Dungeon Delve, Primus

Primus is the mighty ruler of the Modrons. He is a paragon of law and order, and despises all creatures of chaos. Before we jump into what we don't know, let's have a look at some things we do know.
The 5e Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide tells us a few things about Primus:

• Primus is lawful neutral to the extreme. He is a physical embodiment of this alignment in its purest form, and has difficulty understanding chaotic actions.


• Primus is the leader of the Modrons. All Modrons (except rouge ones) are under the control of Primus, and all are part of his elaborate plans.


• Primus created the spawning stone. Primus made the spawning stone in and attempt to bring order to Limbo, the plane of chaos, instead it created the Slaad. Primus however, doesn't see the Slaad as a threat.

So that's not a lot to go on. Lets dig a little deeper.

Primus and the Modrons have been around since ye' oldy' days or d&d, making their first appearance in the 1st edition Monster Manual 2. The entry about these constructs gives a clear structure to their hierarchy and stat blocks for all Modrons. It also gives us a few more facts about Primus.

• Primus is immortal. Although his physical form can be slain one of the modron's under him will be promoted to his position. The only way to kill him is to kill all mondrons and prevent them from re-forming.


• Primus has some sort of sovereignty over the planes Achereon and Arcadia. Why this is is unclear.


• Primus has a master plan. He doesn't believe anyone else can understand it. Everything he does is part of his plan.


• We also get our first pictures of Primus. He's a genii-looking thing, with left hand of darkness and a right hand of rainbows. (How wonderful!)

This all gives us a much more vivid picture of Primus in our minds. He's a powerful demigod of pure order, he has a big plan that no one else can get their brains around, and has neither mercy for or comprehension of creatures of chaos. This also give us the idea that Primus could be either an enemy or an ally to the players. A high-level chaotic party that's messing around with Modrons is likely to draw the god's attention and ire, while he might be a group patron for an all-lawful party. He's good friend to have around, as long as you can convince him your worth his time.
In either case Primus is a very useful plot device, and sometimes might be so deep in his vast plan that his actions might be difficult to understand, or even seem chaotic. While one day he could be giving the party magic items, but the next their in court for treason, for breaking some obscure unspoken rule.
Well there you go, Primus!

Modron Hierarchy

Just wanted to throw this in the sidebar! It's the Modrons Heirarchy. Note: Nirvana is the 1e name of Mechanus.

1. Monodrones (300 million +) - General laborers


2. Duodrones (55 million +) - Complex tasks


3. Tridrones (6 million +) - Multiple tasks, minor supervision


4. Quadrones (1.5 million +) - Multiple complex tasks, supervision


5. Pentadrones (500 thousand +) - Lesser police, law enforcement


6. Decatons (100) - Physical welfare of the base modrons


7. Nonatons (81) - Police supervision


8. Octons (64) - Governors of the sectors of Nirvana


9. Septons (49) - Inspectors


10. Hextons (36) - Generals of the armies of Nirvana


11. Quintons (25) - Bureau chiefs and record-keepers


12. Quartons (16) - Rulers of the regions of Nirvana


13. Tertians (9) -Judges


14. Secundi (4) - Viceroys of the 4 quarters


15. Primus (The One) - Absolute ruler of Nirvana