Primus
| quasipower, "The One and The Prime" | |
|---|---|
| AoC: Law, modrons | |
| Worshippers: Devotees of law | |
| AL: LN | WAL: LN |
| Symbol: Eye within a black gear | |
| Home p/r: Mechanus/Regulus | |
| Allies: Archons, Baatezu | |
| Enemies: Eladrin, Slaadi, Tanar'ri | |
| Favored Weapon: Crossbow | |
| Domains: Knowledge, Law, Rune | |
| Subdomains: Judgment, Language, Memory, Modron | |
| Known Proxies: | |
Primus, Supreme Controller of the Entire Modron Kind, rules its people from a great tower at the center of the Modron Cathedral in the depths of Regulus, a massive androgynous humanoid form rising up from the Energy Pool from which all modron life comes forth, one hand cloaked in the pitch darkness of negative energy and the other engulfed in the ever-shifting hues of positive. Described by many as the most incomprehensible of all powers, it rarely communicates with any but its secundi servitors, though it can view through the eyes of all modrons wherever they may be throughout reality. Connected to all of its lessers at all times through the crossplanar Infinity Web that touches the minds of every modron, it instantly knows all and sees all ever discovered or learned by any modron at any time throughout the history of the kind, granting it a breadth of knowledge and wisdom that cannot be compared.
This knowledge isn't left untouched as with some powers, as Primus seems to desire a pure understanding of the way of reality, even that which most powers of Law would disregard. Its Grand Orrery within the Cathedral serves as a massive clockwork simulation of the planes, able in theory to predict the actions of all significant peoples and organizations by virtue of projecting their interactions into the future. The Great Modron March — an event that occurs every Grand Cycle, or 289 years — is widely believed to be a means of gathering information or recalibration of this Orrery to ensure its continued accuracy. It is also known to engage in a variety of experimentations to better understand those matters normally beyond its purview, including at least one complex constructed within the depths of Limbo meant to better understand the ways of adventurers; some believe that rogue modrons are another example of its experimentations, bits of chaos purposefully allowed within the Energy Pool that its modrons will rebel and pursue non-modron ways.
More than a few believe that these efforts are all towards an ultimate goal of domination of the multiverse by Law; it's well-known that Primus supports the baatezu with modron forces in the Blood War, a suspect act by many. Still, if this is its goal, it keeps itself surprisingly secluded to achieve it, leading the vast majority to consider Primus as holding no desires beyond the modrons themselves. Few ever manage to meet the Clockwork God, even among other powers. While it does have a few proxies, mostly within Sigil and Automata, it holds no avatars and has almost no petitioners, engages in no interactions with other powers, and keeps no cults or temples upon the Prime. Such is its personal separation from the greater multiverse that, while it holds the influence and power of a greater power within Mechanus, beyond Mechanus it is no higher than a quasipower. It even can be killed by mortal hands (if through immense effort). When killed, it is merely replaced through the ascension of a secundus as with any modron, though the new Primus often must spend significant time re-establishing the order lost in its brief absence. Beyond these few facts revealed by the secundi, though, nothing is known about past instances of Primus, either in nature or quantity; the restriction of awareness to the secundi alone along with their disquiet in admitting even the existence of such a temporary failure of Law on their part leads them to hold any such information in strict confidence.
References
- Dragon #341 - The Ties that Bind, pp.71-74
- Hellbound: The Blood War - DM's Guide, pgs.33,69
- In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil, pg.30
- On Hallowed Ground, pgs.42,51
- Planes of Law - The Hierarchy of Mechanus
- Planes of Law - Mechanus, pp.23-24
- Planes of Law - Player's Guide, pg.26
- Planescape Campaign Setting - A DM Guide to the Planes, pg.61
- Planescape Campaign Setting - Monstrous Supplement, pgs.16-18,22
- Planescape Campaign Setting - Sigil and Beyond, pg.29
- Planescape: Torment
