More Than Just a Shaggy Ogre

Wizards of the Coast · Sep 11, 2012

Mazes. Baphomet worshipers. Sailing. Minotaurs have a lot of lore behind them, and James takes a look at all of it, then presents you with a summary of the potential D&D Next minotaur.

Read More Than Just a Shaggy Ogre on D&D Insider here!

ComradeGnull · Sep 11, 2012

Really, really like the idea here that not every humanoid creature in the bestiary has to be the representative of an entire race. The D&D world is crowded enough as it is. And I say that as someone who got their D&D start with Dragonlance and really liked the Krynnish minotaurs- I would rather see more of the weird humanoid races be individual distinct magical creatures rather than a race that needs its own ecology, social structure, and niche.

MortalPlague · Sep 11, 2012

ComradeGnull said:
Really, really like the idea here that not every humanoid creature in the bestiary has to be the representative of an entire race.

I completely agree; I really liked that sentiment, and it's definitely one I share. However, I'm not wild about using it for minotaurs. I like the idea that they're a race of creatures, not an abomination brought to flesh by Baphomet.

It put me in a strange position for voting; I love the concept of what they're trying to do, but not the execution.

Balesir · Sep 11, 2012

MortalPlague said:
I completely agree; I really liked that sentiment, and it's definitely one I share. However, I'm not wild about using it for minotaurs. I like the idea that they're a race of creatures, not an abomination brought to flesh by Baphomet.

I know what you mean, but I came to the conclusion that those don't need to be called "minotaurs". Separate creatures for "bull-men" ("Taurids"?) were mentioned, and I think that could work very well indeed.

Sammael · Sep 11, 2012

I already use similar fluff although the curse/blessing is hereditary. My minotaurs are all male to reflect their creator's misogyny.

DL minotaurs should be something else entirely.

Klaus · Sep 11, 2012

I'll just repeat what I posted in the article comments:

I like the cursed origin for minotaurs (although it does reflect the origin of tieflings a bit too closely). The curse might explain why savage minotaurs are flesh-eating monsters, as opposed to grazing herbivores like the bovines they resemble.

Conversely, some concession might be made in the default story for the smaller, more civilized individuals. Maybe their reduced size reflects their distancing themselves from the curse that begat them.

One final note: Minotaurs were Large in earlier editions of D&D because back then anything above 7' tall was Large (like the gnolls). Now that Medium can encompass creatures like goliaths, gnolls and bugbears, there's no reason for the core Minotaur to be Large (as in ogre-sized). An 8'-tall minotaurs is perfectly Medium within the rules.

DEFCON 1 · Sep 11, 2012

I also really like the idea of the "cursed" creatures that are created, rather than a full race... but I''m not crazy about it being the minotaurs that are those creatures.

There are enough uses of minotaurs as a race of creatures over the years (within D&D and within other fantasy mediums) that make trying to tighten their identity back up into a group of humanoids that are "transformed" by Baphomet to not feel right to me.

I can sort of understand why they are thinking this way... as they already have Ogres, Gnolls, and Bugbears as large "giant-kin" type races and thus possibly don't want to make a fourth one with the same sort of background. I suppose the thought is that they already have Gnolls as a race that worships a demon (Yeenoghu) and who are that demon's chosen (which pretty much matches exactly what the minotaurs are to Baphomet)... but considering the number of "natural humanoids" we have that share the same sort of background and the HUGE amount of "undead" that share practically the same background... having two full races that worship two separate demons does not feel wrong to me.

GMforPowergamers · Sep 11, 2012

I love the idea of a few but not a race

Dedekind · Sep 11, 2012

I really like it and would use it as written in my game.

That said, the demand for a minotaur player race would be high, I think.

tlantl · Sep 11, 2012

As long as I have stats for them and they look like minotaurs then it's good enough. I don't really need elaborate back stories or histories to use them, occasionally. Most of the time my players don't care anyway.