HARP: The World of Tarn

The Races of Tarn: Minotaurs

Special Notes: Minotaurs use the statistics of the Gryx from the HARP book. The only different being they have no night vision; instead their horns allow them to make a medium puncture attack with their brawl or martial arts attack skill.

Summary:

The following are accepted truths about minotaurs:

• While many minotaurs are evil, some are neutral. Good minotaurs are rare.
• Minotaurs are proud and aggressive, inclined toward battle.
• Minotaurs have a severe mistrust of magic, mages, and magical races.
• Minotaurs are not quick thinkers, caring little for intellectual progress.
• Minotaurs have a taste for the flesh of fey and gnomes, their archenemies.
• Read, understand and accept the following help file.

History: Created out of Tyorl's rage and redeemed by Morgath, the minotaurs are one of the strongest warrior races in all of Tarn. Their history is full of warfare and uncounted battles. Many hundreds of years ago, minotaurs were c onsidered simple-minded creatures whose sole purpose and value was as warriors, as front-line fodder in the armies of men. The minotaurs themselves relished their work, enjoying the throes of battle more than anything else. Over time, and as the minotaurs grew in numbers and established themselves in the icy region of Glacia, they evolved beyond being simple soldiers and advanced in other fields, including trade. Their passion still remains on the battlefield, and it is almost impossible to find a minotaur without battle-experience. Minotaurs also grew over time to distrust magic, likely because they were unable to understand or master it. The minotaur mage is a rare sight indeed. Along with this came distrust for many of the more magical creatures of Tarn, which resulted in many raids and assaults. The minotaurs also took a disliking to the gnomes that settled in Glacia, and again this perpetuated acts of violence and war. In the current times, most minotaurs still reside in the frigid wastelands of Glacia, although many have moved on across the entire lands of Tarn.

Description: Minotaurs are large, bovine-like humanoids with bullish heads and horns that vary in color from ivory to black. They typically tower over all other sentient races, except for the giants. Their bodies are covered in fur that ranges in color from black to brown to carrot orange. The fur can be long and shaggy or quite short. Their feet are modified h ooves with bony soles. Minotaurs can have eyes of many colors, ranging from ice blue to gray to brown. Their faces are a mix of bovine and humanoid features, with a broad, flat nose and large, circular eyes. Since minotaurs are most often raised as warriors of som e kind, their bodies are well-toned and muscled. Their minds on the other hand, are somewhat dull, although they do have a good deal of common sense when dealing with other races in social situations. They are not completely mindless beasts, although quite aggressive nonetheless.

Minotaurs have a very sturdy and thick bone structure, which makes their bodies resistant to the rough and tumble life they usually lead. Their heads are harder than granite, which has drawn some humor from the dwarves that work granite quarries.

Sample images: Minotaur Warrior | Minotaur Guard

Personality: Minotaurs are a proud and aggressive race. They will stand up to anyone that challenges them and most often will fight until their dying breath. Minotaurs will rarely back down in any situation, and can often be quick to react to insults or seemingly aggressive actions. Their strength and sturdiness make them excellent warriors, barbarians, mercenaries and soldiers - any occupation or task that involves brute strength, willpower and bravery is typically well suited for a minotaur.

Minotaurs do have a severe mistrust of magic and in fact find themselves at a great disadvantage when fighting those that possess magical abilities. The minotaur mage is a very rare sight indeed.

Most minotaurs are not quick thinkers and care little for intellectual progress. However minotaurs can possess a hidden wisdom that has been passed down from generation to generation.

Minotaurs have no definitive racial biases, although many have grown accustom to the taste of gnome and Fey flesh. Other races that have strong ties to the web of life and lean towards the skills of magic, such as high elves, are often mistrusted as well.

Since minotaurs were wrought from the anger of Tyorl, they tend to lean towards the path of Darkness, and it is not uncommon to find minotaurs that are cruel and malicious. However, Morgath helped to offer balance to the race and so minotaurs will also walk the path of Neutrality or even Light. This provides quite a wide spectrum of personalities based on their chosen paths and the environments that directed them towards those paths. Although minotaurs can walk all paths, which causes great divergence within their ranks, they all typically share the common traits of being aggressive and inclined towards battle.