Minotaur

Height:  15 feet total; 6 feet at the shoulder

Length:

Weight:  3 1/2 tons

Lifespan:

Habitat:  Upper Ugarite Valley near the southern end of The Cancer

Diet:  Omnivorous

Nearest Relation:  Bears and badgers

Minotaur are rare, largely bipedal mammals which originated in the Upper Ugarite Valley near the southern end of The Cancer. Minotaur are named for the bull-like horns they sport from their heads, but are more closely related to bears and badgers than bulls. They are voracious omnivores whose diet is broad enought to include nearly everything they run across: roots, tubers, berries, fish, fowl, mammals, even other minotaur in desperate straights.

Their hind legs are reverse jointed and their feet grow thick chitinous pads which resemble hooves. Their front legs are more clearly paw like and they use them before for attacking prey, gripping simple tools as well as for running on all fours when they wish to move quickly. They have short, bear-like muzzles filled with an omnivore's set of mix-bag teeth. That said, they can still deliver powerful bites and have been known to hunt down catoblepas, humans and other dangerous prey.

Their horns are largely for displays of dominance when fighting other males, but they have been known to charge prey and fend off attackers with them. They are heavily built, weigh about 3 1/2 tons, and stand 15 feet tall, or six feet tall at the shoulder. They are covered in coarse, shaggy hair, thicker around the head and shoulders forming a mane, and around the hind legs. The coat ranges in color from golden to auburn to dark brown and turns gray in older individuals. The skin beneath is usually darker brown or black.

Females lack horns and tend to be about half the size of males. They are solitary, dirunal beings. A mother might travel with two to three cubs. Only a single cub is ever produced at one time.

Chaos energies have mutated Minotaurs, giving them unparalleled regenerative powers. Within seconds, flesh might reknit itself, over a period of minutes or hours, serious wounds will repair. Even broken bones might heal in a day or two. This has transformed them from menacing, territorial predators into nigh unkillable beasts of horror. Since they heal quickly, nearly all restraints are fruitless as a minotaur will simply smash through them in time. Mazes, present them with seeming egresses while not enraging their destructive ire.

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