RULES FOR CENTAURS


(Please also read the Rules for ALL Taur PCs)

CENTAURS

  • +2 Con
  • -2 Dex
  • +1 Natural Armor Class Bonus
  • Racial feat: Toughness
  • Natural Attacks: two hoofs for 1d4 damage (bludgeoning, crit 20, x2)
  • Low light vision
  • +2 racial bonus on Survival skill checks
  • Large in size (see below)
  • Speed: 50 feet
  • Favored Class: Druid
  • Free Languages: Centaur, Tauric (pre-Sundering language) Common must be bought with Int slots or skill points.
  • Awkward: All centaurs suffer a -2 penalty on Balance and Climb checks.
  • Centaurs can wear horseshoes (including magic horseshoes) but not boots. They may not wear pants.
  • See this page for height, weight, and age.

LARGE SIZE

  • AC: -1
  • To Hit: -1
  • Hide: -4
  • Special attacks and intimidate checks: a size bonus is generally given.
  • Carrying Capacity is tripled for centaurs
  • Centaurs have a 5-foot natural reach and occupy a 10x10 space.
  • Armor for centaurs weighs double and costs four times normal (costs for magic enhancements are not doubled)
  • Weapons for centaurs are large. If a centaur uses a weapon sized for a medium creature, the taur suffers a -2 penalty using the weapon. Weight and price for large-size versions of weapons is double normal. Damage for large-size versions is greater (see PHB and this page).

CENTAURS IN COMBAT

Centaurs use the same rules as all D&D creatures for natural attacks and attacks with manufactured weapons. As a standard attack, centaurs can make one hoof attack or one weapon attack. As a full round attack, centaurs can make usual weapon attacks and two secondary hoof attacks at -5 to hit. Centaurs can take the Multiattack feat to reduce this secondary attack penalty from -5 to -2. Centaurs can also take a unique Centaur Charge feat:

Centaur Charge [Racial]
Benefit: You gain lance proficiency, double lance damage on charges, and use of lance as a one-handed weapon, just like a mounted human. This feat serves as the prerequisite for the Trample feat as well, and the Trample feat lets you make a hoof attack per the feat description. A fighter may select Centaur Charge as one of his fighter bonus feats.

CENTAUR INFO AND ROLEPLAYING NOTES

Centaur society values the right of the individual above all. They are organized into family groups, which are themselves organized into tribes. Tribal life is very democratic, though family groups have a definitive head of the family -- called the Stallion -- whose word is law within their group (usually the oldest living member, though not always.) As such, Stallions may be male or female.

Living with the whims of nature and the land around them, centaurs do not make the environment conform to their needs, but, rather, conform to the dictates of the environment, which -- on Centaur Island -- is dominated by Whistal Trees (very much akin to giant sequoias). The Tribal Druids are responsible for conferring with the trees of the village so that the families that live within them actually are doing so with the trees' own permission, as it is the tree that voluntarily "hollows itself out" to provide the living spaces inside. Whistal Trees can even create fireplaces in one area of the quarters, and centaurs make sure to monitor the fire whenever it's lit, having a natural fear of uncontrollable fire themselves.

Though centaurs have Druids attending to their religious aspects of their life, the race pays homage to Domi, from whom they've learned the art of guerilla warfare (which is used, for the most part, against the minotaurs that live east across Safety Channel). Centaurs have been taught that minotaurs are the source of all their woes from the Time of the Sundering, and so they are the hereditary enemies of the bovine-headed race. "A minotaur wind blows no good" is a favorite saying, and centaur parents often keep their colts in line with warnings that the Mighty Minotaur will "get" them if they don't behave and eat all their greens -- the Mighty Minotaur being the centaur synonym for the Bogey Man.

Centaur society is ruled by the members of The Corral, whom are chosen via majority vote from the Stallions of the tribe. The Druids of Centaur Island have at least one or two spots in The Corral, too. The Corral helps to settle disputes between members of its tribe if family Stallions cannot do so themselves.

They never use the Ride skill because there is no domesticated animal large enough for them to ride. They generally feel that it is beneath themselves to serve as mounts for other races.

Wine plays a VERY important part in centaur society. Vintners and brewers are the most respected members of each tribe ... in fact, anyone connected with wine and/or spirits is thought of VERY favorably by the rest of the community. Purple wine is considered a very precious resource -- the only thing more valuable than that is the mystical Blue wine that is used for religious purposes only. It is an immediate death sentence to be caught dealing illegally in the making, trading, buying, selling or possession of Blue wine that one hasn't gotten permission from the Druids for. The only exception to this rule is the possession of healing-type (or other priest-produced) potions, which are all based on Blue wine. Magi make their potions using Purple wine.

PERSONALITY:

Generally speaking, centaurs are known to be logical, studious, and academic. They are known the Wold over as scholars, naturalists, druids, and bards. Some have undertaken study of arcana and become mighty wizards. On the other hand, centaurs are proud and some are easily offended.

They must eat a lot to power their great bodies (the largest of all Taurs), and have been known to over-indulge when it comes to wine and ale. Under the influence of alcohol, centaurs display rowdy, boorish, and aggressive behavior. Centaurs possess an innate curiosity and wanderlust that sometimes becomes a compulsion. They make excellent companions and hardy travelers. While they might sometimes offer a two-legged companion a ride, centaurs do not consider themselves pack animals or sources of transportation. In fact, they often become insulted if such a role is suggested. They also do not tolerate horse jokes, though otherwise they have good senses of humor.

Here is a story about a centaur who met a minotaur.