ref name="GMM2e-p7-8" /> Since the March was not very efficient at defending itself, and due to the hostile nature of many of the places visited, only very few modrons managed to complete the voyage.<ref name="GMM2e-p10-11">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|10-11}}</ref>

==Location==
The itinerary of the March included all sixteen Outer Planes of the Great Wheel and all of the [[gate-town]]s in the [[Outlands]]. Starting from [[Mechanus]], the march departed from [[Regulus]]<ref name="Dr354-p34-35">{{Cite dragon/354/Return of the Modrons|34-35}}</ref> and entered the Outlands via the ''[[portal]]'' from [[Automata]]. It then proceeded around the border of the plane in the clockwise direction.<ref name="GMM2e-p7-8" />

The Great Modron March followed a predictable pattern, moving from one gate-town to the next while in the Outlands and, once in a plane of the Great Wheel, crossing a ''portal'' to the next adjacent plane, subsequently emerging at its corresponding gate-town. The complete itinerary was:<ref name="GMM2e-p7-8" />
* Automata to [[Fortitude]]
* [[Arcadia]] to [[Mount Celestia]], through [[Abellio]]<ref name="GMM2e-p7-8" /> and towards the town of [[Heart's Faith]] in [[Lunia]]<ref name="GMM2e-ch2">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March||2}}</ref>
* [[Excelsior]] to [[Tradegate]]
* [[Bytopia]] to [[Elysium]], via [[Dothion]] through the location of the [[Golden Hills]] and through [[Amoria]] via the River [[Oceanus]]<ref name="GMM2e-p42">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|42}}</ref>
* [[Ecstasy]] to [[Faunel]]
* The [[Beastlands (plane)|Beastlands]] to [[Arborea]], via [[Krigala]]<ref name="GMM2e-p42" />
* [[Sylvania]] to [[Glorium]]
* [[Ysgard]] to [[Limbo]], via a branch of [[Yggdrasil]]<ref name="GMM2e-p62">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|62}}</ref>
* [[Xaos (gate-town)|Xaos]] to [[Bedlam]]
* [[Pandemonium]] to the [[Abyss]], via [[Pandesmos]] and through the [[Plain of Infinite Portals]]<ref name="GMM2e-p81-82">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|81-82}}</ref>
* [[Plague-Mort]] to [[Curst (gate-town)|Curst]]
* [[Carceri]] to [[Hades]], exiting [[Othrys]] via [[Undermountain]]<ref name="GMM2e-ch9">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March||9}}</ref>
* [[Hopeless]] to [[Torch (gate-town)|Torch]]
* [[Gehenna]] to the [[Nine Hells]], through [[Khalas]]<ref name="GMM2e-p103">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|103}}</ref>
* [[Ribcage]] to [[Rigus]]
* [[Acheron]] to [[Mechanus]], via the [[Blue Cube]] in [[Avalas]], through the [[Mines of Marsellin]] in [[Thuldanin]], and finally back to Regulus.<ref name="GMM2e-p116,124">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|116,124}}</ref>

==Activities==
The purpose of the Great Modron March was unclear. Some speculated that it consisted of a periodic reconnaissance mission to ascertain the state of the Outer Planes and to report them to [[Primus]]. However, they never investigated any location, nor did they interact with anyone. They simply marched, looking at every new location they visited, and moving on.<ref name="GMM2e-p9-10">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|9-10}}</ref> Others argued that the march was necessary to calibrate the gears of Mechanus, while another group maintained that the purpose of the March was to instill a sense of order in all the planes, even if just temporarily.<ref name="Dr354-p34-35" />

==History==
The [[demon lord]] [[Orcus]], after being resurrected, sought to become a deity with the name of Tenebrous. He killed [[Primus]] and temporarily usurped his position, triggering an unscheduled Great March as an attempt to search for the ''[[Wand of Orcus]]''.<ref name="Dr354-p34-35" /> The unpredicted march, between 150 and 200 years ahead of schedule, became known as the '''Rogue March'''. It caused great commotion in the Outer Planes and left several modrons stranded across the planes.<ref name="GMM2e-p11-13,21,124-125">{{Cite book/The Great Modron March|11-13,21,124-125}}</ref>

[[Ambran|Ambran the Seeker]], a [[half-elven]] [[paladin]] of [[Oghma]] from [[Cormyr]], was sent on a mission to explore the [[planes of existence]], according to his unpublished journal that dated from during the reign of King [[Azoun Obarskyr IV]]. Traveling with [[Glin]], a [[bariaur]] guide hired to take him from [[Sigil]] to the Outlands, Ambran observed the start of the Great Modron March of the 13{{th}} century [[DR]] as the modrons walked out of the Automata ''portal''.<ref name="Dr204-p30-31" /><ref group="note">According to p. 28 of [[Dragon magazine 204|''Dragon'' #204]], the notes belong to the journal of the paladin [[Ambran]] at the court of [[Azoun Obarskyr IV]], whose reign started in {{Yearlink|1336}} according to p. 42 of [[Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised)|''Running the Realms'']]. However, pp. 183‒184 of ''[[Out of the Abyss]]'', which takes place in the early 1490s [[DR]], state that the last Great Modron March took place "over two hundred years ago". If the ''Dragon'' article refers to Ambran as a member of Azoun IV's court, there is a tension of at least 50 years between the two sources regarding the established date of the last Modron March. If, on the other hand, the article refers to the date the journal was found or read, there is no tension.</ref>

A group of twelve [[monodrone]]s and one [[tridrone]] became stranded in the [[Labyrinth]] in the [[Underdark]] following the Great March of the 13{{th}} century [[DR]]. By the late 1480s, the monodrones, having spent over 200 years, had degraded and could barely speak.<ref name="OotA5e-p183-184">{{Cite book/Out of the Abyss|183-184}}</ref>

==Appendix==
===Notes===
{{Notes}}
===Appearances===
{{Appearances
| adventures          = <!-- This heading includes playable one-shots and campaigns, including those published as standalone books or included in sourcebooks or magazines, such as Dungeon. -->
''[[The Great Modron March]]'' • ''[[Out of the Abyss]]'' • "The Plane Truth Part II: A Journey to the Outlands", [[Dragon magazine 204|''Dragon'' #204]]
| adventure refs      = 
| novels              = 
| novel refs          = 
| films               = 
| film refs           = 
| comics              = 
| comic refs          = 
| gamebooks           = 
| gamebook refs       = 
| video games         = ''[[Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms]]''
| video game refs     = 
| board games         = 
| board game refs     = 
| card games          = ''[[Blood Wars]]''
| card game refs      = 
| organized play      = 
| organized play refs = 
}}

===References===
{{Refs}}
[[Category:Events in the Outer Planes]]
[[Category:Events in the Outlands]]
[[Category:Events in Mechanus]]
[[Category:Events in Automata]]
[[Category:Events in Fortitude]]
[[Category:Events in Arcadia]]
[[Category:Events in Mount Celestia]]
[[Category:Events in Excelsior]]
[[Category:Events in Tradegate]]
[[Category:Events in Bytopia]]
[[Category:Events in Elysium]]
[[Category:Events in Ecstasy]]
[[Category:Events in Faunel]]
[[Category:Events in the Beastlands (plane)]]
[[Category:Events in Arborea]]
[[Category:Events in Sylvania]]
[[Category:Events in Glorium]]
[[Category:Events in Ysgard]]
[[Category:Events in Limbo]]
[[Category:Events in Xaos]]
[[Category:Events in Bedlam]]
[[Category:Events in Pandemonium]]
[[Category:Events in the Abyss]]
[[Category:Events in Plague-Mort]]
[[Category:Events in Curst]]
[[Category:Events in Carceri]]
[[Category:Events in Undermountain]]
[[Category:Events in Hades]]
[[Category:Events in Hopeless]]
[[Category:Events in Torch]]
[[Category:Events in Gehenna]]
[[Category:Events in the Nine Hells]]
[[Category:Events in Ribcage]]
[[Category:Events in Rigus]]
[[Category:Events in Acheron]]
[[Category:Events in Regulus]]
[[Category:Events in Abellio]]
[[Category:Events in Lunia]]
[[Category:Events in Heart's Faith]]
[[Category:Events in Dothion]]
[[Category:Events in Amoria]]
[[Category:Events on the River Oceanus]]
[[Category:Events in Krigala]]
[[Category:Events in Pandesmos]]
[[Category:Events in the Plain of Infinite Portals]]
[[Category:Events in Othrys]]
[[Category:Events in Avalas]]
[[Category:Events in the Blue Cube]]
[[Category:Events in Thuldanin]]
[[Category:Events in the Mines of Marsellin]]
[[Category:Events on Toril]]
[[Category:Events in Faerûn]]
[[Category:Events in Northwest Faerûn]]
[[Category:Events on Yggdrasil]]