Minotaur

Minotaurs were a strong and combative race of monstrous humanoids resembling bull–human hybrids. They were rare in Faerûn, outside of their labyrinth homes in the Underdark.

Description

Minotaurs were large, muscular humanoids. They had the head of a bull, upper torso, hands, and the body of a human, and hooved feet. Their fur and wild hair typically ranged from brown to black. The fur often covered forearms, chest, abdomen, and legs. Males were referred to as bulls and reached up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) in height, while females – cows, were similar in appearance, with broader hips, humanoid breasts, and reached only 7 feet (2.1 meters).

Minotaur bodies were of similar shape and build to that of an ogre. Their hands were huge and strong, ending in thick sharp yellow nails. Minotaurs were known to use claws in battle, but they were brittle and did not survive heavy use. Despite their heads being that of a bull, there were subtle differences in features between mundane beasts and minotaurs. Some were known to have cow-like tails; however, that trait was not common. Their snouts were thicker and longer than that of an animal, and bull-men had sharp carnivore teeth. Their canines were especially noticeable, and minotaurs never hesitated to bite their victims, prey, and opponents. Lastly, unlike bovines, minotaurs' eyes were positioned closer to the center of their faces, granting them good depth perception and another telltale evidence of their predatory nature.

The creatures' iconic feature – their horns – were very similar to normal bulls', slightly curving forward. Both males and females had similarly shaped huge horns. However, males' were longer and thicker on average. There were several horn coloring variations, and sometimes as many as three colors could be present. Minotaurs with dark fur often had dark yellow or brown horns. The shortest horns were around 1 foot (0.3 meters) and could reach up to three times that length.

Abilities

Minotaurs possessed almost uncanny tracking and navigational abilities and a superbly keen sense of smell. They could easily visualize any path they needed to take to get close to the prey.

All minotaurs were immune to maze spells.

Personality

Minotaurs were always ravenously hungry, a trait that only fueled their aggression. The youth showed little affection towards their mothers and fathers. Older females received no special treatment and were respected as long as they remained strong and physically superior to the youths. Overall, their society was patriarchal, and those females who were physically weaker than other members of the tribes were treated not much better than slaves. Younger minotaurs often stayed out of the way of older males just to avoid conflicts and brutal assertions of dominance. Adult minotaurs consumed copious amounts of alcohol and dueled over most things: treasures, females, power. Polygamy was common as bulls sought to father a great number of children. In some minotaur communities, males assembled harems of six-seven cows. In some fringe cases, infanticide was practiced in cases when a calf was born with physical deformities. Slavery was not unheard of. Some males kept weaker creatures as slaves while females were put in charge and allowed to take out their frustrations on their bulls' slaves. Despite that, minotaurs disliked torture.

Despite minotaurs' general brutality, they had the capability to be kind and empathetic.

Combat

Minotaurs were not highly intelligent but possessed instinctive cunning and were adept at ambush attacks. They were particularly skilled at hunting their prey. In general, minotaurs preferred melee combat and utilized their horns for charge attacks. Sound of rending flesh, breaking bones, and the scent of blood, sent minotaurs into a blood frenzy, leading to the monstrosities charging and rending any creature they saw.

They wore little to no armor, even when in combat. Their favorite weapons were two-handed poleaxes, presumably acquired through trade. Other commonly used arms included crude clubs, two-handed hammers, flails, and occasionally, short and thick spears. Ranged weapons were virtually never used.

Biology

Minotaurs were eternally hungry man-eating carnivores. Despite their ravenousness, they could survive without food for several years.

Like humans, minotaurs procreated throughout the year. However, as a society, they were guided by the need to replenish their numbers rather than emotions. A typical cow produced one calf; twins were a rare possibility and were considered a religious blessing among minotaurs (sometimes an ill omen). Minotaurs matured much faster than humans: a two-year-old calf had fully formed horns and could kill an orc in combat, a five-year-old minotaur towered over other humanoids, and by their tenth year - minotaurs were considered adults. Minotaurs were capable of procreation as early as three years old in some cases. Culturally, birthing a strong male warrior was considered the height of aspirations for a minotaur cow, while a bull aspired to father as many calves as possible.

Some sages speculated that minotaurs lived 80 years on average, but determining their longevity was challenging as many of them led violent lives and perished long before their natural expiration. A thirty-year-old minotaur was often thought to be a steeled veteran. The maximum lifespan was thought to be 200 years.

Minotaurs could prorate through mating among each other or with a human woman. Children born out of that union were always male minotaurs, however, at least one human with minotaur heritage existed in the Realms.

Society

A typical minotaur leader, also known as the elder, was the biggest and strongest bull in the tribe, which did not necessarily mean the most intelligent leader. The tribe's king led his fellow bulls into raids. Solitary minotaurs were a common occurrence, however, a clan could have eight members.

Minotaur youth were taught to fight and master weapons at an early age. In the minotaur society, combat education was done by parents and fellow male tribe members. Even while playing, minotaur children spent most of their time wrestling and fighting each other. Male calves developed brutal and cruel rivalries amongst each other from earliest childhood, and these feuds were encouraged by the adults.

Minotaurs were proud of their horns and often spent their free time sharpening, cleaning, and polishing them with old rags or furs. In some minotaur societies, the color of their horns determined their status within the community and attractiveness. In minotaur tribes that preferred darker-colored horns, individuals often used oils and polishes to artificially darken them. Decorations were common as well. Brass and silver tacks and spikes were used to accentuate the horns' natural appeal. Repaired severed horns were common in tribes with talented crafters or skilled allies who knew how to work metals. After a duel, the winner customarily took the left horn of their opponent, often leaving the opponent maimed and badly injured. These horns were hollowed out and turned into wind musical instruments, and stronger individuals often owned several.

Apart from horn decorations, minotaurs rarely wore any other type of jewelry. The closest to what humans consider decorations among minotaurs were fanciful girdles or gauntlets. Sages speculated that minotaurs were known to easily adapt traditions and norms from other races and societies in lieu of their own culture. Of course, those cultural norms that were aimed at aggression and intimidation were highly preferred and emulated.

When interacting with other races, minotaurs got along well with ogres. They respected giants and trolls for their strength. Smaller humanoids, such as humans, elves, dwarves, and others, were considered beneath minotaurs in all senses of the word. Bulls could not, or didn't care enough to distinguish one humanoid from another. Gnolls and minotaurs hated each other and immediately attacked each other on sight.

Religion

Many minotaurs worshiped the demon lord Baphomet and kept themselves, and their society, secluded. Most were inclined to evil and chaotic acts and did not work well in groups, packs, or even parties due to their solitary hunter-like nature. Levels of reverence and even religious traditions varied greatly among different minotaur communities.

Priests decorated their horns with carved pictograms. The images were filled with blood to darken the designs, and finally, the horns were stained with yellowing agents. Instead of priestly garb, minotaur priests decorated their bodies with soil, dirt, plant matter, and blood spilled in battle. Gnoll blood was the preferred decoration for a reason known to none but priests themselves. The worship was centered on sacrificial ceremonies that took place in the heart of labyrinthine minotaur homes, adorned with bones of precious victims. The most common sacrifice was a human. Minotaur clerics received little respect apart from the respect earned through physical strength. However, horns collected from defeated bull priests were considered extremely valuable.

Death was not feared in minotaur society. On the contrary, death was considered to be a holy event. Minotaurs thought good death to be quick, clean, and in a rush of battle. Honor kills were a staple of minotaurs' cultural and religious creed.

Magic

Arcane spellcasting was extremely rare among minotaurs as most lacked the curiosity to pursue the Art. Minotaurs could be easily fooled by wizardly spells. However, if the duping was discovered, the magic and its caster were treated with extreme prejudice.

Divine magics granted to clerics were seldom of healing nature, instead, being battle-focused. Magics such as bull's strength were the most used.

Magic items held little value for most minotaurs and were traded away for other valuables or alcohol most of the time.

Language

Minotaur language was very similar to the Ogre language, allowing those who were proficient in one tongue quickly pick up the intricacies of the other. One unique part of the Minotaur language was a number of vocalizations only known and comprehendible by their own kin, reminiscent of grunts and sounds emitted by mundane cattle bulls, by some accounts.

Homelands

Minotaurs were most likely found in their underground labyrinthine homes, dungeons, or thickest of forests. Sometimes evil wizards were known to place a clan of minotaurs inside a labyrinth and feeding them interlopers and adventurers. There, minotaurs' innate sense of direction prevented them from getting lost. They often made their money by plundering and raiding passers by, but also sought employment as mercenaries, fighters and servants. Minotaurs were also often kept as slaves by Underdark inhabitants, such as mind flayers and drow.

A reasonably sized population could be found in found within the Underdark in an area known as the Labyrinth, and an occasionally – in the underground city of Skullport in Undermountain, as of the late 14th century DR.

Ecology

In the ancient Empire of Netheril, minotaur tail hairs were used to make special braided brushes. These items were used in arcane magic rituals. Oil of minotaur musk was a rare commodity imported into Waterdeep and often imitated and faked by some industrious individuals. Minotaur parts were used in creation of certain potions and as material components for spells that dealt with physical strength, location, and misdirection, one notable use being a minotaur's heart used in creation and animation of fearsome minogon constructs. Powdered horn of a minotaur was the main component in oil of impact. The same material was the material component needed to cast the Old Empires spell – Horns of Hathor.

This article uses material from the “Minotaur” article on the Forgotten Realms wiki at Fandom and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.