Editing Minotaur (section)

===D&D Racial Stats===
Playable minotaurs have never received a lot of attention, but they have appeared here and there throughout the editions.

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====AD&D====
Playable minotaurs appeared twice in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]. The first time, for AD&D 1e, was in [[Dragon Magazine]] #116. They were then present in the 2nd edition sourcebook [[The Complete Book of]] Humanoids. The Savage Coast of [[Mystara]] sourcebooks for 2e also provided stats for the [[Enduk]], a race of winged minotaurs native to that gonzo-fantasy world.

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====Dragonlance====
Minotaurs have ''long'' had a prominent place in [[Dragonlance]]. In fact, if you don't count [[Tinker Gnome]]s and [[Kender]] (which most people prefer not to, seeing as how they're more annoying setting-specific versions of [[gnome]]s and [[halfling]]s), minotaurs were one of the two ''new'' PC races introduced in "Dragonlance Adventures", the first ever sourcebook for the setting in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 1st edition. This is a position they share with the [[Irda]].

Minotaurs in this setting are basically Spartans, combining a brutal warrior culture with codes of honor and scholarship. They run a whole empire in [[Taladas]], if a smallish one given Taladas. Their society is built on Three Virtues: Strength, Cunning, and Learning; and they're famed navigators and pirates. They tend towards Lawful Evil rather than chaos.

The [[Aquatic Elf]] population of Dragonlance have a racial hatred for Minotaurs. If a Minotaur sailor is amongst a mixed race crew, the damn knife-ears will save the rest of the crew but leave the Minotaur to drown.

In the 3.5 Sourcebook "Races of Ansalon", Minotaurs got a chapter all to themselves. Their stats are as follows:

:: +4 Strength, –2 Dexterity, –2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma. Minotaurs are large and powerful, but not very agile. From youth, minotaurs focus on developing their muscle over their minds. Minotaur arrogance can be offensive to other races.
:: Medium: As Medium creatures, minotaurs have no special bonuses or penalties.
:: A minotaur’s base land speed is 30 feet.
:: +2 natural armor bonus.
:: Gore: A minotaur may use his horns as natural weapons to make a gore attack, dealing 1d6 points of damage plus the minotaur’s Strength modifier. If the minotaur charges, his gore attack deals 2d6 points of damage, plus 1 ½ times his Strength modifier. A minotaur can attack with a weapon at his normal attack bonus and make a gore attack as a secondary attack (–5 penalty on the attack roll and half Strength bonus on the damage roll).
:: +2 racial bonus on Intimidate, Swim, and Use Rope checks. Minotaurs are familiar with the sea and naturally adept at skills useful among seafarers.
:: Minotaurs may take the scent special quality as a feat. (See the Monster Manual.)
:: Automatic Languages: Common, Kothian. Bonus Languages: Kalinese, Nordmaarian, Ogre, Saifhum.
:: [[Favored Class]]: [[Fighter]].

====3e====
3rd Edition featured two extremely different versions of playable minotaurs. The first version, appearing in the [[Monster Manual]], was quite a beast, with 6 hit dice and a +2 level adjustment, meaning that minotaur player characters had to start at ECL 9. The full statblock, as printed in the 3.5e Monster Manual, is as follows:

:: +8 Strength, +4 Constitution, –4 Intelligence, –2 Charisma.
:: Large size.
:: Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet.
:: A minotaur’s base land speed is 30 feet.
:: Darkvision out to 60 feet.
:: Racial Hit Dice: A minotaur begins with six levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 6d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +6, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +2, Ref +5, and Will +5.
:: Racial Skills: A minotaur’s monstrous humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 9 × (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Search, and Spot. Minotaurs have a +4 racial bonus on Search, Spot, and Listen checks.
:: Weapon Proficiency: A minotaur is proficient with the greataxe and all simple weapons.
:: +5 natural armor bonus.
:: Natural Weapons: Gore (1d8).
:: Special Attacks: Powerful charge.
:: Special Qualities): Natural cunning, scent.
:: Automatic Languages: Common, Giant. Bonus Languages: Orc, Goblin, Terran.
:: Favored Class: Barbarian.
:: Level adjustment +2.

A few months after the launch of 3.5e, the Dragonlance Campaign Setting was updated for Third Edition rules, and it featured a severely nerfed form of Minotaur that players could play at level one. Its full stat block is as follows:

:: +4 Strength, -2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
:: Medium size
:: Base land speed 30 feet
:: Natural armor: +2
:: Natural attack: gore (1d6 + Str modifier)
:: Could charge + gore attack for damage equal to 2d6 plus 1.5x Str
:: +2 to Intimidate, Swim, and Use Rope checks
:: Can take Scent as a feat
:: Automatic languages: Common and Kothian. Bonus languages: Kalinese, Nordmaarian, Ogre, and Saifhum
:: Favored class: Fighter

====Pathfinder====
Like most OGL monsters from 3E, Minotaur's only changes in [[Pathfinder]] are system wide (which means no LA so they can't be playable). In [[Golarion]] minotaurs are, in addition to a true breeding race, a result of a curse on human parents by [[Lamashtu]]. This means any organization in or near human lands could have a Minotaur around as some muscle.

Dreamscarred Press, in love with [[Psionics|old]] [[Incarnum|often weird]] [[Book of Nine Swords|subsystems]] (they even toyed around with making [[Truenamer]] not shit!), created their own version of the Monster Classes introduced in Savage Species (and used by the World of Warcraft RPG mentioned above). Naturally one of the monster classes they made was the Minotaur. Minotaur is one of the simplest monster classes, having all the abilities of the "real" minotaur at the same strength across the same number of hit die and just being a granular progression from level 1. They are great melee brutes, but with one obvious flaw: They aren't proficient with armor. They either need to dip into some class or stick to 0 ACP armor like (masterwork studded) leather. They do however get the ability to pick an awesome minotaur only feat at 15th level called Labyrinth Lord: It's simultaneously a maze SLA, a way to force enemies into one on one combat, an infinite size portable hole and a Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion.

====World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game====
Tauren, the aforementioned Good Guy Minotaurs, appeared in the original [[Warcraft]] D20 RPG, but were re-written with a much better format (including dumping the racial level adjustment) in the [[World of Warcraft]] re-release. They were there from the corebook, and they had these stats:
:: +2 Strength, -2 Agility (Dexterity)
:: Medium
:: Base land speed 30 feet
:: Natural Weapon (Ex): Taurens have a set of horns that function as a natural weapon that deals 1D8+ Str bonus damage. Tauren are automatically proficient in the use of their horns.
:: Weapon Familiarity: Tauren Halberds and Tauren Totems are Martial weapons rather than Exotic for Tauren.
:: Weapon Proficiency: Longspear and Shortspear
:: +2 Racial bonus on Handle Animal and Survival checks. Handle Animal and Survival are always class skills for Tauren.
:: Racial Class: Tauren
:: Favored Class: Warrior

Tauren Racial Class
:: Hit Die: D10
:: Skill Points (1st level): (2 + Int modifier) x 4
:: Skill Points (else): 2 + Int modifier
:: "Class" Skills: Climb, Concentration, Handle Animal, Listen, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival.
:: Weapon & Armor Proficiency: Simple Weapons, exluding Crossbows, and Light Armor
:: Level 1: BAB +0, Fort Save +2, Ref Save +0, Will Save +2,+1 Strength, Tauren Charge (when charging, a tauren may use their horns instead of a melee weapon; this lets the tauren inflict a Gore attack that does horn damage + 1 1/2 times the tauren's Strength modifier in addition to the normal benefits)
:: Level 2: BAB +1, Fort Save +2, Ref Save +0, Will Save +2, +2 Spirit (Wisdom), +4 racial bonus on saves vs. fear, Tauren Weapon Proficiency (gain proficiency in either Tauren Halberd or Tauren Totem)
:: Level 3: BAB +2, Fort Save +3, Ref Save +1, Will Save +3,+1 Strength, Improved Tauren Charge (tauren is considered Large size for charging and bull rushing, +4 racial bonus on Strength checks for bull rush effects), Tauren Weapon Proficiency (gain proficiency in either Tauren Halberd or Tauren Totem)

====D&D 4e====
The sad proof that, for all 4e's efforts at trying to undo the pigeonholing effect of race from editions past, it hadn't quite gotten past it yet. Not a mechanically ''bad'' race (few 4e races were), but they were so heavily optimised for close-quarter combat that there was little encouragement besides fluff to be anything other than a melee brute.

:: Ability Scores: +2 Strength, +2 Constitution OR +2 Wisdom
:: Size: Medium
:: Speed: 6 squares
:: Vision: Normal
:: Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Perception
:: Vitality: +1 healing surge
:: Ferocity: When you drop to zero hit points or fewer, you can make a melee basic attack as an immediate interrupt.
:: Heedless Charge: You have a +2 racial bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity you provoke during a charge.
:: Goring Charge: You have the Goring Charge racial power.

Goring Charge
Minotaur Racial Encounter Power
''You charge the enemy and gore it with your horns.''
:: Standard Action
:: Melee 1
:: Effect: You charge and make the following attack in place of a melee basic attack:
:: Target: One Creature
:: Attack: Strength, Constitution or Dexterity +4 (6 at 11th level and 8 at 21st level) vs. AC
:: Hit: 1D6 + Strength, Constitution or Dexterity modifier damage, and you knock the target prone.
* Level 11: 2D6 + Strength, Constitution or Dexterity modifier damage, and you knock the target prone.
* Level 21: 3D6 + Strength, Constitution or Dexterity modifier damage, and you knock the target prone.
{{D&D4e-Races}}

====D&D 5e====
The first playable version of a Minotaur in 5e appeared in [[Unearthed Arcana]] for May, 2015. This version was explicitly modeled after the Krynnish version, since WoTC this time realised that with the [[half-orc]], [[warforged]], and [[goliath]] already done, the "big tough bruiser" racial niche is already pretty overcrowded. The 1d10 natural weapon is powerful at low level, but it loses out to magic weapons & feat boosts later on.

Krynnish/Nautical Minotaur:
:: Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
:: Conqueror’s Virtue. From a young age, you focused on one of the three virtues of strength, cunning, or intellect. Your choice of your Strength, Intelligence, or Wisdom score increases by 2.
:: Age. Minotaurs enter adulthood at around the age of 17 and can live up to 150 years.
:: Alignment. Minotaurs believe in a strict code of honor, and thus tend toward law. They are loyal to the death and make implacable enemies, even as their brutal culture and disdain for weakness push them toward evil.
:: Size. Minotaurs typically stand well over 6 feet tall and weigh an average of 375 pounds. Your size is Medium but they can wield heavy weapons in 1 hand due to their sheer size.
:: Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
:: Horns. You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your horns, which are a melee weapon that deals 1d10 piercing damage. Your horns grant you advantage on all checks made to shove a creature, but not to avoid being shoved yourself.
:: Goring Rush. When you use the Dash action during your turn, you can make a melee attack with your horns as a bonus action.
:: Hammering Horns. When you use the Attack action during your turn to make a melee attack, you can attempt to shove a creature with your horns as a bonus action.
:: Labyrinthine Recall. You can perfectly recall any path you have travelled.
:: Sea Reaver. You gain proficiency with navigator’s tools and vehicles (water).
:: Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common.

An alternative ovine-featured minotaur appeared in "Plane Shift: [[Amonkhet]]", but they're only reskinned [[half-orc]]s with a Natural Weapon instead of Darkvision. Not overpowered by any means, and certainly competing for mechanical space with the half-orcs.

Amonkhetian/Sheep-Headed Minotaur:
:: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
:: Medium
:: Base speed 30 feet
:: Natural Weapon - Horns: You can use your Horns as a natural weapon to make an unarmed strike. A Horn Attack inflicts 1d6 + Str modifier Bludgeoning damage.
:: Menacing: You have Proficiency in Intimidation.
:: Relentless Endurance: When you would be reduced to 0 hit points, but not killed outright, you can choose to be reduced to 1 hit point instead. Once you have used this trait, you must complete a Long Rest before you can use it again.
:: Hammering Horns: Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use your reaction to make a shove attack against that creature. You can only make this shove attack on a creature that is no more than one size larger than you and which is within 5 feet of you. The creature must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier) or be pushed up to 5 feet away from you.
:: Savage Attacks: When you inflict a Critical Hit with a melee weapon, increase the damage inflicted by a further +1 weapon damage dice result.

And a third 5e Minotaur appeared in May 2018, three years after the original debuted. This one was closer to the "generic" minotaur in concept. It also loses out on the awesome and flavorful Labrynthine Recall in favor of being the "big tough bruiser" the previous UA minotaur was trying not to be and represents the persistent overvaluation of natural weapons by the design team this edition. Whelp.

Standard Minotaur:
::Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Vision: Normal
::Horns: You possess horns, which are a natural weapon that you have proficiency with. When you hit with a horn attack, you inflict 1d6 + Strength modifier Piercing damage.
::Goring Rush: Immediately after you use the Dash action on your turn and move at least as far as your speed, you can make one melee attack with your horns as a bonus action.
::Hammering Horns: Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use your reaction to make a shove attack against that creature. You can only make this shove attack on a creature that is no more than one size larger than you and which is within 5 feet of you. The creature must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier) or be pushed up to 5 feet away from you.
::Menacing: You have Proficiency in the Intimidation skill.
::Hybrid Nature: You count as being both a Humanoid and a Monstrosity in terms of Creature Type, and thus can be affected by any game effect that specifically targets either of your types.

Finally, the "Official Minotaur" debuted in the ''Guildmaster's Guide to [[Ravnica]]'' in November 2018; this is the exact same stats as the UA "Standard Minotaur" above but dropping Hybrid Nature and trading Menacing for Imposing Presence (free proficiency in either Intimidation or Persuasion). ''Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse'' would generally reuse this statline, replacing the stat boosts to the generic ones given by recent books and replacing Imposing Presence with a new Labyrinthine Recall (always knows which way is north and advantage on Survival checks to track or navigate).

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====Midgard Minotaurs====
The 3rd-party setting of [[Midgard]] has its own unique spin on minotaurs, as well. This statblock can be found in the Midgard Heroes Handbook, the Southlands Player's Guide, and the Tome of Heroes, identical in all three versions.
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision: 60 feet
::Natural Attacks: When making Unarmed Strikes, you can attack with your horns, which deal 1d6+Str modifier piercing damage.
::Charge: If you move at least 10 feet straight toward a target and hit it with a horn attack in the same turn, you deal +1d6 piercing damage and can use a bonus action to Shove the target 5 feet. You can only make a Charge attack once per turn. At 11th level, you can Shove the target up to 10 feet instead. You can only make a number of Charges per day equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1). You recover all uses of this ability when you complete a Long Rest.
::Labyrinthine Sense: You can automatically retrace any path that you have taken, without error or the need for an ability check.

The Tome of Heroes also adds two new minotaur subraces. '''Bhain Kwai''' are a race of wetlands and swamp-dwelling minotaurs with the features of water buffalo and its related species. Bhain Kwai are more peaceful in temperament, though still capable of defending themselves, and prefer small agrarian villages to large cities. The '''Boghaid''' are a race of mountain-dwelling minotaurs with the features of highland cattle and so have a very obvious Scottish Highlander theme to their civilization.

Bhain Kwai:
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Constitution, +1 Strength
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision: 60 feet
::Natural Attacks: When making Unarmed Strikes, you can attack with your horns, which deal 1d6+Str modifier piercing damage.
::Labyrinthine Sense: You can automatically retrace any path that you have taken, without error or the need for an ability check.
::Strong Back: Your Carrying Capacity is Strength Score times 20, rather than the normal Strength Score times 15.
::Wetland Dweller: You have a Swimming Speed of 25 feet, and ignore the movement penalty caused by difficult terrain based on mud or the need to wade through waist-deep or lower water.

Boghaid:
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Wisdom, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision: 60 feet
::Natural Attacks: When making Unarmed Strikes, you can attack with your horns, which deal 1d6+Str modifier piercing damage.
::Labyrinthine Sense: You can automatically retrace any path that you have taken, without error or the need for an ability check.
::Highlander: You suffer no environmental penalties when operating at heights of 8,000 feet or more.
::Storied Culture: You have Proficiency in one of the following Musical Instruments: Bagpipes, Drum, Horn or Shawm.
::Wooly: Your pelt is thick enough to count as a set of cold weather clothing, protecting you against cold environments. It also gives you Advantage on saving throws against spells or other effects that inflict Cold damage.

====Kinosian Minotaurs====
When the Classical Mythology-themed setting of [[Arkadia]] debuted, minotaurs were conspicuously absent from the ancestries of the [[Phaedran]], a race of [[Half-Fey]] bred from Greco-Roman themed fey races that stood in for playable examples of those races. Minotaurs appeared in the bestiary in the back of the setting book, but were described as curse-spawned [[fey]], too mindless and savage to possibly be adventurers, and this applied to any progeny created by coupling with [[human]]s, [[elves]], [[dwarves]] or [[orc]]s. Eventally, though, fan complaints caused them to backtrack on this and they introduced Kinosian Minotaurs as a free PDF expansion for the setting.

Kinosian minotaurs inhabit the crumbling, labyrinthine ruins of the island of Kinos, which they once shared peacefully with a now-extinct race of dwarves. Along amongst minotaurs of Arkadia, they are a fully sapient and civilized people, and nobody knows why they are so different to the monstrous, bestial minotaurs of the mainland. The dwarves of Kinos claimed it was the divine blessing of their god, Ptol, whilst sages speculate that maybe once all minotaurs were like those of Kinos, but for some reason those of Arkadia descended in savagery. Whatever the reason, Kinosian minotaurs are normally content to guard their ancestral labyrinths, but every so often, one dares to stride forth into the world.

Mechanically, Kinosian minotaurs have the following stats:
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Colossal Build: This is the same as Powerful Build, just with a different name.
::Monstrous Strength: Your first weapon attack using Strength each turn deals 1d4 extra damage of that weapon’s type.
::Bull’s Horns: Your horns are a natural weapon that you have proficiency with. When you hit with an attack using your horns you inflict 1d4 + Strength modifier piercing damage. This damage is further increased by Monstrous Strength. If you move at least 20 feet straight toward a creature no more than one size larger than you and then immediately hit it with an attack using your horns, it must succeed on a Strength or Dexterity saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your Strength modifier + your proficiency bonus or be shoved 10 feet away and knocked prone. On a successful save, the creature is not shoved or knocked prone.

====Thylean Minotaurs====
In the [[Odyssey of the Dragonlords]] setting, minotaurs descend from a tribe of humans who were stranded upon the southern regions of Thylea by the great maelstrom that surroudns the lost continent. Coming to reside in the rocky hills of the Aresian peninsula, they built the city of Minos, but would have starved had they not discovered a celestial bull, which graciously loaned its supernatural strength and vigor to the fledgeling tribe, allowing them to produce bountiful crops. They began to venerate this bull as their god of the harvest, but this angered the vainglorious and cruel titan Sydon, who transformed the tribe into bulls themselves. He yoked them all to a plow and forced them to tread the same winding, geometric path, until their actions carved out a deep, labyrinthine gorge. Only when the plows broke were they restored, but the curse left them permanently marked - all Thylean minotaurs resemble humanoid bulls, to varying degrees; one may look like a normal person with a bull's head, another may look like a bovine [[satyr]], and a third may look like an anthropomorphic bull. They also possess the ability to transform into raging, long-horned cattle when in the throes of battle-rage. To this day, they are shunned by humans of Thylea, especially those of Mytros, who fear they are still cursed by the gods and often force them into indentured servitude.

Mechanically, a Thylean minotaur has the following stats:
::Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 40 feeet
::Labyrinthine Vision: You have Darkvision 60 feet, gain Advantage on skill checks to solve maze-like puzzles, and automatically succeed on saves against Maze and Hypnotic Pattern.
::Colorblindness: You can only see the world in shades of red and gray.
::Keen Snout: You have Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks based on scent, and can detect strong odors from up to 6 miles away.
::Cursed Transformation: From 5th level, you can use a bonus action to shapeshift into the form of a Bull (or a '''Dire Bull''', from 9th level) once per day as a bonus action. This follows the rules of a Polymorph spell, barring that you do not need to concentrate. This ability automatically triggers if you suffer prolonged exposure to very bright shades of red.

====Vodarin Minotaurs====
In the [[Seas of Vodari]], minotaurs were created by a [[demon]]ic master and once ruled a dark empire, but it was sundered during the Godwar and their patron abandoned them. Without its baleful influence, minotaurs adapted and evolved, forsaking their bloodthirsty origins and becoming a meritocracy ruled over by the most skilled. Though self-sufficient, they have a friendly attitude and often become adventurers.

::Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
::Age. Minotaurs reach maturity at around the age of 20 and can live well into the middle of their second century.
::Alignment. Most minotaurs are lawful and believe in a strict moral code. They prize strength, skill, and honor in all people.
::Size. Minotaurs are tall with heights around 7 feet. They have a large muscular build with their weight averaging around 300 lbs. Your size in Medium.
::Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
::Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
::Savant. You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice. In addition, you gain proficiency with your choice of vehicles (water) or one type of artisan’s tools.
::Sense of Direction. You have advantage on checks against becoming lost and always know which direction you are facing.
::Horns. Your horns are natural melee weapons, with which you are proficient. If you hit with your horns, the target takes piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
::Minotaur Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the greataxe, greatsword, and maul.
::Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Abyssal.

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