5E (which this looks like) doesn’t tend to do negatives for species. Centaurs actually do have one of the rare ones, but it’s only that climbing is more difficult for you, so it’s very rare. I think the reasoning is just that the features centaurs do get are basically completely useless to a normal wizard build - a charge ability to get you into melee where wizards don’t want to be, natural weapons for all the punching wizards don’t do, and a bunch of skills tied to an ability score that wizards don’t need
And how often are you going to be climbing in combat, where it would matter that it takes them two and a half times as long to climb?
I think the reasoning is just that the features centaurs do get are basically completely useless to a normal wizard build
The fact that you can have a Tank with Mounted Combatant riding you is very useful to a normal wizard build.
I’d say the biggest downside is getting left behind when everyone moves at twice their pace for an hour. The guy you’re carrying is riding you, so they can move double the distance for the first hour, but since you don’t have a mount you can’t keep up. Though in the 2024 version of the rules, it says “the group” has to have mounts, so I guess nobody can move fast and it’s not as silly as in 2014.
And how often are you going to be climbing in combat
Not often at all, that’s why I don’t think it’s the reason they picked centaur
The fact that you can have a Tank with Mounted Combatant riding you is very useful to a normal wizard build.
It’s definitely a valid approach, but it’s worth remembering that player centaurs are only medium-sized so the rider actually loses the advantage against medium-sized enemies that Mounted Combatant would otherwise give them. It’s not useless by any means, especially if the centaur takes Protection (although that would require grabbing a fighting style one way or another too), but I’d be surprised if it was all that much better than just having the rider on a regular horse and the wizard not in melee. The wizard does still have to actually pass the dex saves, after all, and this one is not going to be doing that very often
The thing about centaurs requiring their own mounts to keep up is pretty damn funny
I would guess because it has awkward rules interactions so its another layer of crap to deal with.
5E (which this looks like) doesn’t tend to do negatives for species. Centaurs actually do have one of the rare ones, but it’s only that climbing is more difficult for you, so it’s very rare. I think the reasoning is just that the features centaurs do get are basically completely useless to a normal wizard build - a charge ability to get you into melee where wizards don’t want to be, natural weapons for all the punching wizards don’t do, and a bunch of skills tied to an ability score that wizards don’t need
And how often are you going to be climbing in combat, where it would matter that it takes them two and a half times as long to climb?
The fact that you can have a Tank with Mounted Combatant riding you is very useful to a normal wizard build.
I’d say the biggest downside is getting left behind when everyone moves at twice their pace for an hour. The guy you’re carrying is riding you, so they can move double the distance for the first hour, but since you don’t have a mount you can’t keep up. Though in the 2024 version of the rules, it says “the group” has to have mounts, so I guess nobody can move fast and it’s not as silly as in 2014.
Not often at all, that’s why I don’t think it’s the reason they picked centaur
It’s definitely a valid approach, but it’s worth remembering that player centaurs are only medium-sized so the rider actually loses the advantage against medium-sized enemies that Mounted Combatant would otherwise give them. It’s not useless by any means, especially if the centaur takes Protection (although that would require grabbing a fighting style one way or another too), but I’d be surprised if it was all that much better than just having the rider on a regular horse and the wizard not in melee. The wizard does still have to actually pass the dex saves, after all, and this one is not going to be doing that very often
The thing about centaurs requiring their own mounts to keep up is pretty damn funny