Centaur, Noble (4e Race)

Noble Centaur

By Wesley Burt

Noble centaurs are a proud race of half-man, half-horse creatures that live amongst humankind as knights and hunters.

Racial Traits

Average Height: 6'2" – 7'00"

Average Weight: 320 – 450 lb.

Ability Scores: +2 Strength; +2 Constitution or +2 Wisdom

Size: Medium

Speed: 7 squares

Vision: Low-light

Languages: Common, Elven

Skill Bonuses: +2 Athletics, +2 Nature

Fey Origin: You are native to the Feywild, so you are considered a fey creature for the purpose of effects that relate to creature origin.

Liminal Being: You cannot ride another creature. You may allow a Small creature to ride you.

Surefooted: You gain a +4 bonus to Acrobatics checks made to balance on an unstable surface.

Quick Kick: You have the Quick Kick power.

Centaur Heritage: When your centaur character gains a class utility power after 1st level, you can forgo taking a power granted to you by your class. Instead, you gain a noble centaur utility power of the same level or lower.

Quick Kick	Centaur Racial Power
You kick out violently to attack those trying to gain an advantageous position at your flank.
Encounter
Immediate Reaction	Melee 1
Trigger: A creature moves into a space where they flank you.
Target: The triggering enemy
Attack: Strength +2 Vs. AC
Hit: 1d6 + Strength modifier damage.
Level 11: Strength + 4; 2d6 damage Level 21: Strength + 6; 3d6 damage

Noble centaurs are a half-horse, half-humanoid people whose ancestors came from the feywild. They have since spread throughout the world, and typically live in large tribes in the wilderness. Many integrated into the civilizations of mankind. Over time became embroiled in the higher strata of feudal society, as they are highly valued as knights on the battlefield. They love battle, and are fiercely protective of their clan and territory.

Play a noble centaur if you want...

• to be tough, and fast.
• to move easily around the battlefield.
• to be a member of a race that favors the fighter(knight) and Ranger(hunter) classes.

Physical Qualities

Noble centaurs stand over 6 feet tall and weigh well over 400 pounds. They are strongly built and highly agile. Their lower halves vary in color as widely as horses do, with hair of chestnut, palomino, black, and in centaur communities near particularly magic-infused regions of the Feywild, even gleaming white like a celestial charger or unicorn is possible. The skin on their torso is usually a light tan, but pale and other human colors exist, though rare. Centaurs wear their head-hair long, and it typically ranges from red to dark brown. Centaur head-hair is not necessarily the same color as their body hair, and in fact, this is rarely the case. Their eyes are usually vibrant green or blue and their ears are pointed, much like eladrin or elves.

Centaur do not live quite as long as humans do. They mature quickly, reaching adulthood at about 16 years, and rarely live past the age of 60. However, even the oldest centaur retains the strength and agility of its youth.

Playing a Noble Centaur

Noble centaurs are creatures opposed to their innately brash nature. They are like Chiron in that sense, who taught heroes whilst his brethren stole away maidens and pillaged. While they value their strength in battle, they are at peace with their bestial half, rather than allowing it to take over. In a sense, they are like the noble savage trope.

Centaur Characteristics: Brash, daring, ferocious, powerful, quick, restless, spiritual, tough.

Male Names: Abraxas, Aethon, Agrippas, Balios, Bion, Ektor, Eton, Linos, Phlegon, Xanthos.

Female Names: Adrasteia, Aella, Amethea, Damali, Erika, Iris, Melina, Phoibe, Priscilla, Selene.

Noble Centaur Adventurers

Three sample noble centaur adventurers are described below.

Magdalene is a noble centaur shaman. Although her magic favors powers of thunder and lightning, she stands as a point of tranquility in the storm. To her friends, she seems above the world’s tumult, present in their midst but clearly apart by her nature. Her dreams call her to the forests and, in her mind, she walks among the ageless trees of the Feywild.

Theras is a noble centaur hunter. He moves with the grace of a panther and can be uncannily silent when he chooses. He takes no delight in killing but uses lethal attacks as a practical matter, to protect himself and his allies. He dreams of ultimately establishing a new settlement in a place where people can live in peace and freedom. He is aware of his life’s contradiction: He is a creature of the wilderness, but his dream is to tame and cultivate it. A part of him wonders whether he would be able to settle in the village he dreams of founding.

Cornelius is a noble centaur knight. His armor is practical, lacking any decoration, and his sword is intended only for battle, not as a mark of prestige. Often he fights against evil forces that prey on the weak, whether the forces are bandits harrying caravans or gnolls laying waste to farmsteads. He refuses to let fighting define him, however, and spends more time helping the victims of hardship than he does celebrate his successes. He worships Kord as a guiding figure, helping him use his great strength to protect others without leading to wanton destruction.

Noble Centaur Feats

Heroic Tier Racial Feats

Name	Description
Noble Centaur Weapon Training	You gain proficiency and a +2 feat bonus to damage rolls with spears and polearms.
Thunder Hooves	When you use quick kick against a target that is marked by you, the target takes 5 thunder damage if you hit or miss it.

Paragon Tier Racial Feats

Name	Description
Fey Charger	You are a charger par excellence.

Epic Tier Racial Feats

Name	Description

Noble Centuar Racial Utility Powers

When your centaur character gains a class utility power after 1st level, you can forgo taking a power granted to you by your class. Instead, you gain a centaur utility power of the same level or lower.

Path of the Fey: You have traveled through many kinds of dangerous terrain throughout your life in the Feywild. You know that you can't always avoid such places and must be able to pass through them unscathed. In battle you apply that same principle, moving through dangerous terrain as if it wasn't there.

Path of the Fey	Centaur Utility 2
You easily pick a path through the underbrush, and dash through it without a second thought.
At-Will  Primal
Move Action	Personal
Effect: You move your speed. During this movement, you ignore difficult terrain that is a result of trees, underbrush, or other natural growth.

Trample: You use your powerful body to storm your foe, knocking him to the ground before you.

Trample	Centaur Utility 6
You charge into your foe and trample him to the ground.
Encounter  Martial
Free Action	Melee 1
Trigger: You hit with a charge attack
Target: One creature
Effect: You knock the target prone.

Regroup	Centaur Utility 10
You dash away from the fight and gain a crucial moment to recover.
Daily  Martial, Healing
Immediate Reaction	Special
Trigger: An enemy attack bloodies you
Effect: You spend a healing surge and shift up to half your speed.

Sky Bound	Centaur Utility 16
No wings appear on your back, but you leap from the ground as if to take flight, and the strength of your powerful legs carry you high and far.
Encounter  Martial
Move Action	Personal
Effect: You gain a fly speed of 8 until the end of your turn. If your turn ends while you are still flying, you swiftly descend and land without taking falling damage. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

Feyborn Enchanted Step: As a child of the Feywild, you are blessed with subtle magical protection and an uncanny grace that belies your stature. Your enemies have a harder time hitting you, and when a blow does hit it allows you the chance to slip away.

Feyborn Enchanted Step	Centaur Utility 22
The air around you shimmers in distracting waves, making it more difficult for your foes to land their attacks against you.
Daily  Primal
Minor Action	Personal
Effect: Until the end of your next turn, enemies take a -2 penalty to attack rolls against you. Whenever an enemy hits you, you can use an immediate reaction to shift 1 square.
Sustain Minor: The effect persists until the end of your next turn.

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