Centaur

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Greyhawk Creature
Centaur
A hueleneaer (desert centaur) illustrated by Ken Frank in WGR3 Rary the Traitor (1992).
General information
Size:Large or Medium
Alignment:Usually neutral good
Type:Monstrous humanoid, monstrosity, or fey
Patron deity:Skerrit
First appearance:Monsters & Treasure


Centaurs are large monstrous humanoids based upon the centaurs of Greek myth,[1][2][3] which incorporate the upper torso of a human, and the lower body and legs of a horse.

Description

Centaurs have the upper torso, arms and head of a human, and the lower body of a horse. These woodland beings are sociable creatures, living in family groups organized into larger tribes. Tribes survive through hunting, foraging, fishing, agriculture, and trade. They tend to shun humans, but often trade with elves for food and wine.[4] >

They are a strong, proud race, easily offended and impulsive. Centaurs live in balance, They must eat a lot to power their great bodies, 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.[5]

Typical physical characteristics

A centaur has the upper body of a humanoid, and the lower body of a horse. They are usually unclothed, except for a quiver of arrows and, on rare occasions, light armor. Centaur warriors are usually equipped with composite longbows and longswords.

They can be found in different climates or geography like dry, arid deserts including the Bright Lands, Dry Steppes, Barrens, and Plains of the Ulakandar; as well as woodlands like the Fellreev, Gnarley Forest, Suss Forest, and Welkwood.[6] Centaurs of the Dry Steppes hold Tovag Baragu to be holy.[7] Centaurs are also commonly found in Celene, Highfolk, Stonefist, and Tenh.

Centaurs are large creatures, often not quite fitting into spaces designed for humans or demihumans, especially underground settings.[5]

Desert centaurs (hueleneaer) have a dark complexion, and tend to be more compact and have more dense musculature than their sylvan cousins.[8][9]

Racial traits

A combination of the traits of humans and horses, along with their affinity for wilderness survival, gives the centaur incredible strength, slightly less than twice the strength of an average human and the dexterity of an average elven archer. They are also known for their astounding ability to take much punishment, and for their wisdom. They are as fast on land as a horse (usually up to 2000 feet a minute when running), and like dwarves and orcs, they have darkvision. In third edition, their favored class is ranger.

Society

Centaurs generally live in tribal hunter-gatherer societies. They have good relations with elves, as they are both creatures of the forest. Their relations with elves are mutual, mostly trading gold and treasure from the tribe's horde for items in large supply in elven communities (mostly alcohol). Elves are welcome in centaur territory, and typically share land. Centaurs generally despise humans and dwarves.[citation needed] Neutral, jovial creatures such as halflings and gnomes are tolerated in centaur territory when not causing damage.

They are pastoral beings who can be violent when the need arises. They live in harmony with nature and know how to conserve resources.

They keep things in balance, planting a tree for every one they chop down and taking only what the environment can easily give.[4]

There are occasional centaur visitors to the City of Greyhawk, and a centaur might be found there on any day.[10] However, humanoids (but not demihumans) have a confusing relationship in legal matters in the Free City. It's not always clear whether some, like centaurs, fall into the category of "people" or whether some are "monsters". [11]

The social structure of the desert centaurs (hueleneaer) is rather different than sylvan centaurs. They have an egalitarian society with all roles (including warriors, child rearing, leadership, etc.) expected to be filled by any gender.[9] In contrast, everything about their culture is "highly ritualized" and strict.[9] (i.e. "lawful") The hueleneaer comprise more than twenty different tribes in the Bright Desert, each one intensely dedicated to their own autonomy.[9] Tribal leaders are appointed by consensus, [8]

Relationships

Centaurs are sometimes allies of humanity.[12]

Centaurs mate for life,[13]

They welcome elves into their areas, sometimes even sharing territory with them. Humans and dwarves receive polite invitations to leave, while halflings and gnomes are usually tolerated.[4][13]

Language

Centaurs typically speak the elven language and sylvan. In second edition, centaurs had a language of their own instead of speaking sylvan.[13] In third edition, the hueleneaer speak common and giant.[9]

Religion

Centaurs revere their sylvan god, Skerrit the Forester, the god of Nature and Community.[9]

Publication history

The centaurs of Dungeons & Dragons are based upon the centaurs of Greek mythology,[1][2][14] though are much more civilized.

Original edition

The centaurs first appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons set (1974).

First edition

The centaur appeared in the D&D Expert Set (1981, 1983) and the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991). The centaur appeared as a character class in Tall Tales of the Wee Folk (1989).[15]
The centaur appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual (1977).[16] The sea centaur appeared in Dragon #116 (December 1986).

Second edition

The centaur appeared in second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989) as the "sylvan centaur",[17] reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).[18] The centaur is presented as a playable character race in The Complete Book of Humanoids (1993),[19] which allows centaurs to be wizards, but not to advance beyond 12th level.[20] The centaur is later presented as a playable character race again in Player's Option: Skills & Powers (1995).[21]
The desert centaur of Greyhawk appeared in the adventure Rary the Traitor (1992).
In other settings, the Abanasinian centaur, the Crystalmir centaur, the Endscape centaur, and the Wendle centaur appeared as the centaurs of Krynn for the Dragonlance setting in Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix (1990). The "nomadic centaur" and the "learned ones" of the Forgotten Realms setting appeared in The Horde Barbarian Campaign Setting boxed set (1990). The desert centaur of the Al-Qadim setting appeared in the Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix (1992),[22]

Third edition

The hueleneaer (desert centaur of the Bright Desert) appeared in Polyhedron #162 (Dungeon #103) (October 2003).[9]
The centaur appeared in the third edition Monster Manual (2000),[23] and the version 3.5 Monster Manual (2003). The centaur appeared as a player character race in Savage Species (2003), the Forgotten Realms book Races of Faerûn (2003), and in Races of the Wild (2005).

Fourth edition

The centaur appeared in the fourth edition Monster Manual 2 (2009).

Fifth edition

The centaur appears in the fifth edition Monster Manual (2014).[24]
A playable centaur race was released alongside a playable minotaur for playtesting purposes in an Unearthed Arcana article released in May 2018 on the official Dungeons & Dragons website.[25]
Monsters of the Multiverse contains a playable character race for centaurs.[26] These differ mechanically from the fifth edition Monster Manual in that they are smaller (medium vs. large) and are slightly slower (40ft instead of 50ft)[27]

Reception

Mythological creatures like the centaur were considered among the "standard repertoire of "Monsters"" of the game by Fabian Perlini-Pfister.[3]

Other media

Miniatures
Centaurs appeared in the D&D Miniatures: Harbinger set #17 (2003), the Centaur Hero appeared in the Deathknell set (2005), and the Centaur War Hulk appeared in the Blood War set (2006).
In Pathfinder Battles, centaurs appeared in the set Reign of Winter (2014) with both a Centaur Scout and a Centaur Archer, and later in the set City of Lost Omens (2020) with two versions of a Centaur Outrider.
In Icons of the Realms, centaurs appeared in the set Monster Menagerie (2016), and later in Mythic Odysseys of Theros (2020) with a Centaur Ranger.

Other publishers

The centaur appeared in Paizo Publishing's book Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (2009), on page 42.[28]

Disclaimer:Any lore presented through the following links does not necessarily adhere to established officially published content, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki.

References

Citations
  1. ↑ a b DeVarque, Aardy. Literary Sources of D&D. Archived from the original on 2007-07-21. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  2. ↑ a b (2014) The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters, Ashgate Publishing, p. 192
  3. ↑ a b Bornet, Philippe (2011) Religions in play: games, rituals, and virtual worlds, Theologischer Verlag Zürich, p. 282 Retrieved on 5 December 2019. ISBN: 978-3-290-22010-5.
  4. ↑ a b c Complete Book of Humanoids (1999) p24
  5. ↑ a b Complete Book of Humanoids (1999) p25
  6. ↑ From the Ashes, reference cards, #8-#11, Encounter Tables
  7. ↑ Greyhawk Adventures, p99
  8. ↑ a b WGR3 Rary the Traitor (1992), s.v. Centaur, Desert'.
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g "Denizens of the Bright Desert".  Polyhedron #162 (Dungeon #103, Oct 2003), p.77.
  10. ↑ Player's Guide (1998), p.70.
  11. ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.67, "Humanoids have very limited civil rights in Greyhawk, the limits of which vary from judge to judge. ... a centaur could be recognized as a "person" by one judge and a "monster" by another.".
  12. ↑ Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), p.11.
  13. ↑ a b c Monstrous Manual (1993), p.40.
  14. ↑ Duffy, William S.. 20-sided monsters: The Adaptation of Greek Mythology to Dungeons and Dragons. CAMWS, 2018.
  15. ↑ Schick, Lawrence (1991) Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games, Prometheus Books, p. 146 ISBN: 0-87975-653-5.
  16. ↑ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
  17. ↑ Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989)
  18. ↑ Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
  19. ↑ Slavicsek, Bill. The Complete Book of Humanoids (TSR, 1993)
  20. ↑ Swan, Rick (May 1994). "Role-playing Reviews". Dragon (#205): 102. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR.
  21. ↑ Niles, Douglas and Dale Donovan. Player's Option: Skills & Powers (TSR, 1995)
  22. ↑ Baur, Wolfgang and Steve Kurtz. Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix (TSR, 1992)
  23. ↑ Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
  24. ↑ Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2014)
  25. ↑ Centaurs and Minotaurs (2018)
  26. ↑ Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (2021), p.9.
  27. ↑ Monster Manual (2014), p.38.
  28. ↑ Bulmahn, Jason (lead designer). Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (Paizo Publishing, 2009)
Bibliography
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic Type Description Product Page/Card/Image

Bow of the Centaurs Item Encyclopedia Magica - Volume I 203
Bow of the Centaurs Item WGR3 Rary the Traitor 26
Centaur Monster Native of: Material Plane, Monster Manual 1, AD&D 1e 14
Centaur Monster Native of: Material Plane, Oerth Journal #31 18
Centaur, Desert Monster Dragon magazine #249 91
Centaur, Desert Monster WGR3 Rary the Traitor 60-61
Centaur, Sylvan Monster Against The Giants: The Liberation of Geoff 35, 92
Centaur, Sylvan Monster From the Ashes: References Card #08
Centaur, Sylvan Monster From the Ashes: References Card #09
Centaur, Sylvan Monster From the Ashes: References Card #11
Centaur, Sylvan Monster From the Ashes: References Card #14
Centaur, Sylvan Monster GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders 42
Centaur, Sylvan Monster GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders: Map/Monster Booklet 9
Centaur, Sylvan Monster Greyhawk: Supplement I, OD&D 17
Centaur, Sylvan Monster I7 Baltron's Beacon 25
Centaur, Sylvan Monster AD&D Monster Cards, Set 1 Not Numbered
Centaur, Sylvan Monster MC1 - Monstrous Compendium Volume 1 Insert (Centaur, Sylvan)
Centaur, Sylvan Monster MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix Encounter Tables
Centaur, Sylvan Monster Monster Manual 1, AD&D 1e 14
Centaur, Sylvan Monster Monstrous Manual, AD&D 2e 41
Centaur, Sylvan Monster Monstrous Manual, AD&D 2e (Premium Edition) 41
Centaur, Sylvan Monster Monster Manual 1, D&D 5e 38
Centaur, Sylvan Monster Manual of the Planes, AD&D 1e 92
Centaur, Sylvan Monster PHBR10 - The Complete Book of Humanoids 5, 9, 24-25, 41, 53, 54, 60, 72, 75, 76, 80, 82, 88, 94, 111, 112, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120
Centaur, Sylvan Monster S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, Book One 24
Centaur, Sylvan Monster S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, Book Two 31
Centaur, Sylvan Monster Spelljammer Boxed Set: Lorebook of the Void 62
Centaur, Sylvan Monster World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983) 8
Centaur, Sylvan Monster X1 The Isle of Dread (1st-3rd printing), D&D Basic 6
Centaur, Sylvan Monster The Isle of Dread: Original Adventures Reincarnated #02, D&D 5e 24, 64
Centaur, Sylvan Monster X1 The Isle of Dread (4th printing), D&D Basic 8
Centauroid Monster EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror 10
Rampant Centaur (Jurnre) Building Inn, Tavern, Bar, or Restaurant , WG8 Fate of Istus 26, 29
Scouring Wind (Centaur) People Group Tribe, Living Greyhawk Journal #5 31
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