A people with no nation, the minotaurs have become a nomadic people since the fall of their great empire at the hands of the cyclops. Now they travel the Known World in small bands known as Houses; pale shadows of the greatness they once were, the minotaur people seek to reclaim their place in the world and history.
Personality: Minotaurs once believed in the superiority of their race above all others. The loss of their homeland and their greatness has been a humbling experience for them and many of the younger ones have started to rethink their place among the people of the Known World. Once they were conquerors, a force to be reckoned with on land and sea, now they travel the four corners of the Known World, often times living off of the generosity of those they would have once assimilated into their own empire. Elder minotaurs still believe in the "glory of the empire" and believe that through the will and the strength of Bael they will rise to greatness once again. Younger minotaurs understand that their world has changed and they need to adapt to this new existence. They realize that their numbers have been decimated and their "allies" -- whether they were true allies or forced -- have severed all ties with them, leaving them on their own. They seek to atone for the selfish ways of their people and create true allegiances rather than conscripted slave states.
No matter what their world outlook is, all minotaurs are very proud people and still seek to keep the minotaur culture and presence alive in the Known World. It is still the belief of all minotaurs that should they vanish (a very real possibility with their dwindling numbers) the world will be lesser for it. Every three years this sense of pride in who they are, what they were, and what they will become, is celebrated at a great gathering called the Circus Maximus. At every gathering, a House is declared the host of the next circus, and it is this house's duty to select the location of the Circus Maximus and build the Grande Arena that will be the centerpiece of the events. The Circus Maximus is a weeks worth of gladiatorial games, competitions, art, performance, food and revelry, as well as worship of Bael. The circus was once closed to all outsiders, being a celebration of the minotaurs' superiority through physical competition. Since the fall of the empire however, the gates of the Circus Maximus have been opened to all races and people of the Known World who wish to partake in the celebration, and even those who wish to participate! The Circus Maximus has become one of the most anticipated events of the Known World among most races.
Minotaurs have a very strong sense of honor, so strong it rivals that of the elves. To the minotaurs bravery and honor go hand-in-hand, and many minotaurs enter the arena in a quest for personal glory during times of peace.
Despite minor physical differences among the males and females of the species, the minotaurs do not distinguished based on gender. A rare thing indeed in the Known World, women are just as prevalent among the ranks of the centurions just as much as males are. Though many outside races do not see it this way. Females among the species, after bearing young, do often times stay at home to care for the children. This is not a decision based so much on gender as it is logic. The females of the herd group (family unit among minotaurs) are naturally equipped to nurse the young in the early years of their lives. When the calves grow, it is the mother who is responsible for their education in the arts, religion, and combat. The mother is also the last line of defense for the household should they ever come under attack, a fact that lead to the death of over half the female minotuars when they stood against the cyclops.
Currently there are more male minotaurs than female. Not only are they a nomadic race, they are dying.
Physical Description: Minotaurs are physically imposing, standing between 6 1/2 and 7 1/2 feet in height and weighing between 300 to 400 pounds. A minotaur's upper body is humanoid, with broad shoulders, a deep chest, and strong arms ending in fully articulate hands. For the most part, the legs are also humanlike, although their feet end in cleft hooves. Their powerful bodies are covered in short, thick fur, ranging in hue from red to brown, with rare occurrences of black, tan, or white-furred individuals. Minotaur heads are clearly bovine in nature. They have large, deep-set eyes in shades of dark brown and black. Minotaur males have short, yellow-white horns that grown from their temples, 6 to 12 inches long for females, and anywhere from 1 to 2 feet long for males. The size and shape of a minotaur's horns is often seen as a sign of masculinity and virility among them. Minotaur manes are a shade or two darker than their fur.
Relations: Relations among the minotaurs and the other peoples of the Known World have changed drastically since the fall of their empire. Those they once viewed as either enemies or conscripts they are now forced to see as allies. Most of the western races fear the minotaur people, whether it is because of their "monstrous" appearance or stories of the ruthlessness of the minotaur legions. Hobbits never feel at ease around these hulking creatures and gnomes while not outright fearing them, do tend to view them with an air of caution. Minotaurs view humans with suspicion as well; they see them as a people without honor, and while this is not something unique to the humans, the minotaurs have witnessed, and been disgusted by, the ease with which a human will turn on his own people. A feeling that has become even stronger since the the fall of the empire and the minotaurs realizing the importance of unity among a people.
Relations between the minotaurs and dwarves are strained at best. Even after the fall of the empire, many minotaur outposts in the north remain active and they still claim land in the lowlands of Dwarland as their own. While open warfare has not erupted between the two, there are those on both sides that feel conflict is inevitable should things continue the way they are going. Something the minotaurs secretly wish to avoid at all costs. They are currently attempting to make allies with the lowlander clans. There is an unspoken respect between the minotaurs and the firbolgs of the north.
To the east, many minotaurs have found a home, at least temporarily, with the elven clans. The codes of honor between the two races align perfectly, and both find honor among in combat. These, among other similarities, have forged lasting friendships between the two races. So much so that there are more than a few elven clans that count a minotaur house among their numbers. A minotaur centurion will never achieve the same standing as a samurai, but there are more than a few that are among a daimyo's ranks. The minotaurs are viewed by the elves much the same way they view the tengu or yuan-ti. Open hostilities often spring up between the minotaur and orc tribes.
Despite both hailing from the south, minotaurs do not understand the thri-kreen. They do not understand their hive mind, their social structure, or much of anything about the insectoid race. This does not mean they fear or revile the thri-kreen, they are just frustratingly confused by them. Gnolls hail from much farther south than the minotaurs, coming from the desert lands of the Dune Sea. Contact between these two races are infrequent, but often bloody when it does occur. There is a theory that somehow the gnolls and minotaurs distantly related; a theory neither race is fond of. Of all the races of the world the hatred of the minotaurs is greatest for the cyclops. Savage one-eyes giants, the two species have waged war upon each other for generations, it was only recently, within the last 40 years, that the cyclops finally claimed victory and fought the minotaurs back to the core of their once mighty empire, having felled an entire nation in three nights of blood and flame.
Alignment: At the height of the Minotian Empire, the minotaurs believed they were the destined rulers of the Known World. This belief, whether it was earned or not, led the minotaurs to have a sense of superiority towards anyone they encountered, and they believed in the purity of the minotaur race. During these days the minotaur alignment was strongly Lawful Evil. Since their fall from glory and their humbling the minotaurs, as a people, have seen a decided shift in their alignment as they have come to rely on the support of others and have shifted to Lawful Neutral. It is possible that over time they will wholly change to that of Lawful Good after a while.
Minotaur Lands: While they once claimed domain of arguably the mightiest empire in the Known World, the minotaurs no longer have a home to call their own. After their defeat and subsequent exile at the hands of the cyclops, the minotaurs have become drifters, nomads, calling home wherever their travels happen to take them.
Minotaurs travel in tightly knit groups called "houses." Others would see these nomadic groups and call them clans or tribes, but the minotaurs insist on calling them houses; one of the few remaining links to their past. Once the great houses of the empire dictated the laws and direction of the empire, now they are traveling tent cities that drift from one haven to another, looking for sustenance and a livelihood wherever they can find it. The loss of their empire, their home, is a stain upon their honor -- one the minotaurs may never recover from. It is this dishonor that does not allow them to settle in a new land for very long; they feel as long as their home still exists, they shall never settle another. Of course now that time has passed a new generation of minotaurs are coming into their own, a generation that either never knew their "home," or has distant memories of it, this attitude is very likely to change.
The Minotian Empire was undoubtedly the most expansive domain in the Known World. They ruled over most of the southern lands and had expansion as far as Dwarland in the north. These expansion territories, while technically part of the empire, were little more than small keeps and fortresses that housed a token occupational force that allowed the minotaurs to say they had lands in the north. Many of these outposts are still active and under the command of the legionnaire who was command of the outpost. These small bastions of minotaurs are trying to establish alliances with the dwarven clans in proximity to them.
The minotaurs never made it to the east before the fall of the empire. Many philosophers and military minds wonder what would have happened should the minotaurs, at their height of their power, encountered the elven empire.
Religion: The minotaurs' chief deity is a being named Bael. In the strictest sense, Bael is not a god. Instead he is a minotaur warrior of legend who's deeds were so great, and his sword arm so might, that when he refused to die he rewarded for his heroics and valor by being ascended into the heavens by a the powers of light. While he existed in the heavens, Bael, along with many others, became disgusted with the arrogance and hubris of those that called themselves "gods." His animosity towards those that elevated him became so great that during the Sundering, Bael himself sided with the likes of Asmodeus and Lucifer. When the rebels of the heavens lost, he was cast down into the Pit with the rest of them.
Bael is revered and worshiped by the minotaurs because of his loyalty to those he sided with. When it was becoming apparent that the rebellion was going to fail, he did not disavow his allegiance to Lucifer, his honor would not allow it, and he accepted his fate with the rest. Bael was a general both in life, in the heavens, and in the Pit as well. There he leads the 66 legions of Great Mammon's Iron Legion, and is responsible for the protection of the city of Minauros on the third layer of Hell.
In addition to the worship of Bael, the minotaurs share another similarity with the elves; the worship of those that came before them. Deemed "household gods," these spirits that the minotaurs pray to help to guide a herd's day to day lives, help them make the proper decisions, and takes care of them in times of need.
Language: All minotaurs speak their own language called minoan. The empire was so far reaching and imposed its will even upon those who were not the empire that minoan is to the southern lands what common or elvenese is to the west and east respectively. Bonus languages for the minotaurs are cyclops, elvenese, giant, gnoll, infernal, and kreen (understand only).
Names: Minotaurs take pride in their names, like they do most things. Especially their herd or house name. Most minotaurs can trace their lineage back for hundreds of generations and recount the great deeds their ancestors were credited for (whether they are true or not remains a mystery).
Minotaur Family Names: Common family/house names include Anagnos, Galantas, Martok, Nicoli, Remes, Stamas, Tomaras, and Zervas.
Minotaur Male Names: Achilles, Basil, Cyrill, Erastus, Jason, Leonidas, Nestor, Nicodemus, Odysseus, Piers, and Xander.
Minotaur Female Names: Adoni, Elektra, Furiosa, Hermione, Io, Kallisto, Kalypso, Leda, Mariah, Persephone, Reah, and Xenia.
MINOTAUR RACIAL TRAITS
