Centaur

## Plains Walkers

Centaurs live in semi-nomadic tribes that span Cilmandir, northern Autumnhold, and parts of Freif. They roam in climates that they are able to survive wearing furs or hide. Hunter-gatherers and the breeders of the finest horses in Elrinia, they rarely spend extended periods of time in any one location.  A centaur encampment is marked by herds of Cilmandiran horses, hide shelters, the scent of wood smoke from the smoking fires, and music.  Despite their nomadic nature, they enjoy their simple comforts.   Nights are typically full of song, dance, and stories told by the Lore Keeper.

Centaur-made leather goods and armor are much sought after for their fine craftsmanship.  As the tribes make their way past more permanent towns they barter and trade for what they need.

## Rayka's Tower

The tower has stood in the
middle of Cilmandir for more than three hundred years.   Rayka Steelhoof, Chief of the Still Waters
Clan, saw to the construction of this large, heavily fortified stronghold on
the shore of Lake Tahkenitch when the goblin clans united under Stod
Dreadmuck.  Stod ruled with a dogslicer
in one hand and a scourge in the other.
Fear is what drove his warriors; the fear of Stod and his lash,
specifically.  Despite their superior
numbers and some skill with horsechoppers, the goblins were poorly organized
and seemed unsure of how to fight such swift and powerful warriors, especially
when those warriors refused to stay put for long.

Rayka tired of the goblin raids and decided to give them
something to attack so they might leave off harassing the clans.  Near the lake was an ancient, crumbled
fortress on the top of a tall hill and Rayka bade her people gut the fortress
of tumbled stone and build it anew but with a different design in mind.  The wall is twenty feet thick and reaches
more than fifty feet in the air.  The
center ten feet is used to move around the stronghold and contains a long
series of small rooms.  Arrow slits line
the inside and outside of the wall and instead of an open courtyard and a
castle keep on the inside, a complicated maze full of all manner of traps
filled the space.  The maze walls are
twice the height of a centaur but wide enough for the hoofed warriors to run
along the top and fire arrows down into the paths below.

Stod Dreadmuck nearly decimated the goblin population over
the years in a hopeless effort to take the tower.  His people never forgave him and Stod was
dragged from his tent by his remaining troops after a particularly bloody day. He was left impaled on a stake in front of the gates.  It was several generations before the goblins
tried again but their leadership was far too splintered to create a significant
threat for the centaurs.  Still the tower stands and is guarded by rotating clans as the seasons change.

## The Gathering

Once a year, when the leaves turn, the centaur clans meet at Rayka’s Tower for the Gathering.   The Gathering is a time of trading goods with other clans and for eligible young centaurs to mingle and get to know one another.  While there are many monogamous couples, centaur society embraces polyamory.  There are no few bonding ceremonies preformed at the event and in the following years they return with their own families to celebrate.

The Gathering is also where the clans trade breeding stock to keep the bloodlines of the horses from stagnating.  The clans do not sell stallions to Outsiders; only mares and geldings have ever been seen outside of centaur lands.  To any knowledgeable horse breeder outside of Cilmandir this is common knowledge, but plenty of breeders have mated a Cilmandiran mare to a common stallion and claimed it was purebred.  The further one is from Cilmandir, the easier it is to find buyers for the counterfeit horses.

## Outside Cilmandir

Some centaurs choose to leave the plains of their homeland so it’s not terribly unusual to see centaurs in other parts of Elrinia

## Centaur Names

Centaurs are given personal names at birth. Some tribes reward centaurs with a tribal surname as they come to maturity.

**Male Names:** Joh, Vrol, Rhal, Vraz'hir, Kathilk, Bizren, Vithag, Aldrudis, Am'zine

**Female Names:** Belgas, Fylreh, Laresh, Nelnath, Shyrget, Ryzag, Lelras, Eneh, Sheglag

**Tribal Surnames:** Thornbreaker, Oakenhoof, Vinemane, Starcatcher, Dustborne, Rocktree

## Centaur Traits

Part horse and part humanoid, the centaur walks the line between beast and humanity.

**Ability Score Increase**

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

**Age**

The lifespan of a Centaur is slightly below that of a human. They reach the age of maturity at sixteen years and live on average sixty years.

**Alignment**

Centaurs favor nature over civilization. As such, they tend towards Chaotic. Centaurs are almost always Neutral rather than Good or Evil due to their focus on the balance of nature.

**Size**

The average centaur is between six and nine feet tall. They have been known to weigh between 1000 and 2500 pounds. Your size is Large.

**Speed**

Your base walking speed is 50 feet unarmored. Any armor heavier than hide or a rider causes a reduction in speed to 30 feet.

**Languages**

You can speak Elvish, Sylvan, and Common.

### **Hooves of Fury**

Your hooves are natural weapons, which you are proficient in and can use to make unarmed strikes with either your two front hooves or your two back hooves. If you hit with them, they do 2d6 + Strength modifier in bludgeoning damage.

If a successful attack is made with the back hooves, the target must make a DC 10 Strength saving throw or be pushed back 5 ft. Movement in this way does not provoke any attacks of opportunity.

### **Charge**

If a centaur
moves at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with an attack
on the same turn, the target takes extra damage of the weapon's type. The
amount of extra damage is dependent on level:

1st - 4th
level: 1d8

5th - 11th level:
2d8

12th - 20th
level: 3d8

### **Equine Weakness**

While there are surely advantages to being a hybrid, there are a number of ways in which the horse half of a centaur is a detriment to the humanoid half.

As you lack the lower body of a humanoid, you are unable to wear humanoid armor below the belt (ex: leggings, greaves, or boots).

Due to the larger size of your lower half, any fall damage taken is doubled.

Unless your hooves are in some way obscured, you have disadvantage on Stealth checks when walking on hard surfaces, such as stone, brick, or glass.