Thylean Minotaur

Legend of the Minotaurs

Over a thousand years ago, a tribe of humans washed ashore in Thylea and came to live in the southern hills of the Aresian peninsula. Here, they laid foundations for a city and called it Minos. But not one man or woman among them had the strength to till the hard, rocky soil. As fate would have it, they discovered a magnificent bull that could pull a plow through any terrain for days without resting. Using the bull’s great strength, they were able to produce bountiful crops with which to survive the first winter.
Over time, the people of the tribe began to venerate the bull, crowning him as the god of the harvest. When Sydon learned of this, he was furious. He threw curses down upon the settlers and transformed them into bulls, in mockery of their insolence. Each of them was harnessed to a plow and forced to tread the same winding, geometric path, until that path became a deep, labyrinthian gorge. Eventually, the plows broke, and the people of Minos slowly began to stand upright again—but their faces had been forever changed by the curse.
The people of the tribe came to be called minotaurs— the bulls of Minos—and they have never fully shed their bull-like demeanors. Some of them merely have horns and a snout-like nose, while others have the entire upper torso of a bull. Some continued to dwell in the labyrinth, while others left to explore the far reaches of Thylea. Over the centuries, they have come to view their own cursed existence as the will of the Fates.

Warrior Bulls

Minotaurs possess uncommon strength, making them excellent warriors. The curse infuses their bodies with the power of a bull at all times, and their muscles seldom relax, even when they are drunk or asleep. In battle, minotaurs sometimes lose control of their emotions and fly into a rage. When this happens, the curse takes over, transforming them back into a full-fledged bull for a short period of time.

Oathbound Slaves

Minotaurs are widely shunned, because they are believed to be unthinking brutes who have been cursed by the gods. Most minotaurs gather together to form small farming or fishing communities, far from civilization. The only way that most minotaurs can find work in cities and villages is to swear oaths of service that effectively reduce them to the status of slaves. Many bear this humiliation with stoic grit, but others resort to banditry rather than submit to the unreasonable demands of cowardly superstition.

Minotaur Names

Minotaurs generally prefer names that are short and simple. They typically punctuate their names with a snort or a sharp exhalation of air through their nostrils. When someone omits this part of their name, they become annoyed.
Names: Arxan, Braz, Dregxa, Elagore, Garnox, Horus, Kath, Luth, Manx, Parth, Raxus, Steth, Torag, Zark

Minotaur Traits

Minotaurs have the following traits:
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Minotaurs mature at the same rate as humans and live to about the same ages.
Alignment. Minotaurs tend toward neutral alignments. Most are stoic and proudly stubborn, refusing to be moved by notions of good or evil.
Size. Minotaurs range from 6 to 8 feet in height. They weigh between 200 and 400 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Abyssal.
Keen Snout. Despite your powerful demeanor, you have a delicate nose. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell, and you can detect strong odors from up to six miles away.
Labyrinthine Vision. Your eyes are adapted to the dark conditions of deep canyons and underground labyrinths, giving you darkvision out to 60 ft. You have advantage on skill checks made to solve maze-like puzzles. Additionally, you automatically succeed on saving throws against maze and hypnotic pattern.
Colorblindness. You see the world in shades of red and grey, leaving you incapable of discerning any color except for very bright reds.
Cursed Transformation. Starting at 5th level, you may use your bonus action to transform yourself into a bull using the rules of the polymorph spell (no concentration required). This ability recharges after a long rest. This ability automatically triggers if you suffer prolonged exposure to very bright shades of red. Starting at 9th level, this ability transforms you into a dire bull.

Origin/Ancestry

Minotaurs are the descendants of an ancient tribe of humans who were cursed by the gods, transforming them into half-human, half-bull monstrosities. Although they are widely dismissed as unthinking brutes, they are in fact very diverse and as intelligent.