Last Updated on November 15, 2023
Minotaur Race
- Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
- Alignment. Most minotaurs lean toward lawful alignments, while those associated with Mogis or more violent guilds on Ravnica tend toward chaotic alignments.
- Size. Minotaurs average over 6 feet in height, and they have stocky builds. Your size is Medium.
- Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
- Horns. Your horns are natural melee weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to ld6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
- Goring Rush. Immediately after you use the Dash action on your turn and move at least 20 feet, you can make one melee attack with your horns as a bonus action.
- Hammering Horns. Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack as a part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to shove that target with your horns. The target must be within 5 feet of you and no more than one size larger than you. Unless it succeeds on a Strength saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier, you push it up to 10 feet away from you.
- Labyrinthine Recall. You always know which direction is north, and you have advantage on any Wisdom (Survival) check you make to navigate or track.
- Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Minotaur.
Minotaur Origins and Appearance
Minotaurs have a rich history, both in and out of D&D. For those that don’t know, the minotaur originated in Greek mythology. He was the child of Pasiphae, Minos’s wife, and a white bull given to Minos for sacrifice.
The monstrous offspring, a being with the head of a bull and body of a man, was famously kept in the Labyrinth on Crete and later killed by Theseus.
In D&D, the minotaur race have a wealth of impressive features, with three of the four being related to their horns. So let’s start off by talking about those.
Typically an unarmed strike deals bludgeoning damage equal to 1 + your strength modifier, which for most minotaurs would likely be rather high anyway.
Instead, though, you get to deal 1d6 + your strength modifier, a great improvement by any means. This is even better than a tabaxi’s claws which deal 1d4 + strength modifier.
I think part of what makes minotaurs stand out as an excellent race is the way in which their abilities synergize. The next ability, Goring Rush, works beautifully for getting you an extra attack on a bonus action.
This generates a lot of movement for the bull-descended race, giving you the opportunity to get across the battlefield quickly without sacrificing your ability to deal damage.
Here to round out the minotaurs’ attacking prowess is the Hammering Horns ability. While this shoving ability does require you to do so after using the attack action, it means getting to control the battlefield in a fun, original way.
The last ability is new for this edition: Labyrinthine Recall. I love the theme of this and I think it gives the Minotaur good flavor and a useful ability in niche situations.
What Classes Are Well Suited to the Minotaur
Minotaurs are an impressive race, without even picking up a class they have a lot of raw potential as a force to be reckoned with on and off the battlefield.
Barbarian – This class feels the most naturally fitting for minotaurs. The monster version even has a feature that echoes the reckless attack barbarians gain.
Employing rage is an excellent way to explore the minotaurs tendency towards violent outbursts and the struggle they might experience with control over their more primal urges.
Now from a mechanical perspective these just match up perfectly. The ability scores and features all synergize without creating any problems.
Everything the minotaur can do works wonderfully during rage. Enjoy adding your rage damage bonus to your horns for some serious charges.
Fighter – Perfect ability score bonuses to start. Goring Rush and Hammering Horns both feel at home with the battle master’s maneuvers, giving you two additional ways to gain an edge on the battlefield in combat while still dealing damage.
While a battle master is perhaps the most focused on gaining battlefield control, any fighter would benefit from generating extra attacks while charging across the map.
Monk – Now strength-based monks are a bit more rare than those who utilize their dexterity, and the build would become a bit MAD (multiple ability dependent). That being said, there are a few things that make a Monkitaur an exciting option.
First, your horns have an incredible unarmed strike damage.
So incredible, that monk’s martial arts skill doesn’t give them a d6 for unarmed strike until 5th level, and it isn’t until 11th level that they get stronger. This gives a minotaur incredible improvement on the base class for 10 whole levels!
Second, the monk is (generally, for anyone with some crazy rogue build out there) the fastest class in the game.
They get to make the dash action as a bonus action for just 1 Ki point, and their speed is increased by 10 feet at second level. Pairing this with the bonus attack you gain after dash actions is just brutal. No one will see you coming.
I’m just going to say it again… Monkitaur.
Minotaur Names: Male, Female, Neutral, Other
Minotaurs have a really unique naming convention. They choose names from history and legends, using names that have some significance in a story about a hero.
Rarely do they choose the hero themselves. More often it is some side character that assisted the hero in some way, or performed some great deed.
You can use this table to decide the significance of your name.
| D8 | Namesake Quality |
| 1 | My namesake defeated a great enemy. |
| 2 | My namesake was known for fierce devotion to a god. |
| 3 | My namesake was a respected leader of other warriors. |
| 4 | My namesake completed an incredible feat for the good of others. |
| 5 | My namesake was famous for a great magical ability. |
| 6 | My namesake was a hero’s devoted companion or aid. |
| 7 | My namesake is remembered for incredible generosity. |
| 8 | My namesake was a great oracle. |
Male Names: Bamvros, Dornik, Drazhan, Halafotios, Kalazmir, Menatravo, Rhordon, Thyorogog, Vrazlak
Female Names: Akra, Bozzri, Cika, Dhazdoro, Ghalantzo, Irnaya, Jaska, Kerani, Philoprodis, Raisha, Veska
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As a kid, I was often told to get my head out of the clouds and to stop living in a fantasy world. That never really jived with me, so I decided to make a living out of games, stories, and all sorts of fantastical works. Now, as an adult, I aspire to remind people that sometimes a little bit of fantasy is all you need when life gets to be too much.
