Leonine Centaurs- Auro'Tar

Dwelling in the arid savannah of the north, the Leonine Centaurs are a primitive race of traders and warriors. Their territorial attitudes cause a problem for the Freelance miltia, as their territory surrounds the only highway between Freelance and Aysen. Still, they are tolerated due to their hatred of the Hobgoblins, which means they sometimes ally with the Freelance army to fight along Fortitude River. They are also avid traders, and their presence is of great benefit to the Freelance economy. Known throughout the world as Leonine Centaurs, these mysterious beasts call themselves the Auro'Tar. Known for their steadfast loyalty, and adherence to a strict martial code, Leonine Centaurs are feared and respected across the Known World.

Personality: Leonine Centaurs are predjudiced against other races, a natural consequence of their primitive and secluded lifestyle. They are dependent entirely upon nature, and do not see the value of technology. They only tolerate the elemental magic practiced by their Witch Doctors, and do not believe in gods, preferring to believe that the world is governed by nature.

Physical Appearance:Leonine Centaurs combine the best features of humanity and lions, the strength of a natural predator coupled with the intellect of humans. Their lower body is that of a lion, with fur ranging from a deep brown to the more common gold. It is rumoured that some white-furred Leonine Centaurs dwell in the Daggerspeak Mountains, but such rumours are unsubstantiated. Their upper bodies are muscular and tanned, with those of females being well proportioned. Upon close examination, fine golden hair can be seen covering the skin. Their faces are leonine, with broad noses and deep set eyes, usually black. Their mouths are full of sharp teeth, making their smile unsettling. They have thick 'manes' of shaggy hair, usually blonde, but it can take on other shades. Witch Doctors often dye their hair in bright shades of red and blue. Leonine Centaurs wear no clothing, but do wear jewellery of their own design such as bracelets, anklets, necklaces and crowns.

Relations: The natural predjudice of the Leonine Centaurs does not endear them to most races, and they do not seek to have friendly relationships with anyone. They despise hobgoblins, their only real rival for land and food, and hold no love for other goblinoids. They tolerate humanity, out of respect for their military power, but see other races as strange, and often reserve judgement until they have learnt how a race 'works'. The Leonine Centaurs have an ancient enmity towards centaurs, one which they cannot explain. Witch Doctors know something of an ancient war between the two races, but refuse to speak on such things with outsiders.

Alignment: The enclosed society of the Leonine Centaurs means they do not often take the side of good or evil in conflicts, seeing outside occurences of little consequence. They only ally when it benefits them, but do have compassion, and rarely do acts that would be considered murderous (such as killing a child or lost women), preferring to instead enslave those they find. They tend towards lawful, as they are a strict society, in which rule breakers are often exiled.

Leonine Centaur Lands: The Leonine Centaurs act as sole controllers of the northern savannah, with their only real rivals being the Hobgoblins in the north and the Wannith in the east. Each tribe or pride has control of a small pocket of Leonine land, which always has plentiful game and a source of water. They are territorial in the extreme, but rarely resort to violence when infringement comes from their own kind.

Religion: The Leonine Centaurs do not worship gods, preferring to believe that nature is the one true god. They worship the land which gave birth to them, and see death as a return to the soil. For this reason, they practice burial much like that of humans. The Leonine Centaurs once had a rich pantheon, known in its entirety only by the highest ranking Witch Doctors.

Languages: All Leonine Centaurs speak their tongue, a combination of growls with some dialect of Sylvan, further evidence that they share a common origin with their equine enemies. A large percentage (45%) of Leonine Centaurs also speak common and trader, with all Witch Doctors being able to speak perfect Sylvan. Most males can also speak Goblinoid, and use this to hurl insults at their hated foes. Leonine Centaurs have also been known to learn Wannith, and the languages of other races they encounter.

Names: Leonine Centaurs do not possess names in the true sense of the word, and instead go by the name of their tribe and the month of the Leonine calender in which they were born. This causes confusion around outsiders, who often meet three or four people with identical names, but to the Leonine Centaurs, a slight variation in the depth or length of a growl can give a name a totally different meaning. Leonine Months: Ahn, Yss, Katar, Gr'man, Leo, Tarant, Sye, Rudein and Hym. Clan Names: There are over fourty clans or prides of the Leonine Centaurs, and it is up to a player or DM to decide upon a clan name. A few examples are Hellforge, North Ridge, Deep Valley and Open Plains. Most tribes take their name from the ancesteral land they inhabit.

Adventurers: Leonine Centaurs, despite their loyalty to their land, often chose to seek adventure in the world outside their lands. Some are driven by curiosity, or eagerness to prove themselves, whilst others go out in search of the origins of their race. Some quest to rid the world of Hobgoblins while others seek to avenge past wrongs such as invasion or murder. A lot of Leonine Centaurs trade as a profession, and sometimes decide to stay in the city, where they can experience everything humanity has to offer.

Leonine Centaur Racial Traits

•+2 Strenth, -2 Intelligence and Charisma. The Leonine race is hardened by its life in an arid environment, but they do not see the value of knowledge.

•Medium Size: As a medium sized creature, Leonine have no special benefits or penalties due to their size.

•Leonine Centaurs have a speed of thirty feet.

•A Leonine Centaur character always starts play with 4 ranks of the Ride skill. This does not allow them to ride other mounts, it merely allows them to take riding related skills to simulate the fact that they are quadrupeds. A Leonine Centaur cannot use its Ride check in place of their armour class.

•Leonine Centaurs can fight with their forepaws, whilst still gripping weapons in their human arms. These forepaws receive a +2 bonus to hit, and inflict 1d4 points of damage each. When used in conjunction with weapon attacks, the paws do not receive a bonus to hit and cannot make use of a strength bonus. Paws can be used to make trip attacks. and can grapple while still wielding weapons.

•Low Light Vision: Leonine can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to recognise colour and detail in these conditions.

•+2 racial bonus to Search, Spot and Wilderness Lore checks. Leonine Centaurs receive an additional +4 bonus to Wilderness Lore checks in their tribal homeland.

• Leonine Centaurs receive a -2 penalty to Will saves, as their minds are not used to magical taint.

•Automatic Languages: Leonine and Common. Bonus Languages: Trader, Goblinoid, Elven, Dwarven, Wannith, Sylvan (Witch Doctor's Only). Leonine Centaurs learn the languages which they nust use in daily life.

•Bonus Feat: All Leonine Centaurs start play with the Mounted Combat feat. A Leonine Centaur can take riding related feats, and always counts as being mounted for these purposes.

•Favoured Class: Fighter and Druid (Witch Doctor). A multi-class Leonine Centaur’s Fighter and Druid classes does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multi-classing.