Centaur

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Centaur

(Creature)

Common

Large

Beast

Centaur

Humanoid

Level

Varies

Images of centaurs

Source: Monster Core, pg(s). 58

Centaurs are an

Uncommon

ancestry.
The ponygait heritage has

Medium

trait.
Legacy 2E: Centaurs had the

N

Large

Beast

traits in Bestiary 60.

Type

Monstrous humanoid

CR

3

Environment

Temperate forests and plains

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Images of centaurs

Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 42

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Skilled hunters and warriors, centaurs have the upper body of a human and the lower torso of a horse.

Appearance

Most often found on the frontier edges of civilization, centaurs have a wide variety of appearances. Skin tones often are deeply tanned, but similar to those of nearby humans, while their lowers bodies resemble those of local equine breeds. Their hair and eyes are generally dark with broad facial features. The overall shape of their lower halves is similar to the breed of horse they most resemble. As in horses, the lower half can vary widely even between parent and child. Most stand over seven feet in height and weigh over 2,000 pounds, although there are local variations—from the lean bodies of steppe horses to heavier mountain hunters. A relatively short-lived ancestry, centaurs rarely live far past 60 years of age.

Variants

Centaurs exhibit differences akin to human ethnicities, such as the Iobarian ethnicities of Azorva, Rashalka and Tsolniva.

An unusual variant of centaur exist in the Exalted Wood in Razmiran. This breed possesses the head of a horse instead of a humanoid's, but has the body of a human; they speak a strange language that has proven difficult to interpret.

History

Centaurs are believed to have emerged in the islands of Iblydos, but have since spread throughout Golarion.

Habitat and society

A centaur bard plays the pan flute.

Centaurs can be quite protective of their land.

Aloof towards other races and even at odds with others of their own kind, centaurs are an old race that is slowly coming to terms with the modern world. Most still live in tribes far from civilization, while some have abandoned their isolationist traditions and adopted a more cosmopolitan lifestyle. This is especially true in Cheliax. These few iconoclastic individuals are generally shunned by their tribes, making the decision to leave a weighty one. In some rare cases, however, whole tribes under progressive leaders have come to trade or make alliances with other humanoid communities—typically elves, but sometimes gnomes, and rarely humans or dwarves. Many peoples remain wary of centaurs, though, largely due to legends of territorial beastmen and the regular, violent encounters the centaurs have with stubborn settlers in expansionist countries. In Cheliax, some of these outcasts have joined the ranks of the Hellknights, while in Molthune, they have been known to volunteer for the Imperial Army.

Most centaurs tend to be nomadic and think of themselves as caretakers of the local environment on which their ancestors may have roamed for millennia. Centaurs will attack any that fail to heed their warnings and bring harm to their lands, which has unfairly gained them a reputation for aggression amongst other humanoid peoples.

Centaurs live in small communities led by one of their own who has earned respect over time and whose influence strongly guides the clan, whether to protect nature or to take up arms against enemies. Despite a love of traveling, most have a close bond with their family and clan that they find almost impossible to sever.

Many centaurs admire fine weapons and armor and some craft their own using traditional designs of their clans; others repurpose booty taken from their enemies. Heavy armor, though, must be specifically made for centaurs' quadrupedal form.

Religion

Due to their reverence of nature, many centaurs follow the Green Faith or deities who represent the natural world such as Gozreh, Cernunnos, and Erastil. They often pray to Desna to bless their travels as nomads, and give respect to Pharasma and Immonhiel for their patronage of healing. More competitive centaurs, especially in settlements, frequently turn to Gorum or Kurgess.

On Golarion

Erdija, a centaur ranger.

Centaurs exist throughout Casmaron and the Inner Sea region, and are particularly common in the eastern River Kingdoms, Isle of Kortos, and Cheliax. They can also be found beyond the Inner Sea area: numerous centaur tribes can be found across Iobaria and the Whistling Plains that lie east of Galt and Taldor. On the Whistling Plains, the centaur tribes even come up to camp and trade around the relatively civilised region of the Headwater Gap. In the heart of the Grass Sea centaur mercenaries sell their services within the Karazh capital of Ular Kel, normally making their home in the cosmopolitan district of Khoretz.

References

Paizo featured centaurs as an ancestry in Howl of the Wild.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

External links

• Centaur (real-world mythological creature) on Wikipedia