Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
Centaurs gallop throughout the multiverse and trace their origins to many different realms. The centaurs presented here hail from the Feywild and mystically resonate with the natural world. Powerful and curious, quick to act and knowledgeable of the wider world, centaurs seek to experience life's boundless bounty.
Centaurs have the upper bodies, down to the waist, of muscular humans, displaying all the human variety of skin tones and features. Their ears are slightly pointed, but their faces are wider and squarer than those of elves. Below the waist, they have the bodies of small horses, with a similar range of coloration — from various shades of chestnut or bay to dappled or even zebra-like striped patterns. Most centaurs style their hair and their tails in a similar way.
The upper bodies of centaurs are comparable to human torsos in size, and their lower equine bodies average about 4 feet tall at the withers. Though they are smaller than a human rider mounted on a horse, they fill similar roles as cavalry warriors, messengers, outriders, and scouts.
Centaurs have an affinity for the natural world. Centaurs celebrate life and growth, and the birth of a foal is always cause for festivities. At the same time, they revere the traditions of the past, their leaders and shamans acting as voices of memory and history, preserving old ways and keeping alive the legends of ancestral heroes. They feel a close kinship with wild animals, perhaps because of their own horse-like bodies, and delight in the feeling of running alongside herds and packs of other beasts.
Centaurs sense the interconnectedness of the natural world. Thus, they celebrate family and community as microcosms of that greater connection. They have a strong clan identity and centaurs are fiercely loyal to their individual communities. Not ones to settle in permanent homes, though, centaurs might be found wherever there are wonders to be witnessed and adventures to be had.
Centaurs’ given names are passed down through family lines. The name bestowed on a new foal is typically the name of the most recently deceased family member of the same gender, keeping alive the memory — and, the centaurs believe, some shard of the spirit — of the departed. Centaurs don’t use family names, but they wear symbols that represent their family membership. These symbols might include graphical representations of plants or animals, printed mottoes, braids and beads worn in the hair and tail, or even specific patterns of woven fabric.
Male Names: Bonmod, Boruvo, Chodi, Drozan, Kozim, Milosh, Ninos, Oleksi, Orval, Radovas, Radom, Rostis, Svetyos, Tomis, Trijiro, Volim, Vlodim, Yarog
Female Names: Daiva, Dunja, Elnaya, Galisnya, Irinya, Kotyali, Lalya, Litisia, Madya, Mira, Nedja, Nikya, Ostani, Pinya, Rada, Raisya, Stasolya, Tatna, Zhendoya, Zoria