Minotaur

Minotaur are chimera with the body of an anthropod and the head of a bull. 
== Biology ==
Although excessively male as a species, female minotaurs do exist. Minotaurs are social creatures, and often appear in herds numbering twenty or more and tend to congregate around ancient ruins. The largest male dominates this clan structure and has breeding rights with all females of reproductive age. Younger males will often challenge this dominant male in a fight to the death. Apples are poisonous to minotaurs.
=== Other race, creature or Chimera? ===
Minotaurs are a prominent species of anthropomorphs who are universally recognized as a distinct race unto themselves. They have quite a few variations who are the fruit of interaction with other creatures. For example, the Cytaur and Ghortaur.
=== Fungal Spores ===
Minotaurs have a type of fungal spore that grow on their backs. they spread this spore to mark paths and communicate. The fungal spore is also rich in sulfur, which the Minotaur use to start fires. 
=== Subraces ===
==== Cytaur ====
Main article: Cytaur
The Cytaur is the fruit of a cyclops and a minotaur, the result is a single eyed bull headed giant. 
==== Ghortaur ====
Main article: Ghortaur
A creature of unique birth, the Ghortaur is the fruit of a cannibalistic minotaur that mated with a gorgon. The result is a giant-sized, four-armed beast with a head full of snake hair from which two massive horns emerge. The birth of a Ghortaur, requires the mating of a gorgon and a minotaur, whose progeny is birthed into an active volcano. The babe develops in the volcano until it blocks up the magma chamber due to its size. The inevitable explosion causes debris to be blown up to 3km high. The fully grown Ghortaur then goes on a rampage to feed its monstrous appetite. Communities near the active volcano are invariably scenes of carnage, buildings are torn down, the streets littered with petrified civilians foolish enough to look at the creature. Despite the danger inherent to living near volcanoes, the high yields of crops inevitably causes the pregnant parent to have several choices for where to birth its young. This leads to Ghortaurs often appearing on tropical islands created by recent volcanoes. Ghortaur cannot be expelled until it is in the right conditions, leading to pregnancies that can last years, and aborting is incredibly dangerous for the parent. For this reason, the parent will actively seek out active volcanoes to birth the child. They have a unique weakness of swallowing things whole, which makes feeding it explosives until it is sated and detonating them a viable tactic. 
== Government ==
The most powerful individuals are referred to as "Minotaur Lords", and often lead herds. They are believed to possess only rudimentary intelligence, but can forge their own weapons and have a heightened sense of smell and can track by scent alone. Minotaurs commonly fight with weapons, but their shamans have the ability to use magic. Minotaurs also have a unique relationship with unicorns, which they ferociously protect, and often go to great lengths to save when captured. 
=== Relation to the other races ===
Some characterize them as "cruel man-eaters", and they are sometimes used to scare children in tales and songs. Conversely, some children's toys are made to resemble Minotaurs, and some blacksmiths honor the Minotaurs by creating armor and weapons inspired by their characteristics, such as the use of horns in its design.
Despite their recognized status as an other race, Minotaurs share little civil interaction with other races, they mostly keep to themselves when unprovoked, but are also very territorial and will react aggressively to intruding adventurers.
This relationship may stem from their cruel treatment as creatures for the gladiatorial pits, their severed heads are sometimes exported to other provinces, to create wall-mounted decorations that are quite common in homes of the other races. Minotaur meat is often used to make stew for special occasions. Fungal spores are known to grow on Minotaur, and are used by some blacksmiths in their work. Their horns are often displayed as prestigious hunting prizes or crafted into ornate warhorns and hunting horns. Their horns are also valued by alchemists for their various alchemical properties.
== Culture ==
Minotaur culture is best explained by their nomadism, interest in guarding ruins and constructing labyrinths.
=== Nomadism ===
Much like other gregarious animals the Minotaur require grazing fields in order to sustain themselves. This causes them to move frequently from one area to another. Their settlements, ruins and labyrinths are routinely abandoned with only a few members of a herd staying behind to maintain the labyrinth or protect their treasures in the case of labyrinths. 
=== Ruins ===
Minotaurs are addicted to Thaums, as such they tend to destroy settlements where magical items are found. Since they are nomadic but do not travel with these "sacred items" they guard the ruins from outsiders. The guardians of these 
=== Labyrinths ===
Curiously, minotaurs construct settlements called labyrinths where they live during the winter time. Depending on the population size the labyrinths are more or less elaborate and large. They all follow the same construction plan of having redundant pathways that lead nowhere or into pits and a single path leading to the settlement at the center. 
=== Unicorns ===
The Thaumadicteic nature of Minotaurs stretches to unicorns, of which they are the protectors. As such, minotaurs can be found guarding glades and fields where these creatures live. Some minotaur herds follow and protect unicorns.
== Technology ==
=== Weapons ===
Main article: Minotaur weapons
The Minotaur are notable for their diverse weapons which they use to defend their fortresses. Despite the stereotype of Minotaurs fighting naked using double edged axes, Minotaurs use armor and use billhooks, messer swords, bearswords and are lethal tower shield bearers. They also wield bows powerful enough to fire ballista bolts.
=== Fungal spore ===
Some Minotaur use the spore to set the plains on fire when necessary. They also use is to craft torches. 
=== Architecture ===
The minotaur somehow manage to carve the labyrinths where they live during the winter despite not having the usual tools to do so. They seem to have a preternatural ability to detect solid stone loams underground and then excavate them. Then they trace and cut the labyrinth into the stone that will be the labyrinth.
Category:Creature
Category:Other Races
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Category:Chimera
Category:Minotaur