Minotaurus (3.5e Race)

Author: Ganteka Future (talk) Date Created: 5 September 2008 Status: 6 February 2015: v2.0 Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Minotaurus

The minotauri are a race of monstrous humanoids with cow-like features. While primarily known for their strength, they're a diverse bunch physically, culturally and behaviorally.

Physical Description

On hoofed feet, minotauri stand tall at around 6'6" to 7'6" tall and weigh roughly 500 pounds (with females averaging smaller than males). Their bodies are covered in short, coarse fur that ranges in color from charcoal black, muddy brown, bronzed tan, tawny, sandy and even powder white. Their legs are similar to those of a cow, ending in cloven hooves. Their muscular arms are long, powerful and end in five-fingered hands with thick, blunt nails. Their bodies are decidedly humanoid, but their heads are bovine in nature, with curved horns on their fierce brows, long bovine muzzles and small, keen eyes. Some are known to grow longer hair on their heads as other humanoids or thicker scruffs of facial hair in the case of males. Some tribes also possess cow-like tails.

Minotauri native to warmer and temperate climates may have hair coverage similar to humans while those from cold climates may be wooly or covered in shaggy fur.

They usually dress in leathers, hides and pelts. Textiles, like wool, are often woven thick with heavy stitching. Their physical lifestyle wears on them as they age, giving them many scars and marks, wrinkles and graying hair.

Culture & Alignment

In such a diverse world of races, allies, factions, nations and cultures, the minotauri are scattered and diverse. They lack the population to maintain any dominance and they lack the power to force it. Their tribes run the gamut of savage to cultured and as such, find it difficult when traveling to new areas as the reputation they gain varies from region to region. Though, generally, there are a few commonalities between them.

They dislike, often to the point of war, goblinoids and orcs, whose greedy natures and despoiling habits put them at odds. Elves find minotauri to be brutish while dwarves distrust their giant-blood. The smaller races have trouble with their size differences. Fortunately, minotauri get along passably with most folk and with the less-cruel giant races.

Minotauri can be very fierce and protective when defending their lands from unwelcome interlopers, especially during times of civil unrest and strife. During wartime with clan rivalry or nearby civilizations, travelers are best served to avoid minotaurus lands, as hostile troops patrol the territory and will often attack intruders without any provocation otherwise.

During times of peace, minotauri trade for goods and resources with their neighbors. Since minotauri grow crops in their well-tilled fields, fell lumber, hunt and ranch game, they often have valuable commodities for exchange. They often trade for the tools and weapons that are difficult for them to produce, since they rarely mine metals on their own.

Because of their diverse nature, minotauri may be of any alignment, as their outlook is mostly based on how or where they were raised and what deities are known to them. Savage minotauri tribes with little caste system, tradition, culture or foundation tend lean to chaotic alignments and deities, doing what they need to get by in the world. Those tribes that have stable traditions, practices and values are more likely to be in contact with other civil cultures, and thus lean toward lawful alignments, deities of strength and valor or nature or warrior deities.

Names & Language

Minotauri speak Giant as their primary language, being related to the giant races and their larger minotaur kin. They also speak Common. Some minotauri are quite adept linguists.

It is thought that the name minotaurus means "lesser" or "minor" bull. Males are occasionally called "oxem" and females "vacci".

Minotauri often have names with meanings in Giant that are lost on other folk. Because of this, they often also present themselves with titles or secondary names translated into other languages (often Common). Some simply like these titles and may use them as family names in the case of renown. Occasionally, new names will be bestowed upon them based on their deeds, prowess or glaring faults.

Male Names: Aurubax, Boermixt, Doldur, Ensfinis, Fumus, Gigander, Gorgos, Gornval, Motaron, Nordak, Relox, Valus

Female Names: Adidne, Aquilimpa, Avisedec, Fragammon, Garad, Humgrad, Kintare, Maeltora, Mamacet, Ospalaios, Terrastra, Saxine, Saxponde

Titles: Bullblood, Clearwater, Earthstar, Ghostwander, Goldcall, Groundwalker, Hardpain, Legbreaker, Old Bone, Pushing Voice, Rockhorn, Rockweight, Sixteen Birds, Smokecloud, Sourmilk, Stoneblood, Swordender

Adventuring

Minotauri represent their race by their actions, as such, many adventuring individuals tend to prove not all minotauri are lumbering, dim, savage cow-men. They will take on modest professions such as guards, soldiers, coolies, longshoremen, miners, millers, lumberjacks or other employment that best serves their natural strength and personality. They also adventure to amass wealth, fame and glory for themselves, as well as bring honor to their clan. Young minotauri adventure and travel as an initiation into adulthood or to set out for themselves and see the bigger world around them.

Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, -2 Mental Ability Score of Choice: Minotauri are big and powerful, and from youth they focus on developing their brawn.
• Monstrous Humanoid: Minotauri pay the nonhumanoid cost for armor.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, minotauri have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.
• Minotaurus base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision 60 feet.
• Horns: A minotaurus may use his horns as a feral strike weapon, dealing 1d8 piercing damage (see below). Charge attacks made with his horns have a critical threat range of 19–20/×3.
• Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus on Listen, Spot and Survival skill checks. These skills are class skills for all his HD.
• Personality Trait: A minotaurus gains one of the following traits, reflecting his personality.

• Bold: A bold minotaurus doesn't back down so easily. Whenever subject to intimidation or a [Fear] effect, a minotaurus may, as a free action, replace the modified level check or his own saving throw (if any) with an Intimidate check against his antagonist. If he succeeds, the target is intimidated and the antagonist's ability has no effect on him.
• Clever: A clever minotaurus pays attention to details. He gains 4 bonus languages (any non-secret). Decipher Script, Disable Device and Knowledge are class skills for all his HD. He gains an additional 4 skill points per level to be used only on Intelligence-based skills.
• Inquisitive: An inquisitive minotaurus is curious and pokes around. He gains the Search and Spellcraft skills as class skills for all his HD. He may detect traps regardless of DC or magical nature (like a rogue). He gains a +4 bonus when he "takes 20" for searching.
• Noble: A noble minotaurus stands by his peers, not above them. He may grant an adjacent creature his modifier on Will saves at a +2 bonus in place of the creature's own modifier (though the creature may decline this gesture at no penalty to itself). However, if the save is a failure, the minotaurus is also affected as though he were targeted and had failed his save. If the creature willingly fails its save, he is unaffected.
• Proud: A proud minotaurus gains confidence when he makes improvements. He gains a cumulative +1 bonus on d20 rolls for every d20 roll in a round that the die result was higher or equal to the previous roll. This bonus resets each round and if a d20 roll is lower than the previous roll.
• Spiritual: A spiritual minotaurus has faith in powers beyond and within himself. Any divine spell cast on him he may treat as though were one caster level higher or lower.

• Weapon Proficiency: A minotaurus gains Simple Weapon Proficiency as well as Martial Weapon Proficiency with one weapon of his choice.
• Bulky: Minotauri suffer a –2 penalty on Balance, Escape Artist and Tumble skill checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Giant.
• Bonus Languages: Orc, Goblin, Sylvan, Terran.
• Favored Class: Barbarian.
• Level Adjustment: +0
• Effective Character Level: 1

Feral Strike Weapons

Feral strike weapons function as masterwork weapons, even being able to be enchanted as melee weapons. Feral strike weapons may not have the dancing, throwing or returning enchantments.

A "one-handed" or "light" feral strike weapon may be designated as "main hand" or "off-hand" once per round as a free action.

Though feral strike weapons cannot be disarmed, they can be sundered as normal, becoming unusable when reduced to 0 HP. Usage can be restored in several ways:

• Any healing that restores ability damage restores an equal number of HP to feral strike weapons.
• Any healing while at maximum total HP goes to any feral strike weapons. HP restored may be divided by choice among feral strike weapons as necessary.

Feral Strike Horns

Light Melee

Cost:	— gp
Damage (Small):	1d6
Damage (Medium)1:	1d8
Critical:	×3 (19–20/×3 when charging)
Weight2:	— lbs
Type3:	Piercing or Nonlethal
HP4:	10
Hardness:	5

1. See Damage Increases by Size to calculate the damage for a weapon larger than Medium or smaller than Small.
2. Weight figures are for Medium weapons. A Small weapon weighs half as much, and a Large weapon weighs twice as much.
3. When two types are given, the weapon is both types if the entry specifies "and", either type (player's choice at time of attack) if the entry specifies "or", or each end of the double weapon is a different type if the entry specifies "/".
4. The hp value given is for Medium armor, weapons, and shields. Divide by 2 for each size category of the item smaller than Medium, or multiply it by 2 for each size category larger than Medium.

Vital Statistics

Table: Minotaurus Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
12 years	+1d4	+1d6	+2d6

Table: Minotaurus Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
30 years	45 years	60 years	+2d10 years
At middle age, –1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, –2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, –3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Minotaurus Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	6' 6"	+2d6	400 lb.	× (4d6) lb.
Female	6' 2"	+2d6	350 lb.	× (4d6) lb.

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