Homebrew Bariaur Species Details

The bariaur is a centaurlike being of the Upper Planes, but it's hardly a centaur. In appearance, it's a combination of man and ram or woman and ewe. Roughly human sized, it has the body of a large goat and the torso and arms of a human. The head is a mixture of human and animal. Males have a pair of ram's horns, but females lack them.

Bariaur tend to be fussy about their appearance. They usually wear shirts, jackets, blouses, vests, and leather girdles, but this is a matter of personal taste rather than decorum. They also dye, cut, and shave their pelts to make themselves look more attractive, at least to each other. The look is often finished with jewelry hung from horns or woven into their woolly hair.

Bariaur are a carefree lot. To some they appear irresponsible, but it's only a powerful wanderlust that makes them seem unsettled. There are no known bariaur towns, and few bariaur make anything like a permanent home. They do congregate in herds of their own kind, but the more dauntless range far and wide on their own or with adventuring parties. Sedentary bariaur favor a pastoral life of tending sheep herds, watching over meadows, and acting as guardians of the wilderness. This isn't to say they won't be found in cities, but those are usually visiting out of curiosity or on business.

Most bariaur are found on the plains of Ysgard, with smaller populations on the planes of the Beastlands, Elysium, and Arborea. The bulk of the race is chaotic good, but player-character bariaur can be of any alignment. Bariaur are social and outgoing, friendly to strangers, but not foolishly trusting. They're noted for being fierce fighters, and they particularly hate giants, often going out of their way to attack these creatures.

Bariaur Traits

Your bariaur character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Age

Bariaur mature and age at about the same rate as humans.

Alignment

Bariaurs are inclined toward chaos and good. 

Size

Bariaur stand between 5 and 6 feet tall, with their equine bodies reaching about 3 feet at the withers. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Charge

If you move at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hit it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, you can immediately follow that attack with a bonus action, making one attack against the target with your horns.

Horns and Hooves

Your horns and hooves are natural melee weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Equine Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push or drag.

In addition, any climb that requires hands and feet is especially difficult for you because of your equine legs. When you make such a climb, each foot of movement costs you 4 extra feet, instead of the normal 1 extra foot.

Darkvision

Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Celestial. Celestial is widely spoken in the Ysgard, for it is rich in vocabulary to describe natural phenomena and spiritual forces.