Bariaur

"Better to wrestle with a giant than to lock horns with a bariaur."

- Ysgardian proverb

Bariaurs were quadrupedal natives of the plane of Ysgard  and the House of Nature.

Description
To unacquainted, a bariaur was similar to a centaur, but while a centaur appeared a mixture of human and horse features, a bariaur was a mixture of human and goat features. Below the waist, they appeared like powerful rams. Their torsos were similar to those of muscular humans, but they had curling horns emerging from their foreheads. Their skin was pale tan to dark brown in color, while the coats of their lower halves were brown or golden. Their hooves were cloven.

Bariaurs typically weighed nearly 300 pounds (140 kilograms) for males and 260 pounds (120 kilograms) for females. They averaged a half-foot taller than most humans.

When ready for combat, bariaurs equipped themselves with scale barding.

Subraces
A larger and more powerful breed of bariaur existed that were known as "exalted bariaurs". Their greater power was said to come from a closer connection to the rulers of the Upper Planes. Exalted bariaurs were much bulkier, weighing upwards of 800 pounds (400 kilograms), and were numbered among the true celestials.

Personality
Lovers of freedom, most bariaurs were full of wanderlust, but they also felt a desire to defend their home planes from evil. Their carefree attitudes sometimes caused those unfamiliar with them to find them irresponsible, but this was simply an outward sign of their wanderlust. When evil showed itself, a bariaur's carefree persona was replaced with the focused stance of a hunter.

Bariaurs were social beings and very outgoing. They were slow to trust while still giving individuals the benefit of the doubt. They got along very well with elves, gnomes, and halflings and aasimar who were not too rigid in their outlook. They would work with dwarves but were not overly fond of them. They found half-elves and half-orcs interesting and were suspicious of tieflings.

Bariaurs loved competing in contests of all varieties, both mental and physical, enjoying everything from story-telling competitions to "clashes of horns" where they would charge each other in a sequence of attacks similar to a jousting match. They enjoyed the contests for their entertainment value and did not take most results too seriously. This love of contests extended to an eagerness to "test" visitors to their realm in such games.

Abilities
Bariaurs were naturally resistant to many magical spells. They had keen senses and could see in the dark.

Combat
Bariaurs often began a fight by lowering their heads and charging with their thick, curled horns. When fighting as flocks, they employed archers to support their melee forces. Warriors often bore scimitars and archers used composite longbows.

Society
Bariaurs rarely settled in one place for a long time; instead, they roamed Ysgard and the House of Nature in flocks of up to 80 persons, led by a leader. This single leader could be male or female and remained in control until being ousted in a "clash of horns" competition.

Most bariaurs were culturally herbivores, and they knew the best sources of nuts, leaves, and berries. An exception, however, were their rangers, who would eat the meat of their hunts.

Bariaurs reached adulthood at 20 years of age and could live well past 200 years.

Many bariaurs became rangers. A few were drawn to become fighters or barbarians. Evil bariaurs were extremely rare and were exiled from the flock.

Language
Bariaurs did not have their own native tongue, and instead spoke the Celestial language and Common,  primarily speaking the former amongst themselves. They occasionally learned the fiendish languages to better prepare themselves for attacks from such creatures.

Bariaurs received their names from their parents, which were usually one or two syllables for ease of shouting across the hills. Within a flock, a male would use the patronym "buck of" to refer to his father, while a female would use "doe of" to show her relationship to her mother. When outside his or her flock, a bariaur would use a flock name.

Common male names included Bex, Hul, Jek, Menok, Ril, and Wyk. Common names for female bariaurs were Daeth, Hysh, Saph, Tyth, and Vash. Some typical flock names were Cloverfield, Dalewatcher, Hillwalker, and Woodstrider.

Religion
Most Bariaur of Ysgard worshiped Ehlonna, the goddess of the woodlands from the world of Oerth. Others venerated gods of strength or the sun.