Visualizing one of @JeremyECrawford's reasons why Centaur and Minotaur should not be Large PCs: a 5' aura is 50% bigger and a 10' aura is 33% bigger. #DnD #UnearthedArcana pic.twitter.com/y6EcGCEaLJ
— ThinkDM (@ThinkingDM) May 15, 2018
That's exactly right. 🤓💖
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 15, 2018
Is it safe to assume we shouldn’t expect Large PC races? 🤞 Yep.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 15, 2018
@JeremyECrawford @mikemearls @ChrisPerkinsDnD #wotcstaff
Just so you know, the #DND hive mind has already decided that a medium centaur can ride a centaur riding a centaur … (repeat) … riding a centaur.
The puzzle is solved. It's centaurs all the way down.
— DM Dean Wants His Tome of Foes (@DeanMSimmons) May 15, 2018
If your DM decides that "a Medium creature" actually means "a tower of Medium creatures," that's an amazingly trippy, English-defying campaign you're playing. Live the dream! 🐎🌈 https://t.co/nYfxFeol5i
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 15, 2018
Precedent exists in the Tomb of Annihilation stacks of up to 7 goblins.
Also, each centaur only has one medium creature riding them. 😉
I WANT MY MOBILE SIEGE TOWERS OF CENTAURS.
Don’t make me pout, Jeremy. It ain’t pretty. A serious reply to your amusing tweet: in our exceptions-based game, exceptions don't set precedents. Those stacking goblins are an exception.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 15, 2018
Given all the centaur excitement, here's some D&D history. Centaurs have had a variety of cultures and sizes in D&D. The generic Large version is in the "Monster Manual." Medium varieties appear in Dragonlance (pictured) and Forgotten Realms books as far back as 1990. #DnD pic.twitter.com/5Ktp4HpXFE
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 16, 2018
The game also has Medium horses in it.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 16, 2018
Doesn't that still mean that a centaur can ride another centaur?
— Sloane (@_Toagun) May 16, 2018
The rules on riding a mount specify that a mount must have a suitable size and anatomy for you to ride it (PH, 198). If the game makes an exception to part of that rule—about the creature's size, for instance—the other part of the rule still stands. #DnD https://t.co/9qoEczOnuc
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 16, 2018
D&D has both: Large and Medium centaurs. We get to have our centaur cake and eat it too. Also, here's another Medium centaur, this time from the Forgotten Realms—a desert centaur from Al-Qadim. pic.twitter.com/E0ivjvfqVa
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 16, 2018
That only sets rules for the ridden centaur, but speaks nothing of the compatibility of the riding centaur. Face it, you’ll have to either make a rule in the PC centaur description or errata the riding rules. If we do anything else with the centaur race, we'll clarify the text. This is what playtesting is all about.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 16, 2018
Want to see more Medium centaurs from D&D's history? I know you do!
Here's the desert centaur from the Forgotten Realms in the realm of Al-Qadim. The illustration is from 1992. #DnD pic.twitter.com/P16hG3TKgJ
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 16, 2018
is there a mechanical or balance reason for the odd size wording for the UA centaur instead of something like “you are size large but limited to medium scale weapons”? The centaur is Medium because that's the size of this sort of centaur. As a side matter, we avoid making Large races for many reasons, some of which I delved into today on Twitch.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 16, 2018
Ok, but imagine a pancake
with eyestalks
and then it floats
but it moves by farting
now let’s go back to picturing a goodly-sized pony and an average sized man
not so weird anymore, right? Precisely.
— Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) May 16, 2018
I’m interested in the reasons for a very low movement of 40’ for a centaur.
I.e. it’s only 5’ more than a wood elf and less than most comparative animals with 4 legs.
50’ makes more sense.
Or an ability like the Tabaxi’s Feline agility.
If you are interested in making balanced playable races the centaur is weak.
Compared to the Tabaxi or many other playable races which have no flaws and plenty of abilities the centaurs poor climbing speed negatives are reason enough to fix its speed.