For the last three years, I've run a Planescape¹ campaign through almost all of its modules. Now, after successfully finishing it, I want to look back and review these adventures, highlighting the pros and cons of each one.

Each module will be rated in three categories, up to 3 points in each:

• Presentation: how easy is to understand and run the adventure.
• Openness: how open the adventure's scope is, regarding the freedom of choice.
• Quality: Overall quality of the adventure, including the originality and richness of its content, and players' enjoyment.

The full list of currently published reviews is available under the #planescape tag.

The Unswerving Path

In which our Heroes discover that although the Modrons are lawful, their passage may produce unwelcome Chaos.

• Designer: Monte Cook and Colin McComb
• Source: The Great Modron March², Chapter II
• Party: 4-6 characters of 2nd-4th levels
• Play-time: 1 session
• Locations:
  • Mount Celestia / Lunia (L1) / Heart's Faith

Overview

The adventure should start with the characters' travelling to Mount Celestia. Besides the hooks mentioned in the module, if there are aasimar in the ranks of the party, one of their divine ancestors could call for them to request help regarding the modrons.

As for the task at hand, the Modron March will soon pass through the town of Heart's Faith. Considering the usual level of destruction that modrons cause, the rulers of the town signed an agreement with them to make sure the modrons stay on the roads of the town when passing through it. The problem is, since the times of the previous March, the streets have changed and new buildings have been built where the old roads were. Obviously, the law-abiding modrons plan to follow the agreement as it was signed back then, regardless of the current planning of the town.

The party can attempt to parley with one of the high-ups of the Modron March, but it will be pretty much futile, though the characters can obtain some insight into the modrons' nature and behaviour. From there, the characters are free to deal with the task in any way they desire. Since the March moves at the speed of its slowest units (but never stops or rests), the party has some time to get to the town and do quick preparations.

The module provides a general description of the town and its three tiers, as well as statistics and a description of its current acting mayor — aasimar by the name of Cauldronborn, who can assist the party in their efforts and explain the town's layout. Suggestions of some possible strategies the characters could employ are also given.

The rest of the module consists of seven encounters with the march where the characters can intervene and save town dwellers. Of course, the party can also split to cover more locations in less time. What should also soon become apparent for the players, the modrons are obsessed with symmetry, thus delaying one of the modron groups will stall the whole March for a while, buying precious time for the locations down the road.

When the dust settles, the party will receive the appropriate praise and rewards, and the march will go on on its way to the Outlands, where the next adventure will await. Stay tuned!

Presentation

🖋️🖋️ useable

The map given in the module is quite unusable, and no scale is given as well. I would recommend creating a map of the town yourself to help the characters see the route of the Modron March and calculate how fast can they move from one point to another.

I've used Wonderdraft Town & City Tokens^3,4,5 to construct the map of the town with approximate dimensions of about 840×620 feet. I've also drawn a handout depicting the modrons' route so the players could analyze it to predict how the March would traverse the town.

Modrons' Plan (handout for the players)

Heart's Faith (the encounters are marked by red buildings)

The Modron March Route (for DM's reference)

Otherwise, the presentation is good, and all the information required to successfully run the adventure is available. Additional information on the plane, Heart's Faith, and other locales can be found in the "Planes of Law"⁶ boxed set.

Openness

☀️☀️ semi-linear

While this module isn't a true sandbox, the players are given a good amount of leeway in their decisions and actions here, so I wouldn't call it a railroad either. Encourage the players' creativity and come up with some additional encounters along the way and you are set for a good evening of play.

Quality

★★★ outstanding

Initially, when I was preparing for this adventure, I didn't think too highly of it, thinking that it would be a boring slog. To my surprise, the players praised the module for its originality and fun, placing it in high regard. You will see a similar pattern in some of the following modules taking place on the upper planes, especially those adventures that cannot be easily solved with violence.

Notes

I've adjusted the rewards for this module in the following manner.

Depending on the rewards characters agreed upon, they will receive one of the following:

• 1,000 XP per character and respect of the archons
• 5,000 gp total for the whole party

Additional experience should be awarded to each character who has achieved the following goals:

• 150 XP for helping philosophers (B. The Old Philosophers' Inn)
• 150 XP for saving guards (C. The Stand)
• 30 XP per elderly (3 total) and children (2 total) saved (total of 150 XP) (D. More Destruction)
• 150 XP for saving the library (E. The Library)
• 150 XP for rescuing orphans (F. The Orphanage)
• 50 XP per ship saved (G. The Harbor)

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1. https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17267/Planescape-Campaign-Setting-2e?affiliate_id=850783↩

2. https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17302/The-Great-Modron-March-2e?affiliate_id=850783↩

3. https://2minutetabletop.com/product/town-city-tokens/↩

4. https://2minutetabletop.com/product/town-city-assets-2/↩

5. https://2minutetabletop.com/product/wonderdraft-town-city-map-assets-3/↩

6. https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17272/Planes-of-Law-2e?affiliate_id=850783↩