Centaurs (Race)

Original conception of a Centaur from Warhammer Battle Bestiary.

Centaurs are mythical creatures who appear as half-Human and half-horse. They are present in the folklore and myths of the cultures of the Old World.^[3a]

From Tilea to Kislev, they are depicted as Men who were horses, or horses who were also Men. Some scholars claim the myth may also have been based on an ancient Human people whose lives were so wholly dependent on the horse that there was no separating the two.^[2a][3a]

The white, limestone caves of Zamak Spayenya hide many primitive paintings from a forgotten era. Most depict hunting scenes that feature stylised animals, including bear, elk, deer, and horses; but these animals are not hunted by Men: they are hunted by great, winged Centaurs. Some Kislevite scholars believe these to be the Scythian people that once inhabited the frigid steppes of the oblast, but others bitterly argue against this hypothesis.^[3a]

Instead, they claim the Scythians were Humans who used Centaurs as a metaphor to show that man and horse were inseparable, and wings to signify how they galloped at great speed across the oblast upon their mounts.^[3a]

Beastmen Origins

It is not known what the connection is between Centaurs and the beastmen breed known as Centigors who greatly resemble their supposed appearance. The origin of the Beastmen of the Old World is uncertain, though there is an ancient legend, believed to be of Dwarf origin, that places the genesis of the Old World's Beastmen in the collapse of the northern Polar Gate at the start of the Great Catastrophe.^[4a]

The legend tells of a time over five thousand years before the birth of Sigmar, when the earliest ancestors of Humanity still resided in the south-eastern region of the Southlands beyond the borders of Tilea. In this time, or so the legend tells, there was another race of heavy-set and passably intelligent humanoids to whom the gods (or perhaps the godlike Old Ones who raised the Polar Gates) had first taught the skills of animal husbandry.^[4a]

These nomadic peoples travelled across the north-eastern steppes of the Old World, taming dogs to help them herd wild boar, as well as the long-horned ancestors of modern-day cattle, and flocks of hardy goats. Then the northern Polar Gate collapsed, and the corrosive energies of Chaos saturated this simple people, merging them with the only partially tamed animals that they herded, warping them into the first of the goatlike and bovine Beastmen known to plague the mortal world today. It is from this reality that the myth of the Centaurs may have first sprung, though Centaurs are said to be far more benevolent creatures.^[4a]

Miniatures

Centaurs also appeared as part of the roster for the Blood Bowl team known as the Forest Folk, alongside Gnomes, Satyrs, and Treemen. Although they never had official miniatures, players could convert other models to represent them.^[5a]

Centaurs (Blood Bowl conversion)^[5a]

Canon Conflict

Centaurs have not been mentioned as a species within the lore of Warhammer since the 3rd Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. They were replaced by the far more savage Centigors of the Beastmen, who are also sometimes called Centaurs.

In their original conception, Centaurs were a peaceful species who lived upon the Eastern Steppes of the Far East north of the Mountains of Mourn and on the continent of Naggaroth in the New World. They were a free and uninhibited race, intelligent, reasonable, and kindly. They were nomads and maintained no permanent settlements, preferring to move through the steppes with the changing seasons.^[1a]

Centaurs lived by hunting and herding, having little contact with other intelligent races and trading only occasionally with the Humans of Farside, east of the Worlds Edge Mountains. In ancient times, they were said to be friendly with the Elves and to occasionally travel through the Old World. Nowadays, however, the only Centaurs in the Old World are captives of freak shows and circuses. Centaurs have an age-old antipathy towards the Goblin races, particularly the Hobgoblins who shared the Eastern Steppes with them.^[1a]

Sources

• 1: Warhammer Fantasy Battle Rulebook (3rd Edition)
  • 1a: pg. 212
• 2: Riders of the Dead (Novel) by Dan Abnett
  • 2a: Ch. 7: "Zamak Spayenya"
• 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realm of the Ice Queen (RPG)
  • 3a: pg. 212
• 4: Liber Chaotica (Background Book)
  • 4a: pg. 252
• 5: Citadel Journal 17
  • 5a: pp. 13-15