Building My Dungeons and Dragons World Part 7: Centaurs

 Introduction

    After a couple of weeks with pretty massive projects, either covering multiple races or races with many notable organizations, it is time to take a step back and work on a simpler one. Centaurs are fairly simple in terms of the amount of worldbuilding D&D has done. This is a breath of fresh air for me and I hope you guys still enjoy the article.

Centaurs

Reference Link: https://www.expii.com/t/temperate-biomes-forests-plains-woodlands-shrublands-10388

 

   Hidden in the temperate forests of the world, centaurs are a race of sentient creatures that are half-man and half-horse. They tended to live alone or in small tribes, hunting and gathering what they needed. With this in mind, the centaurs did not build cities like most races do. Instead, similar to the Native Americans in our world, they would follow the herds of their food sources around, making small temporary camps at night before moving along in the morning. Unlike those tribes, centaurs didn't require tents. This meant they left even fewer traces of their existence when they packed up and left, often only leaving behind footprints and doused campfires.

    This mobile lifestyle and preference for the forest meant that many of their neighbors often viewed centaurs as uncivilized. But centaurs were proud of their way of life and they did have their own version of civilization. To those who lived on the edges of the wild, or in the wild, the centaurs were symbolic of the freedom and dangers of the wild.

    Centaurs were not averse to interacting with other races and cultures, often acting as a bridge between the "civilized world" and the mysterious wild races around them, like forest gnomes and wood elves. This was especially true with small farming communities on the edges of civilization, who held a healthy respect for the wild and its inhabitants, out of either fear or awe.

    Centaurs also often acted as a buffer. Many dangers lurk in the forests and foreign invaders could rarely hide from the eyes of the forests. Centaurs would combat more traditional dangers, like monsters and evil wild races while giving warnings to more organized armies to those communities they regularly communicated with. 

    Many kingdoms have had the tides of war turned in their favor thanks to these early warnings. As such, most kingdoms gave the centaurs the respect they deserved. Even in an age where magic and industry could strip a forest bare, many kingdoms refuse out of respect for the centaurs. Others do it less out of respect and more out of strategy. If the centaurs are allowed to stay in whatever forest they are in, then the kingdom can redirect resources to other areas with less protection.

Religion

Reference Link: https://tyranny-of-dragons-103.obsidianportal.com/wikis/skerrit-centaur-and-satyr-god-of-nature

    So according to official lore, the Centaurs do have a god named Skerrit the Forrestor. But centaurs seem to be portrayed as not very religious. Even among those that are, there is a common preference for the elven nature gods over Skerrit. This lack of organized religion makes sense for a hunter-gatherer society, with each tribe and centaur having their own version of their beliefs. This also reflects how the tribes interact with the communities around them, favoring those who share their beliefs over those who do not.

Barbarian: Path of the Totem Warrior

Reference Link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/568509152965376979/

    The Path of the Totem Warrior calls barbarians to be one with nature, giving them an animal spirit to act as their guide. Naturally, this fits perfectly for centaurs. Due to the nature of their society, it is unclear if the centaurs were the origins of this Path or simply adopted it from their elven neighbors. Regardless, it is one of the two most common classes among the centaur tribes all over the world, though each has its own way of practicing and teaching this path.

Fighter: Arcane Archer

Reference Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/idisvu/art_glyphone_centaur_archer/

    Many of the fighter classes that I found seemed to rely on magic or technology that just didn't seem to fit the culture I had built for the centaurs. But Arcane Archer was a different story. The exact quote from the Xanathar's Guide to Everything is as follows:

    "An Arcane Archer studies a unique elven method of archery that weaves magic into attacks to produce supernatural effects. Arcane Archers are some of their most elite warriors among the elves. They stand watch over the fringes of elven domains, keeping a keen eye out for trespassers and using magic-infused arrows to defeat monsters and invaders before they can reach elven settlements. Over the centuries, the methods of these elf archers have been learned by members of other races who can also balance arcane aptitude with archery."

    This fits perfectly with what I had in mind. The wood elves and centaurs spend a lot of time interacting given their shared environment. It only makes sense that centaurs living near these communities would adopt their practices into their tribes. Centaurs are pretty good archers already and would seek to improve this ability with magic provided they have the right teacher. The wood elves would be willing to share these techniques since centaurs can help them protect their homes when they are residing nearby.

Conclusion

    I hope you enjoyed this article. I know it is definitely not as much content as the past couple of weeks has had. If that does bother you, don't worry. Many large core races still lay ahead of us. See you next week.