Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

This article is part of a series! Click here to see the other entries.

Centaurs are inspired by Greek myth, in which they were The Worst (with rare exceptions). They’ve been in D&D since at least the days of BECMI, which even had a supplement that made them playable.

The Lore

Fourth Edition centaurs are a good deal nicer than their mythological counterparts. Their culture venerates nature in its wilder aspects, and they have an extensive martial tradition. In other words: they’re quite rowdy and love a good fight. Kord and Melora are a lot more popular with them than Corellon, who is otherwise the go-to fey deity. I don’t know if the lore of the primal spirits had been finalized at this point, but centaurs also work great as primal spirit worshippers.

Centaurs like to live in areas that contain vast plains or steppes, but they like to build their settlements on hills or inside caves. The combination gives them a defensible position surrounded by clear sight lines all around, and also gives them the large space they need to run around and to grow their food.

Centaurs are not typically evil, but they’re territorial, mistrustful of strangers, and hate people who despoil nature. Dealing with them peacefully requires careful diplomacy that begins beyond arrow range. The prospective ambassador should spend great effort making their approach both obvious and obviously non-threatening. Once the centaurs recognize you for a friend, though, they can become steadfast allies.

Most centaur settlements are located in the Feywild, though there are some in the world bordering elven forests. Centaur law is simple, and most crimes carry banishment and exile as their punishment. Exiled centaur criminals could easily end up working with other villains.

The Numbers

Centaurs are Large Fey Humanoids, with low-light vision and a ground speed of 8. They have two signature abilities. The first is that their basic attacks do an extra die of damage when used in a charge. The other is a reaction called Quick Kick, which allows them to make a free kick attack against an enemy who moves into a position that flanks the centaur.

Centaur Hunter

If this was a PC, it would be a Twin Strike-spamming ranger. Hunters are Level 12 Artillery with 96 HP and all standard centaur traits.

They fight with classic horse archer tactics, using their superior mobility to keep away and fire on the move. Their main ranged attack is Lightning-Fast Arrows (range 25/50 vs. AC), a standard action that allows them to shoot twice. Though each individual arrow has low damage, the two combined almost line up with MM3 math.

Alternatively, they can use a Charge Arrow (ranged 25/50 vs. Fortitude) to do a bit more single-arrow damage, push the target 3 squares, and knock it prone. I’d say it’s not worth it unless the target is near a cliff or the hunter has melee buddies that would benefit from a prone enemy.

Once per encounter the hunter can speed up even more and deliver a Triple Shot (ranged 25/50 vs. AC), making three attacks whose individual damage is a bit higher.

If someone does manage to engage the hunter in melee, it can defend itself with a bastard sword… but it doesn’t really need to, since the Close-Combat Archer trait makes it not provoke opportunity attacks from the targets of its shots.

Centaur Ravager

The most likely melee buddy for the hunter, this is a barbarian-type. Ravagers are Level 12 Brutes with 150 HP and all standard centaur traits. They fight in melee with their bastard swords, and they can use a Berserk Rush (melee 1 vs. Fortitude; recharges when first bloodied) to do even more damage on a charge, push the target 2 squares, and knock them prone. When first bloodied, they also use Brash Retaliation, a free action attack that does high damage and pushes the targets 2 squares.

All of this suggests shock cavalry tactics: charge, fight in place for a bit, then move away and charge again. Though I guess ravagers have no problem staying in the thick of it either.

Centaur Mystic

A wise primal or divine spellcaster, the mystic takes a priestly role in centaur culture and advises the community on its duties towards nature and the spirits. In combat they use plant- and earth-themed magic.

Mystics are Level 13 Controllers with 132 HP and all standard centaur traits. They wield Reach 2 quarterstaffs which also acts as implements for their magic. The mainstay here is Rootwhip Staff, a melee spell that targets Reflex and does the same damage as a basic staff attack, but also slides the target 3 squares and slows it (save ends).

The mystic’s ranged options are big guns with limited ammo:

Ancestral Chargers is a Close Blast 5 that presumably summons ancestors spirits and has funky mechanics. It targets both Fortitude and Will: you make a single attack roll against both defenses. If the attack beats the target’s Will, they take high psychic damage; if it beats the target’s Fortitude they’re knocked prone and pushed 2 squares. This spell recharges when a friendly centaur within 10 squares drops to 0 hit points, which implies the recharge comes from summoning their recently departed spirit for one last strike.

Biting Earth (Area Burst 2 within 10; recharges when first bloodied) creates a zone that lasts for a turn and can be sustained with standard actions. The biting earth zone immobilizes all enemies within. These enemies can choose to take 3d8 damage to save against the effect as a free action. There’s no regular save, so if the enemy doesn’t want to take damage they’re stuck in place while the zone lasts. When the zone is sustained, the mystic can choose to move it up to 3 squares.

Once per encounter they can also use Mystic Resonance (minor action), which affects all allies within 10 squares. It heals them for 10 HP and allows them to roll a save.

Looks like you want to open with Ancestral Chargers here, and then use Biting Earth to try and hold the PCs in place for the ravagers and hunters to do their stuff.

Centaur Fey Charger

Fey chargers are significantly more powerful than the other centaurs we saw up until now, being better fighters and having a host of storm-themed powers. This would fit a warden or a paladin of Kord.

They’re level 18 Soldiers with 172 HP and all standard centaur traits. They wear mail and carry a shield in addition to the traditional centaur bastard sword, none of which slows them down.

They can fire Stabs of Lightning (ranged 10 vs. Reflex) do to lighthning damage at range while closing in, but the main event is the melee. Once an opening presents itself they close in with a Thunder Charge, a strong attack that does a mix of physical and lightning damage and carries a secondary Close Burst 2 attack that targets Fortitude, does thunder damage, knocks prone and marks for a turn.

Once engaged, their sword attacks mark for a turn, and they can use Thunder Hooves (melee 1 vs. Fortitude) as a reaction to attack anyone who ignores the mark and do thunder damage to them.

Centaur Campaigner

A legendary commander and champion of the centaur people with decades of military experience. The campaigner is a Level 25 Soldier (Leader) with all standard centaur traits and a good deal of supernatural wind- and storm-themed abilities. It wears plate, and carries a shield and a longsword.

The bonus charge damage of the longsword attack is thunder, and the Campaigner is all about that glorious impossible charge. Its Light Hoof trait allows it to ignore all difficult terrain, and Sky Bound (at-will free action) allows it to fly for the duration of its next move, though it must land at the end. If that isn’t possible the centaur will gently float down to the floor, so it doesn’t take fall damage but you might say its momentum gets kinda ruined.

When the campaigner’s charge hits it can use Three Thunder Assault to allow two allies within 10 squares of itself to charge as a free action. These charges deal a bit of bonus thunder damage as well. Combine this with other centaurs (maybe even other campaigners), and you have an instant massive cavalry charge!

Once engaged, Shock Trooper gives the campaigner a small bonus to damage while it’s adjacent to more than one foe. It can also use a maneuver called Hoofed Tornado to perform strong attacks on all enemies in a Close Burst 1, knocking them prone on a hit and marking them for a turn as an effect. This recharges when it’s first bloodied.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

Centaurs might be found as members of most fey-themed encounter groups, working alongside elves, eladrin, satyrs, and so on. I imagine the nastier sort of centaur might also work alongside shady customers such as banshrae, hags, or fomorians. For some of those you might want to do some level adjustment either of the centaurs themselves or their associates.

If you want your party to meet centaurs early, knocking 10 levels from the centaur hunter, ravager and mystic would be a good start, making them early-heroic NPCs/enemies.

The sample encounter we get is Level 23: a centaur campaigner plus two eladrin ghaeles of winter mounted on fell wyverns.

I like these centaurs! They can be either friend or foe depending on how they’re treated, and in any case the PCs might find a way to talk to them instead of fighting right away. They’re exactly what I look for in a NPC humanoid species. Their stat blocks also work well at giving the impression of a people for whom infantry tactics and cavalry tactics are the same thing.