Minotaurs =) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Minotaurs =) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Infinitum
04-14-07, 11:06 PM I am in need of your opinions.

I wish to make a cleric of the deity Istus. He is going to be True Neutral, with the domains of Destiny and Knowledge.

For a while now I have been trying to determine a race suitable for such a class. I saw Duergar, Drow, Half-Elves, Humans, you name it, as possibilities. Recently however, I've found the minotaur as a potential candidate. The minotaur does not get surprised like the other races, and this can be seen especially with their immunity to the spell Maze. This can even be seen as a direct relation to the nature of Istus herself. I need your thoughts on the matter, would a minotaur make a good cleric of Istus?

Your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance.
El_Machinae
04-14-07, 11:12 PM Statistically, I think they very much wouldn't. However, having the 'barbarous' minotaur be a fallen varient of the 'true minotaur' (created by your god, there) is a neat idea.
runestar
04-14-07, 11:32 PM Depends on what you mean by good.
If you mean flavourwise, I am not familiar with Istus, so I cannot help you there.
If you mean mechanicswise, it will make a suboptimal spellcaster due to its high starting ECL. As an npc, it could still make a decent cleric if you use the non-associated class rule(though it would make it overpowering somewhat).
Infinitum
04-14-07, 11:39 PM Thanks much guys, I appreciate the comments. If anyone else has any thoughts, please share them.
Darth Sephiroth
04-14-07, 11:41 PM For a Cleric, the Dragonlance Krynn Minotaur may be an option you'd find easier as it's a LA +0 race with some of the other abilities which gives you the flavor of the Monotaur without the trashed casting. Add the Half-Minotaur template if you want more Minotaur stuff
Dead_Weasel
04-15-07, 02:41 AM Although I like using minotaurs, it's never occurred to me to relate Natural Cunning to worship - and I think that it's an interesting idea.
The whole "civilized/uncivilized giant" thing isn't really geared towards including minotaurs, but you could work them in or create a new dynamic.

From a pure mechanics standpoint, I feel it's a little bit more difficult; you have a hefty ECL and mental penalties. If you wanted to go for a "true" minotaur, these can be explained as your character's focus on fate and the future, rather than present situations or entities. Using Krynn minotaurs as a base to work off of for this is a good idea; it keeps enough of a minotaur feel as well as placing emphasis on arrogance - which could cause the mental penalties as well as being a believable characteristic of a cleric of Istus. Another workable solution would be to use monstrous class progression but allow multiclassing out of it - so that you wouldn't have to burn ECL on minotaur traits you didn't really need. Or you could drop racial HD entirely, but not everyone agrees with me on that. The part that makes this decision hard is how easy it is to build a melee cleric - and how well that *could* work with being Large and beefy (pun intended).

In closing, I think that it's definitely an intriguing roleplay idea and mechanical challenge, and wouldn't produce a slouch in combat either. Good stuff.
BowenSilverclaw1986
04-15-07, 12:20 PM I second the Half-Minotaur template.

You'll get the looks and the flavor, and most of the goodies all for just +1LA (which you can later on buy back with the Level Adjustment buyback optional rule from Unearthed Arcana).

I actually did this once with a Half-Minotaur cleric and it worked great, both mechanically (it was a DMM persistent combat monster) and regarding roleplay options.

I'm currently working on a druid build, inspired by the Tauren from WoW.

Greetings, Bowen Silverclaw
Thief_of_Hope
04-15-07, 08:09 PM http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=11253264

This is a minotaur that I myself have considered using for a cleric.

If you're asking about the flavor of it, I'm not familiar with Istus, so I can't help you there.
Aryxbez
04-15-07, 08:27 PM what book is the Half Minotaur from?

also the Krynn Minotaur is okay, just I have my doubts in the dex
and all mental penalties.

maybe make the minotaur choose 2 mental scores, to have the -2 penalty. and make it +4 str,
j3st3r
04-16-07, 06:43 AM half-minotaur (among other half breed templates, half-satyr being my personal favourite of them) can be found from Dragon issue #313. Half-minotaur template is considered too powerful for mere +1 LA.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Infinitum 04-14-07, 11:06 PM	I am in need of your opinions. I wish to make a cleric of the deity Istus. He is going to be True Neutral, with the domains of Destiny and Knowledge. For a while now I have been trying to determine a race suitable for such a class. I saw Duergar, Drow, Half-Elves, Humans, you name it, as possibilities. Recently however, I've found the minotaur as a potential candidate. The minotaur does not get surprised like the other races, and this can be seen especially with their immunity to the spell Maze. This can even be seen as a direct relation to the nature of Istus herself. I need your thoughts on the matter, would a minotaur make a good cleric of Istus? Your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance.
El_Machinae 04-14-07, 11:12 PM	Statistically, I think they very much wouldn't. However, having the 'barbarous' minotaur be a fallen varient of the 'true minotaur' (created by your god, there) is a neat idea.
runestar 04-14-07, 11:32 PM	Depends on what you mean by good. If you mean flavourwise, I am not familiar with Istus, so I cannot help you there. If you mean mechanicswise, it will make a suboptimal spellcaster due to its high starting ECL. As an npc, it could still make a decent cleric if you use the non-associated class rule(though it would make it overpowering somewhat).
Infinitum 04-14-07, 11:39 PM	Thanks much guys, I appreciate the comments. If anyone else has any thoughts, please share them.
Darth Sephiroth 04-14-07, 11:41 PM	For a Cleric, the Dragonlance Krynn Minotaur may be an option you'd find easier as it's a LA +0 race with some of the other abilities which gives you the flavor of the Monotaur without the trashed casting. Add the Half-Minotaur template if you want more Minotaur stuff
Dead_Weasel 04-15-07, 02:41 AM	Although I like using minotaurs, it's never occurred to me to relate Natural Cunning to worship - and I think that it's an interesting idea. The whole "civilized/uncivilized giant" thing isn't really geared towards including minotaurs, but you could work them in or create a new dynamic. From a pure mechanics standpoint, I feel it's a little bit more difficult; you have a hefty ECL and mental penalties. If you wanted to go for a "true" minotaur, these can be explained as your character's focus on fate and the future, rather than present situations or entities. Using Krynn minotaurs as a base to work off of for this is a good idea; it keeps enough of a minotaur feel as well as placing emphasis on arrogance - which could cause the mental penalties as well as being a believable characteristic of a cleric of Istus. Another workable solution would be to use monstrous class progression but allow multiclassing out of it - so that you wouldn't have to burn ECL on minotaur traits you didn't really need. Or you could drop racial HD entirely, but not everyone agrees with me on that. The part that makes this decision hard is how easy it is to build a melee cleric - and how well that could work with being Large and beefy (pun intended). In closing, I think that it's definitely an intriguing roleplay idea and mechanical challenge, and wouldn't produce a slouch in combat either. Good stuff.
BowenSilverclaw1986 04-15-07, 12:20 PM	I second the Half-Minotaur template. You'll get the looks and the flavor, and most of the goodies all for just +1LA (which you can later on buy back with the Level Adjustment buyback optional rule from Unearthed Arcana). I actually did this once with a Half-Minotaur cleric and it worked great, both mechanically (it was a DMM persistent combat monster) and regarding roleplay options. I'm currently working on a druid build, inspired by the Tauren from WoW. Greetings, Bowen Silverclaw
Thief_of_Hope 04-15-07, 08:09 PM	http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=11253264 This is a minotaur that I myself have considered using for a cleric. If you're asking about the flavor of it, I'm not familiar with Istus, so I can't help you there.
Aryxbez 04-15-07, 08:27 PM	what book is the Half Minotaur from? also the Krynn Minotaur is okay, just I have my doubts in the dex and all mental penalties. maybe make the minotaur choose 2 mental scores, to have the -2 penalty. and make it +4 str,
j3st3r 04-16-07, 06:43 AM	half-minotaur (among other half breed templates, half-satyr being my personal favourite of them) can be found from Dragon issue #313. Half-minotaur template is considered too powerful for mere +1 LA.