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Centaur

In the sprawling city of Ravnica, where "open road" seems like a contradiction and "open plain" is sheer nonsense, centaurs nevertheless retain a love of wide spaces and the freedom to travel. As much as they can, centaurs run - in wide plazas, spacious parks, and expanses of rubble and ruin. They race the wind, hooves thundering and tails streaming behind them, until the next wall looms in their path and brings them to a stop.

 

Nature's Cavalry

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 usually wider and squarer than that of most elves. Below the waste they have the bodies of small to mid-sized horses, with a few of their number even growing larger than that; all with the same range of equine 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. Selesnya Centaurs favor long flowing hair while the Gruul Centaurs cut their hair in rough spiky styles.

The upper bodies of centaurs are comparable to human torsos in size, and their lower equine bodies average about 4 feet at the withers. Though they are usually smaller than human riders mounted on a horse, they share similar roles as cavalry warriors, messengers, outriders, and scouts.

 
 

Affinity for Nature

Centaurs have an affinity for the natural world. Among the guilds that share that affinity, centaurs favor the rubblebelts of Gruul turf and the wide open plazas of the Selesnya Conclave over the undercity tunnels of the Golgari and the laboratories of the Simic. 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.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Centaur's given names are passed down through family lines, but in a much more rigid fashion than Humans. 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 therefore some part of the spirit, in centaur belief) 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 and animals, printed mottoes, braids and beads worn in the hair and tail, or even specific patters of woven fabric.

 

Male Centaur Names: Bonmod, Boruvo, Chodi, Drozan, Kozim, Milosh, Ninos, Oleksi, Orval, Radovas, Radom, Rostis, Svetyos, Tomis, Trijiro, Volim, Vlodim, Yarog

 

Female Centaur Names: Daiva, Dunja, Elnaya, Galisnya, Irinya, Kotyali, Lalya, Litisia, Madya, Mira, Nadja, Nikya, Ostani, Pinya, Rada, Raisya, Stasolya, Tatna, Zhendoya, Zoria

Major Organizations

Most Centaurs drift towards the Gruul Clans or the Selesnya Conclave, but there are a decent number of Guildless Centaur as well.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Centaurs sense the interconnectedness of the natural world. Thus, they celebrate family and community as microcosms of that greater connection. Among the Gruul, they have strong clan identity, and Selesnya centaurs are fiercely loyal to their individual communities as well as the guild as a whole. Their love of history and tradition also means that centaurs are more likely than most other Ravnicans to join the same guild as their parents did.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Centaurs celebrate life and growth, and the birth of a foal is always a cause for festivities. At the same time, they revere the traditions of the past, and among both the Gruul and Selesnya they are voices of memory and history, most often relying on oral tradition. Through this, they preserve the old ways and keep alive the legends of ancestral heroes.

Lifespan
80 to 90 years
Average Height
6 to 7 feet
Average Weight
200 to 300 pounds
Average Length
4 to 6 feet

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