Tall, muscular, and horned folk that are reminiscent of humanoid bulls, this race is famous in our world’s mythology for guarding mazes, but, there is much more to them in Dungeons and Dragons. The Minotaur race was first published in Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica (GGR) and later republished in another Magic: The Gathering setting, Mythic Odysseys of Theros (MOT). An updated version was more recently published in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (MPMM), this is a separate version and does not overwrite the original, it just presents a different way of playing a minotaur using more current design conventions.
Grass Roots
Minotaurs are physically powerful people that enjoy the thrill of battle in many worlds. Their horns can vary in size between one and three feet in length and are a reflection of the minotaur that bears them. Some sharpen their horns or sheathe them in metal to make them more effective in combat, while others adorn them with decorative rings and carvings, and others even carve runes of power into them.
Not only interested in battle, minotaurs are also passionate people that enjoy a good laugh with precious friends as much as they do the chaos of the battlefield. Depending on where in the multiverse a particular minotaur is found, there are rumors that the Lady of Pain supernaturally created them to patrol her maze-like prisons. This stems from the supernatural knack these minotaurs have for navigating, allowing them to potentially even navigate such a daunting place.
Give ‘em the Horns: Playing a Minotaur
Playing a minotaur gives you the following traits:
Ability Scores – Str +2 Con +1
Size – Medium
Creature Type – Humanoid
Speed – 30 ft.
Age – Minotaurs enter adulthood at around the age of 17 and can live up to 150 years.
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.
Horns – Your hooves are natural melee weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Hammering Horns – Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack as 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 no more than one size larger than you and within 5 feet of 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.
Imposing Presence – You have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Intimidation or Persuasion.
Languages – You can speak, read, and write Common and Minotaur.
Mooving on: Playing an MPMM Minotaur
Playing a minotaur from MPMM gives you the following traits:
Ability Scores – You can increase one ability score by 2 and a different score by 1, alternatively you can increase three different ability scores by 1.
Size – Medium
Creature Type – Humanoid
Speed – 30 ft.
Age – The typical life span of a player character in the D&D multiverse is about a century, assuming the character doesn’t meet a violent end on an adventure.
Goring Rush – Immediately after you take 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.
Horns – You have horns that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with them, the strike deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier piercing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Hammering Horns – Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to push 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 can 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 one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character.
We hope you’ve enjoyed charging the nearest evildoer with the minotaur as much as we have. Have you played a minotaur yet? Are you planning to? If you want to learn more about other race options, check out our races section, or if you want to understand the world’s greatest roleplaying game better, then check out our how to play section. Good luck out there adventurers and, until next time, moove to the beat of your own cowbell.
