Centaur

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Centaur
Telero, a centaur.
(Creature)

Skilled hunters and warriors, centaurs are have the upper body of a human and the lower torso of a horse.1

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. 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 race, centaurs rarely make it much past 60 years old.1

Variants

Centaurs exhibit differences akin to human ethnicities, such as the Iobarian ethnicities of Azorva, Rashalka and Tsolniva.2

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.3

History

Centaurs are believed to have emerged in the islands of Iblydos, but have since spread throughout Golarion.4

Habitat and society

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 life. This is especially true in Cheliax.14 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 races 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.1 In Cheliax, some of these outcasts have joined the ranks of the Hellknights,4 while in Molthune, they have been known to volunteer for the Imperial Army.5

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.4 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.6 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.7

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.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Paizo Inc., et al. “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary, 42. Paizo Inc., 2009
  2. Steven Schend. Iobaria Gazetteer” in The Varnhold Vanishing, 56. Paizo Inc., 2010
  3. James Jacobs, et al. The Inner Sea World Guide, 159. Paizo Inc., 2011
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 James Jacobs, et al. The Inner Sea World Guide, 304. Paizo Inc., 2011
  5. James Jacobs, et al. The Inner Sea World Guide, 123. Paizo Inc., 2011
  6. Mark Moreland, et al. “Gazetteer” in Taldor, the First Empire, 38. Paizo Inc., 2017
  7. John Compton, et al. Ular Kel” in Distant Shores, 59. Paizo Inc., 2015

External links

  • Centaur (real-world mythological creature) on Wikipedia