Tauran

 

Physiology

Taurans are large, cloven-hoofed humanoids typically standing 200 cm in height and weighing 110 kg on average. While they are all of similar size, they have huge range of appearance characteristics, with some having slick, smooth coats and shining manes, others have bold patterns or stripes, and still others having coats of thick wool. Males are usually somewhat larger than females, and in most cases males have horns, while females never do. Male horns have a huge range of appearances also, from long, straight and sharp, to heavy and curled, to broad and forking, to small nearly invisible lumps on the head.

Life Cycle

Taurans tend to have a strong migratory urge, and males in particular tend to leave their mother and their home by their early to mid teen years. After several years of wanderlust - usually supported by apprenticeship in some field - taurans may begin to seek a breeding partner. If successful, they will settle into a short term partnership to raise children, otherwise they will tend to move on annually.

Once in a parenting partnership, taurans will work together to raise their kids until they reach about 5 to 7 years of age. By this time, with the children beginning to adopt functional roles in their community, both male and female may begin looking for new partners, often with the male moving on while female remains behind, looking to newly arrived males for potential future partnerships.

Taurans have a 3 year life cycle, common to many species, and tauran females will have two to four children during their lives, while some tauran males may father as many as twenty or more, while others have none at all. Despite their migratory habits, tauran families do not 'break up' just because they are separated by distance, or because parents have entered relationships with new partners. Taurans will typically return periodically to maintain and renew family relationships, even while maintaining multiple families in different places. Taurans do not feel jealousy or resentment toward a partner's previous or subsequent partners of their children - to taurans such second-familial relations are just considered to be their extended family.

Culture

The tauran compulsion to migrate is powerful, and defines tauran culture and how taurans integrate in all organized societies. Many tauran are nomadic - either as individuals plying a trade as the migrate from town to town - or as part of a larger nomadic tribe that travels constantly across a large region. Many tauran are also attracted to military life, as it is often a chance to leverage their physical prowess while getting paid to see the world.

Even 'settled' taurans who have established names, titles and holdings will tend to have family spread across a huge region, and will move from city to city every few years, living with different members of their extended family at different times and in different phases of their lives.

Sometimes a tauran family will suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, form a dynasty. This can happen when a large but distributed group of half-siblings and step-siblings simultaneously rise to positions of status and prominence in different guilds, companies, or military orders and then leverage their collective power solidify their individual gains. This is not a conspiracy, but rather a consequence of taurans' migratory nature and strong but distributed family networks, combined with their general physical capacity, even temper, and strong work ethic.

Adjustments

Taurans are not be exceptionally bright, and suffer a penalty to their Intelligence, but they are quick and tireless, gaining a bonus to their Agility, Vitality and Stamina. They also have the Indefatigable perk, enabling them to just keep pushing themselves beyond the limits of exhaustion. The are fast and big, and get bonuses to their move and their damage, but their size makes them easier to hit. Taurans have the Night Vision perk, and they start with Apprentice level of mastery and a free initial roll in the Transport - Land skill field.