Playing a Centaur

[Nekira Sudacne]

*shrug* There's no real established centaur culture, so you getta make everything up as you go

[Danger]

I've made up the character, but was told that it is a hard speices to play. Any idea's on how I could play it? I at least want to try.

The reason that it's a hard species to play is because of the incompatability to other species & their environment. By this I mean, well...you've got a Horse's body! Most other people are going to be humanoid (I would hope), so many social situations are going to be difficult to overcome. Some people would simply find this offsetting.

Also, what about buildings, furniture, clothing, etc? Everything is made for races with two arms & two legs (Humans). Ladders? Almost out of the question. Need to climb that rope? Impossible. You are just going to have some severe drawbacks in many areas. Armor? Specially fitted. Going in to have a beer with the boys? Standing room for you, no chairs, really.

Now, I'm not trying to discourage you. I love centaurs. I just want to point out that as you said, this will be a challenging character to play. That doesn't mean that it can't be rewarding, but you'll probably need to have quite a bit of patience.

There was an independent comic series (I don't know the name) back in the 80's I believe, that was all about a race of centaurs. They had much smaller horse bodies than what you usually see, and they were able to climb ladders, & do alot more than what one might expect. I've got a friend who was a huge fan, I'll talk to him & see if he remembers the name. That might be a source of inspiration for you.

Other than that, it sounds great. Have fun!

[TechnoGothic]

<glances at CB1>

hmmm, Centaur Lord Magus or Centaur Battle Magus...

Centaur Battle Magus all the way

btw everyone. look this up :
Argo Centaur : http://centaur8x8.ca/

[R Ditto]

Why just stick to regular Centaurs?
Why not other creatures that have a humanoid upper torso and an animal body for the lower half?
So, instead of just half humanoid and half horse, we could have half humanoid and be have the lower body of (and perhaps have the torso somewhat resemble)... cat, dog, reptlie, insect (mainly arachnids like spiders and scorpions, with claws included for the scorpion part), bovine, bear, or perhaps some sort of aquatic critter like crab of squid/octopus... whatever else might work...

Now that would be a challange to play...

Then come up with the nightmare of how to get armor or power armor for something with a humanoid feline upper torso and a big feline body for the lower half... be more than strong enough to carry around a rider... or two... or a rider and a harness for some heavy weapons... or be a good alternative to heavy labor or an alternative to a horse drawn cart... have the armed escort be the one pulling the cart/wagon...

Or trying to figure out how you fit someone through a normal doorway with a lower body of a spider or scropion or other wide bodied critter...

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

A friend of mine played a Centaur once, and he faired quite well. He roleplayed through the various challenges (as outlined by Danger) and had a blast doing it.

It's a challenging race to play as, however, if you like challenges, it'll be very fun.

~ Josh

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

I have wanted to play a centaur for a while now. I was just going to ware Calvery armor but it would still have to be modded for the human body and then take the upper half of Human armor like the Huntsman or something.

The Kittani mass-market a form of body-armor for Centaurs. See World Book Two, or the GMG for details.

~ Josh

[Thinyser]

I had a Nightbane Spider-centaur with bat wings, he was awesome.

As for the typical horse-centaurs I believe that they should be played like a nomadic Native American, relies on the strength of tribe, and highly regards honor.

[Kagashi]

What about the top half of a horse and the bottom half of a human! Try buttoning your pants!

[AzathothXy]

There are the cyber-centaurs of Canada.

[Daikuma]

Why just stick to regular Centaurs?
Why not other creatures that have a humanoid upper torso and an animal body for the lower half?
So, instead of just half humanoid and half horse, we could have half humanoid and be have the lower body of (and perhaps have the torso somewhat resemble)... cat, dog, reptlie, insect (mainly arachnids like spiders and scorpions, with claws included for the scorpion part), bovine, bear, or perhaps some sort of aquatic critter like crab of squid/octopus... whatever else might work...

Now that would be a challange to play...

Then come up with the nightmare of how to get armor or power armor for something with a humanoid feline upper torso and a big feline body for the lower half... be more than strong enough to carry around a rider... or two... or a rider and a harness for some heavy weapons... or be a good alternative to heavy labor or an alternative to a horse drawn cart... have the armed escort be the one pulling the cart/wagon...

Or trying to figure out how you fit someone through a normal doorway with a lower body of a spider or scropion or other wide bodied critter...

One of my players did a Centaur to the hilt. For examples of good centaur play, look at the latest film of Chronicles of Narnia. They covered a lot for the physicality of the role quite well. Think of the Steppe peoples, or the Cossacks or the Mongols. Even the late period Native American horse tribes are good examples of horse cultures.

Now combine the attitude of the nomadic horse cultures with the biology of being a quadruped. The fiercely independent riders are now the fiercely independent riders/potential pack animals of other races who seek to use them as slave labor. Centaurs would tower over humans, making them a haughty folk, for biology puts them often in the position of "looking down" on other races, even if they would not otherwise.

Feeling much akin to other herd creatures, they would often take on the role of protector of the forest, or whatever land they would call their own, and be very much into ranged weapons or polearms, given the reach they have.

Also, think in terms of their Hand To Hand skills. An entire new martial art could be made up surrounding their unique physiology. Does the running skill apply, and how much of a bonus does it confer? What about gymnastics or acrobatics skills? What physical skills would a horse have that a human would not, and how do you convey the bonuses?

If they are into archery (as most fiction suggests they would be) it stands to logic that they would use much larger bows with a much stronger pull and capacity for damage. What are these bows like?

Better question: are they herbivores, or omnivores? Do they have canine teeth like humans, or all flat teeth like horses?

Lots to think about, neh?

-Daikuma