Minotaur
Minotaur are a race of bull-men hailing from the Myrenaean Peninsula and the Eresthenes. They are the chosen of Baphomet, the minotaur god of wrath and vengeance (read Emanation), whose form they emulate. They are at home, both on land and at sea, living in an honor-based society where strength determines power.
Personality
Minotaur are zealous and love battle. Minotaurs tend to vent their outrage through horrific violence, but they aren't generally quick to anger. They are passionate, loving their friends and partners fiercely, and they laugh loud and long at good jokes. Minotaurs are not highly intelligent, but possess instinctive cunning and are adept at ambush attacks. Attacks in the dark are preferred so they can take advantage of their infravision. Minotaurs can track by scent alone, and always investigate an unfamiliar scent. Minotaurs are also fearless combatants, and will only retreat if their defeat is obvious. Minotaur believe in a brutal code of honor centered on the idea that strength is an instrument of glory and respect. This blood code gives structure to minotaur society, allowing them to resist chaos and enslavement. It is through strength that a minotaur will rise through society to serve in the legions, strength by which a minotaur may lead his clan, strength by which a minotaur may captain a vessel, and strength by which an emperor may rule an empire.Basic Information
Anatomy
Minotaurs are barrel-chested soulborn with heads resembling those of bulls. Their horns range in size from about 1 foot long to great, curling weapons easily three times that length. Myrenaean minotaurs often carve their horns to sharpen their edges, etch symbols of power into them, or sheathe them in bronze to prevent them from shattering during battle.
Thick hair extends down minotaurs' necks and powerful backs, and some have long patches of hair on their chins and cheeks. Their legs end in heavy, cloven hooves, and they have long, tufted tails. Minotaur priests often adorn themselves with sacred items, be they trophies from fallen foes, keepsakes from their homeland, or naturally occurring marks of their god's favor.
Genetics and Reproduction
Minotaurs reproduce sexually. They have a similar reproductive cycle to other soulborn, in that the females are able to reproduce twelve times a year; as they are a highly sexual culture this limitation does not prevent them from having sex more often than that.
Once a cow, the minotaur term for an adult female, becomes pregnant, gestation will last for nine months. An infant minotaur, calf, is as helpless as a halfling baby and requires an equal amount of care. A calf will become an adolescent, females are heifers, males are bull calves, at ten. They are full adults, both physically and socially, by fifteen.
Dietary Needs and Habits
In stark contrast to the bovines that they resemble, minotaur are strict carnivores - the bloodier the better. The eating of other intelligent soulborn is not only permitted in their culture, but is encouraged and serves as their primary source of sustenance. These other soulborn generally come from raids or battlefields, though there are known 'meat markets' in various progeny cities that cater to such unholy appetites. They believe that devouring an enemy shows total dominion over it.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
In the labyrinthine polises of the Myrenaean Peninsula, the deeds of minotaur champions are carved among the winding halls. Minotaurs often name their children after these great heroes, believing that a child will inherit the strength, audacity, guile, or fearsomeness of a heroic namesake. Other minotaur parents invent their own names, though, believing in their child's potential and the brightness of their own soul.
Female Names: Bozzri, Dhazdoro, Erinimachis, Ghalantzo, Halafoti, Kerania, Mitévra, Philoprodis, Tavromiki, Ypoudoris
Male Names: Bamvros, Fotiyinos, Halafotios, Keranios, Menetavro, Nikavros, Prodos, Rhordon, Tavrostenes, Thyrogog
Beauty Ideals
Strength and solidness are what every minotaur strives to embody. Large and polished horns are a sign of a healthy minotaur.
Minotaur do not believe in marring the body with tattoos. However, they will engrave their horns and adorn their hooves with metal shoes and caps. Those that wish to show off their wealth will have their horns inlaid with precious metals or even gemstones.
Relationship Ideals
Once a bull and cow decide to enter a mating agreement they will stay together until the next Year of the Hand. A mating agreement identifies what belongs to the bull and what belongs to the cow and how any items or wealth that are acquired during the agreement will be split when the agreement ends. There is no lenience for any sort of dalliance outside of a mating agreement. Being found guilty of such an offence is highly shameful and will result in the public removal of one's horns.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Minotaurs live in great tribes, composed of several clans. The warriors of the tribe, as well as the heads of every clan, swear oaths of loyalty to the Chief, who rules the tribe by virtue of his strength and prowess in battle. All who serve the chief do so voluntarily - Minotaurs hate nothing more than the idea of slavery or servitude, and every Minotaur would sooner die than claim to be any creature's servant. Every Minotaur is free to leave their tribe at any time they wish, and they make it very clear that they do not serve their leaders, but rather merely follow them. Minotaur Chiefs, lacking any institutionalized authority, must walk a fine line, vigorously defending their position through force.
Bloody duels over tribal policy are a daily occurrence, and the moment a Chief shows weakness, one or more of his followers invariably engage him in a duel to the death. Where once death settled all arguments, in the recent times the Minotaurs have become even more cruel. When a Warrior challenges the Chief, the loser of the duel is tortured and abjectly humiliated, so that when he is finally allowed to die (after a period of days), nobody would even think of following the humbled loser again. Losers of Tribal duels often leave the tribe to follow a different Chief, and a few even journey to the baffling lands of the other progeny (or even the culled) to find their fortunes there. Minotaur Warriors can earn great wages in a Lord's retinue or a mercenary company, although employing one can be just as dangerous.
Their natural cunning means they never get lost. As a result, they prefer to lair in mazes—whether natural or artificial—as this terrain gives them an advantage over would-be interlopers. If necessary, they will work studiously to alter their domains so they better suit their needs. They enjoy drawing travelers and adventurers into these labyrinths, where they can slay them with ease.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
One universally reviled Minotaur custom is their ancient practice of trophy taking - Minotaurs will butcher the bodies of their fallen foes, bearing away heads (usually with the jawbone torn away), ears, hands, feet, and even grislier trophies to adorn the walls of their strongholds. Every Chief's hall is decorated with his tribe's trophies, and Minotaurs are always eager to expand their collections.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Many minotaurs can't be trusted with non-minotaur races, since most other soulborn are their preferred meals,. They will generally do anything for a quick bite out of a sleeping party member, slave owner, or wandering villager. They are not welcomed in any cities of the culled, and received an immediate death sentence, or a stoning if caught. Or worse, they are hunted by multiple hunters seeking the thrill of giving the beasts a taste of their own medicine.
Origin/Ancestry
Sthyggexa, the Riddle of Things to Come
Lifespan
80 years
Average Height
7'6"
Average Weight
425 lbs.
Racial Stats
Minotaur
Minotaur
Ability Score Increase +2 Str, +1 Con
Size Medium
Speed 30ft
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