Desert Centaur

Desert centaurs are always armed, half of them with light lances, the other half with short composite bows and scimitars. In melee they can also attack with their sharp hooves. Desert centaurs are wary and prefer to strike from a distance whenever possible. They are great at riding forward from ambush to fire missiles and then melting into the sands, only to return later and strike again. They are willing to strike again and again over a period of hours or even days to bring down their prey and their foes. When the final assault comes it is preceded by a hail of arrows and followed up with a full charge of lancers.

Desert centaurs are most active by night. Their relatively large bodies and rapid movement make it easy for them to overheat and suffer sunstroke when carrying heavy loads, and thus they prefer the cooler nighttime temperatures. Their excellent night vision allows then to see clearly up to 200 yards under moonlit conditions. The territory of a tribe of desert centaurs generally extends across hundreds of miles. Each tribe has a priestess who functions as a waterfinder and reader of oracles. The priestess rules in all matters of justice among tribe members and in all matters of diplomacy with other desert dwellers. She usually speaks several languages other than her own, such as the giantish trade tongue, the languages of nearby humans, and sometimes even the languages of the debbi or the vishap. Raiding and hunting parties of desert centaurs are led by experienced trackers. They track as rangers. These leaders make the final decisions as to where the tribe roams and where it raids. Some desert centaurs serve as caravaneers or caravan guards, usually employed as expert scouts. A few desert centaurs are said to have settled down and irrigated the lands around oases to create rich desert gardens. Although caravan masters and travelers all know this to be true, no one can say where these oases are. The farming desert centaurs either swore their discoverers to silence or subject the non-compliant to some worse fate. All desert centaurs are polygamous; both males and females may have up to four mates. Generally these families are centered around either a single powerful male or an influential female. With the exception of the priestess, females and young only fight if directly threatened, where lash out with their hooves.

Desert centaurs are constantly seeking new hunting grounds, new water holes, and new sources of resources for bows and fletchings. They treat human and giantish desert tribes with respect and are willing to make peace or raid them as circumstances demand. Desert centaurs avoid and fear the genies. They rarely enter towns except to trade for goods they cannot produce themselves.