MINOTAUR, SON OF THE HORN
Large Monstrous Humanoid
Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (19 hp)
Initiative: +1 (Dex)
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), base 40 ft.
AC: 17 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +2 natural, +5 breatplate), touch 10, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+11
Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d4+4) or butt +6 melee (1d8+4) or falchion +6 melee (2d4+6) or composite longbow +3 ranged (1d8)
Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d4+4) and butt +1 melee (1d8+4) or falchion +6 melee (2d4+6) or composite longbow +3 ranged (1d8)
Space/Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.
Special Attacks: Charge 4d6+4
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4
Abilities: Str 18 (+4), Dex 13 (+1), Con 15 (+2), Int 11 (+0), Wis 13 (+1), Cha 8 (-1)
Skills: Listen +8, Profession (sailor) +5, Search +5, Spot +8, Survival +5, Use Rope +5
Feats: Desert Dweller, Sea Dog
Continent/Region: Triadora and any southern sea region
Environment: Temperate or warm plains, deserts, hills, and mountains
Organization: Solitary, pair, or clan (6-30 plus 25% noncombatants plus 2 1st-level sergeants per 5 adults, 1 3rd-level lieutenant per 10 adults, and 1 5th-level leader)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually lawful neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +5
This race of minotaurs are known for their high culture and beautiful cities, as well as, their fast trading ships filled with goods of the best quality. Horn minotaurs can be distinguished from their cursed counterparts by their head, horns and legs.
Horn minotaurs have the head of a bison instead of a bull. They also have horns that are wider and thicker than cursed minotaurs. A horn minotaurs legs are like that of a camel with padded hooves. These specialized hooves allow horn minotaurs to travel easily over almost any terrain.
Horn minotaur fur is always very light in color such as gold, silver, or even pure white. (It is never black.) Horn minotaurs wear clothes made out of the finest material, usually silk or cotton. These clothes tend towards lighter shades or pure white. Horn minotaurs rarely wear heavy armor, except when preparing for a huge battle. Even then they don’t wear metal armor, as Triadora’s climate is too hot.
Horn minotaurs speak their own racial tongue known as Hornish as well as the common language of Triadora, which is known as Triadoran.
Combat
Horn minotaurs are deadly foes in melee, attacking with falchions and other two-handed weapons. Horn minotaurs fight fairly against those they perceive as being honorable.
Opponents that use dirty tricks or sneak attacks will find that these minotaurs are merciless when dishonor is perceived. Horn minotaurs never give xanth the benefit of the doubt.
Charge (Ex): A horn minotaur typically begins a battle by charging at an opponent, lowering its head to bring its mighty horns into play. In addition to the normal benefits and hazards of a charge, this allows the beast to make a single butt attack that deals 4d6+4 points of damage.
Scent (Ex): Horn minotaurs can detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. Range is 30 ft. If upwind, the range increases to 60 ft.; if downwind, it drops to 15 ft.
Son of the Horn Society
Unlike many of their continental neighbors, horn minotaurs are a native race to Kulan. It is this fact and that Triadora is their ancestral home that makes these minotaurs unfriendly towards those that would encroach their homeland like the xanth lizardfolk and urik-aa orcs. More so the former than the latter.
Horn minotaurs despise the xanth for violating their homeland and have fought several large-scale wars with the jungle-dwelling lizardfolk over land and lack of honor on the part of the xanth. They are a little more tolerant of the urik-aa due to the fact that the high orcs are honorable, for the most part, and that they respect the minotaur’s wishes regarding sacred lands. However, it is important to note that horn minotaurs are a very civilized race and that tend to be just as fair minded as elves or humans. (Some individuals may tend to be braggarts and pushy about honor but they are no more evil than any other civilized race.)
Son of the Horn society considers slavery an abomination against life and won’t even consider enslaving other races (that doesn’t mean they won’t take prisoners of war, just that they are always treated fairly and returned to their people). However, xanth prisoners don’t fair well if they try to buy their freedom – horn minotaurs never accept wealth for prisoners of war.
They are suspicious of foreign arcane magic-users and never allow strangers to bring banned magical items or spells into Imperial Lands. While bards from other lands or races must be careful not to cast banned spells, they are generally welcome. Note that arcane magic isn’t actually banned in Son of the Horn society, merely well controlled. Only specialized arcane magic-using citizens, called Circle Sorcerers, are allowed to wield arcane magic but even they are regulated and monitored by the Horn Circle. Horn minotaur bards must also be members of the Horn Circle, although it is easier to become a Circle Bard then a Circle Sorcerer.
Clerical magic isn’t as restricted, however. Divine magic is considered a boon from the gods, and foreign clerics (good and neutral ones) are often welcomed by horn minotaur citizens when traveling through Imperial Lands. It is important to note that all necromantic and chaos magic is banned everywhere in Imperial Lands and those caught casting such magic are put to death (even if the spell would have saved the life of one of the Imperial Family).
Horn Minotaurs as Characters
Horn minotaurs favor the fighter class. Horn minotaurs can choose almost any class. The only restriction is that cannot be rogues as it is seen as a dishonorable trade by all horn minotaurs. They can be bards but those that do are often looked down upon. As honor is vital to horn minotaur life, they make steadfast paladins. Magic and trade are also important in horn minotaur society, almost as much as honor and they often become wizards, sorcerers and traders. Horn minotaurs often become multiclassed fighter/bards, fighter/traders, fighter/sorcerers, or fighter/wizards.
Horn minotaurs worship a group of gods known as the Pantheon of the Horn. The leader of this pantheon is a deity simply known to as the Horned God. Clerics of the Horned God can choose any two of the following domains: Authority, Knowledge, Law, Strength, and War.
Horn Minotaur Traits
Horn minotaurs benefit from a number of racial traits:
- +4 to Strength, +2 to Dexterity, +2 to Constitution, +2 to Wisdom, -2 to Charisma.
- Large. As Large creatures, Horn minotaurs gain a -1 size penalty to Armor Class, a -1 size penalty on attack rolls, and a -4 size penalty on Hide checks. But they must use larger weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are twice those of Medium characters.
- Monstrous Humanoid: Horn minotaurs are monstrous humanoids, and are therefore immune to spells that only affect humanoids, such as charm person.
- Low-light Vision: Horn minotaurs can see three times as far as a human can in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination.
- Proficient with falchion, longbow, and composite longbow, regardless of character class.
- A Horn minotaurs’s base land speed is 40 feet.
- Racial Hit Dice: A Horn minotaur begins with three levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 3d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +3, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +3.
- Racial Skills: A Horn minotaur's monstrous humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 7 x (2 + Int Modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Listen, Profession (sailor), Search, Spot, Survival, and Use Rope. Horn minotaurs receive a +4 racial bonus to Search, Spot, Listen, and Survival checks.
- Racial Feats: A Horn minotaur's monstrous humanoid levels give it two feats.
- +2 natural bonus to armor class.
- Natural Attacks: Horn minotaurs may attack with a bite (1d4) and a butt (1d8) and are always treated as being armed when using their natural attacks.
- Special Attacks (see above): Charge.
- Special Qualities (see above): Scent.
- Automatic Languages: Hornish and Triadoran. Bonus Languages: Centaur, Dover, Mer, Urik-Aa, and Xanth.
- Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass Horn minotaur’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing.
