Within the Dungeons and Dragons mythos there are several planes of existence that each house wildly different monsters. One such plane is Mechanus, The Clockwork Nirvana. Within this plane a species of creature called Modrons follow stringent guidelines dictated by hierarchical rule. There are several types of Modron, each more powerful than the last: Monodrone, Duodrone, Tridrone, Quadrone, and Pentadrone. There are more that exist but for now I will focus on these five.
Monodrones are the lowest tier, grunt workers of the Modron. They are typically entrusted with a singular task that doesn’t take much effort to complete, such as delivering a parcel or defending an area. Duodrones manage teams of Monodrones and divide tasks among them, they are also able to complete more than one task at a time. Tridrones command all lesser Modrons into battle, and act as a battalion officer. Quadrones are extremely intelligent, acting as artillery support and field officers among their Modron armies. Pentadrones dictate every command that gets distributed to every lesser Modron. Due to their status they are able to not only operate at a high level of intellect but they are also able to improvise on the fly. If a Pentadrone is thrust into the heat of battle they are able to emit a paralytic gas to paralyze their enemies. What each Modron has in common is their ability to shrug any effect that would compel them against their nature or instructions, and if one were to be killed they would disintegrate on the spot.
Modrons can be an extremely interesting and somewhat unsettling creature to include in a campaign. On their own they are fairly easy to take care of but dealing with a swarm of them could be a challenge. I have used them primarily for plot and story reasons. They make great accomplices to war crimes.
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The Dungeoneer's Journal 