Mommy, where do Centaurs come from?

[kwanzaabot]

So I'm doing some worldbuilding, and I have about seven "common" races. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, "lesser" Trolls, a beast-like race, and Centaurs.

The four "original" races (the humanoids: Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Orcs) are descended from four fairy brothers, who after stealing fire from the gods, were stripped of their immortality and banished to opposite sides of the world with a biblical-style flood.
The Trolls are really a kind of half-Giant, descended from people who bred with "wild" trolls (as in, the regular sort of troll that regenerates etc), and the beasts are an ancient people whose myths pre-date the humanoids by several millenia.

That just leaves me with Centaurs, and I have no idea how they were created. I already have a half-breed (the Trolls), so I don't really want to go down that road again, but I can't think of any other way Centaurs can be made (which admittedly would make for a rather unpleasant origin myth).

So... can anybody help me come up with an origin myth for Centaurs?

[kamikasei]

Drider-style divine intervention? Or just plain self-alteration? Some branch of one of the original races gave themselves horse-like bodies, for the laugh.

[sadi]

Cursed human who tried to appease/insult the guys too soon after banishment?

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

Look to the mythology of the ancient Greeks. They tend to have ridiculous, and often hilarious explanations for things.


Barring that, saw mill accident+groundbreaking experiment.

[Kurald Galain]

The four fairy brothers had an elder sister who did not partake in stealing the fire. But when her brothers were banished, she wanted to keep track of them all to look after them and make sure they were OK. Since the brothers now lived in all corners of the world, she spend a lot of time running from one end of the world to the other, and because of that (and being a fairy and all that) she grew extra legs to keep it up.

[Ianuagonde]

+1 for curse

Medusa got her looks from a curse. Her sisters got the same looks when they asked the goddess who cursed her to "let our sister look like us".

[Mystic Muse]

+1 for curse

Medusa got her looks from a curse. Her sisters got the same looks when they asked the goddess who cursed her to "let our sister look like us".

that is not a valid misinterpretation.

[kwanzaabot]

The four fairy brothers had an elder sister who did not partake in stealing the fire. But when her brothers were banished, she wanted to keep track of them all to look after them and make sure they were OK. Since the brothers now lived in all corners of the world, she spend a lot of time running from one end of the world to the other, and because of that (and being a fairy and all that) she grew extra legs to keep it up.

Ooh, this is probably my favorite one. :D

[Random832]

that is not a valid misinterpretation.

And besides, they didn't ask for her to not be on fire. Or for them to not be on fire. That goddess clearly doesn't know how to DM.

[Shademan]

greek mythos. centaurs come from a drunk and cursed guy screwing a cloud.
or was that pegasus?
... no pegasus came from the blood of medusa. and also: he didnt...
GAH! DAMN YOU GREEKS!
...
Yeah. I'd say go for the one about the running. it sounds really good actually... almost like a real myth.
kudos, Kurald!

[Mastikator]

I'm in favor of the curse idea. But it springs to mind an emo angsty centaur. So that's no good.

However, simply flip the coin, they are blessed, the chosen people of the god or horses, or maybe the horses's god of humans. Either way is fine.

[Megaduck]

The four "original" races (the humanoids: Trolls, Elves, Dwarves and Orcs) are descended from four fairy brothers. Above them were the race of the centaurs, blessed by the gods with speed, and wit, and perfection of form.

However, some of the Centaurs felt sorry for the poor shivering fairy brothers and helped them steal fire from the gods.

Enraged at this betrayal the gods, split those centaurs in two, forming the races of man and horses. Only the pure and loyal centaurs kept their true divine form.

Since that day the cursed humans and horses have always had an affinity with each other and want to regain what they lost so that is why humans ride horses, imitating the centaurs.

[shadow_archmagi]

When you fight, the sword is an extension of your arm. The true swordsman can use a pair of swords as easily as chopsticks. Of course, this is a hyperbole and an ideal, rather than a goal, but no one told the horsemen that.

There were those who took it far too literally.

Eventually, those people succeeded.

Spoiler

Show

This also leaves a great opening for including Edward Scissorhands in your campaign

[kwanzaabot]

The four "original" races (the humanoids: Trolls, Elves, Dwarves and Orcs) are descended from four fairy brothers. Above them were the race of the centaurs, blessed by the gods with speed, and wit, and perfection of form.

However, some of the Centaurs felt sorry for the poor shivering fairy brothers and helped them steal fire from the gods.

Enraged at this betrayal the gods, split those centaurs in two, forming the races of man and horses. Only the pure and loyal centaurs kept their true divine form.

Since that day the cursed humans and horses have always had an affinity with each other and want to regain what they lost so that is why humans ride horses, imitating the centaurs.

Ooh, that's good. ;D

[Tempest Fennac]

I like Mastikator's blessed idea (a tribe which sees horses as holy creatures would probably class becoming half horse to be a good thing). What are the stats for the Beastfolk race and are you altering any of the other races at all mechanicswise?

[Fixer]

The four "original" races (the humanoids: Trolls, Elves, Dwarves and Orcs) are descended from four fairy brothers. Above them were the race of the centaurs, blessed by the gods with speed, and wit, and perfection of form.

However, some of the Centaurs felt sorry for the poor shivering fairy brothers and helped them steal fire from the gods.

Enraged at this betrayal the gods, split those centaurs in two, forming the races of man and horses. Only the pure and loyal centaurs kept their true divine form.

Since that day the cursed humans and horses have always had an affinity with each other and want to regain what they lost so that is why humans ride horses, imitating the centaurs.

This is better than my original idea, which is to say that some humans who loved to run asked the gods for intervention and they gave them the bodies of horses.

[kwanzaabot]

I like Mastikator's blessed idea (a tribe which sees horses as holy creatures would probably class becoming half horse to be a good thing). What are the stats for the Beastfolk race and are you altering any of the other races at all mechanicswise?

The Beastfolk are basically those Dragon magazine Lupins (using 3.5 D&D here) and the Trolls are refluffed Goliaths. All the others are pretty much the same.

[Tempest Fennac]

Lupins are one of my favourite races.

[shadzar]

After time in their new forms, one race was still angry and held contempt for the gods that removed from them their immortality. The descendants of this race had had enough of toiling and working so hard to just eat the plants of the land. One day one of the humans was in the forest and noticed how (insert god/dess of nature/animals) would use this space to visit with the unicorns.

This gave this human an idea, and returned to his family and decided on a scheme. The family set out to watch and learn when the deity would not be around and a good time to act would be. After gathering information the family set out to capture a few unicorns to help in their labor. Upon reaching the area a small herd of unicorns was found and the family made their move with some twined vine ropes. The youngest of the family befriended a coat and tried explaining their needs while the rest tied up others.

The timing could not have been worse for the humans as the deity had come to see the new colt and wish it well, and found what was going on. Angered by the humans trying to steal yet again, and after coming to wish the colt well finding it joining with the humans made a decision. The colt lost its horn and became what is today known as a horse and would lose its purity. The humans would again be changed and since they prized the strength of the animals would be given it as punishment and have to live as part horse as would their descendants henceforth.

To prevent future occurrences of this, the horse was cast out of the forest and into the world, and for her part the human girl was also transformed into a horse and they enjoyed being together still and their friendship resulted in the current worlds population of horses.

For a time both the centaur and the horse were prized as beasts of burden, but the centaurs fought back, and now have their place in the land as do the horse. No longer do many people remember this story, but no one ever tries to hunt a unicorn.

....

Sappy, quick and thrown together in a few minutes, but if it helps you run with it.

[Lord Loss]

Kurald should become an author! And write campaign settings (not stuff like FR and Eberron..., cool things like DarkSun!) I second his idea.

[Androgeus]

greek mythos. centaurs come from a drunk and cursed guy screwing a cloud.
or was that pegasus?
... no pegasus came from the blood of medusa. and also: he didnt...
GAH! DAMN YOU GREEKS!
...
Yeah. I'd say go for the one about the running. it sounds really good actually... almost like a real myth.
kudos, Kurald!

As long as no-one ask where the Minotaur came from, we're not getting in to much of the sick mythology.

[Pie Guy]

They all come from South Carolina. If you watched the daily show two weeks ago, you'd know what I'm talking about. (No, really.)

[LibraryOgre]

Centaurs are the original, natural race of the world. The four fairy brothers existed in a world parallel to the Centaur world, and stole fire from the gods to warm centaurs (who were an impious folk, wanting nothing to do with the gods who cared so little for them, but who had good relations with the faeries).

This would result in a world with more hexapods, as they're the natural form for this world.

[Choco]

When a human REALLY loves his/her horse a little too much....

[Mongoose87]

When a human REALLY loves his/her horse a little too much....

Human: Hey elf, you look like a girl.
Elf: To a human, everything must look like a girl.
Human: What?
Elf: Half-orcs, half-ogres...
Human: ... shut up.
Dwarf: Half-dragons, half-kobolds.
Human: I said shut up!
Elf: ...
Dwarf: ...
Human: ...
Elf: Centaurs.

[bosssmiley]

Gag: They come from Kazakhstan (where horse can vote, but woman cannot).

Serious answer: They were created at the same time as the common races and are simply a fact of life in the game world. That tactfully avoids the whole mess of competing Greek myth squick hypotheses.

Oh, and centaurs, mermen and fauns think it hilarious that humans having the bottom half of a bald monkey instead of proper locomotive members.

[LibraryOgre]

Human: Hey elf, you look like a girl.
Elf: To a human, everything must look like a girl.
Human: What?
Elf: Half-orcs, half-ogres...
Human: ... shut up.
Dwarf: Half-dragons, half-kobolds.
Human: I said shut up!
Elf: ...
Dwarf: ...
Human: ...
Elf: Centaurs.

I'd point out that centaurs have pointed ears and the attenuated, heroin-chic faces that points to an elven, not human, ancestry. Once again, it is proven that elves are liars.

[Hzurr]

A druid wildshaped, and put a whole new meaning into the phrase "animal companion"


(Actually, this is my group's longstanding theory on where lycanthropy comes from)

[Frosty]

Maybe a female elven Paladin got too close to her "Special Mount" ?

[Optimystik]

Human: Hey elf, you look like a girl.
Elf: To a human, everything must look like a girl.
Human: What?
Elf: Half-orcs, half-ogres...
Human: ... shut up.
Dwarf: Half-dragons, half-kobolds.
Human: I said shut up!
Elf: ...
Dwarf: ...
Human: ...
Elf: Centaurs.

Nope, just elves.