PF2 Minotaur Ancestry Guide

Introduction

Minotaurs are iconic mythological creatures dating back to Greek mythology. They look like humanoid bulls, and are frequently associated with mazes or labyrinths. While they are evil monsters in mythology, Pathfinder’s minotaurs are as philosophically diverse as any other humanoid race in Pathfinder.

The Minotaur’s feats offer a few interesting options. The most obvious feats encourage to be a big melee threat, which works nicely with the Minotaur’s Large size. Other options allow you to politely reposition your allies in combat, to do some innate spellcasting, or even turn yourself into an ambush predator.

With few exceptions, Minotaur characters will be built as a Strength-based melee combatant. Options like Friendly Nudge will make it easier to work in melee despite your Large size, and Stretching Reach allows you to add Reach to non-Reach weapons, making your presence felt across an abnormally large area.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks.

  • Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
  • Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
  • Green: Good options. Useful often.
  • Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

Minotaur Ancestry Traits

  • Hit Points: 10. At Large size, you’re a big target, so extra hp is nice.
  • Size: Large. Large size means that you take up more space in combat, which predisposes you to front-line martial builds.
  • Speed: 25 feet is standard.
  • Attributes: Perfect for a front-line, Strength-based character like a Barbarian or Fighter.
  • Languages: Ancestry language plus Common is standard.
  • Senses: Darkvision
  • Horns: Typical for Ancestry-based unarmed strikes.
  • Trait: Beast: Because Minotaurs have the Beast trait, you’re susceptible to effects which target Beasts, which are often accessible at lower level than comparable effects which can target Humanoids. This will rarely be an issue, but is technically a weakness.

Minotaur Heritages

Minotaur Ancestry Feats

Level 1

  • Artisanal Crafter (HotW): Fine if you’re planning to lean heavily into crafting.
  • Cattle Speech (HotW): Too specific. Get a want of Speak With Animals.
  • Eye for Masonry (HotW): Only situationally useful. I would only take this if you’re playing a megadungeon.
  • Friendly Nudge (HotW): Often a great way to help allies out of a dangerous position, especially
  • Keen Nose (HotW): Scent is excellent.
  • Minotaur Lore (HotW): Few builds will benefit greatly from both skills.
  • Minotaur Weapon Familiarity (HotW): No Advanced Weapons, but a few Martial Weapons become Simple Weapons, making them more accessible for many classes.
  • Pantheon Magic (HotW): Cantrips are always great, but remember that innate spells are Charisma-based, so avoid offensive spells unless you’re a Charisma-based Divine spellcaster. Most characters should stick to utility options.

Level 5

  • Alarming Disappearance (HotW): Great for Rogues and Sniper Gunslingers, but at Large size you may struggle to find somewhere to hide. Consider the Littlehorn Heritage if you’re planning to take this.
  • Beast of Burden (HotW): There are items and spells that can solve Bulk at little cost. Sleeping in medium armor is neat, but rarely impactful.
  • Labyrinthine Echoe (HotW): Too situational.
  • Natural Orienteering (HotW): Too situational.
  • Puzzle Solver (HotW): Recall Knowledge is extremely useful, especially for classes like the Ranger and the Thaumaturge. A consistent, easy bonus even once per hour will be consistently useful for your whole career, provided that you’re built to use those skills.
  • Stretching Reach (HotW): This effectively adds the Reach property to any two-handed weapon that doesn’t already have it. However, there’s a hidden Action cost here: you need to Interact to change your grip on a drawn weapon. If you start combat without your weapon drawn, you may need to spend an Action to draw it, then another to change your grip.

Level 9

  • Friendly Fling (HotW): This can be a helpful way to reposition an ally to flank your enemies, and the 1d6 damage is miniscule at this level. The Reaction attack is great, too, but remember that this costs two Actions to use, and your own Actions may be better spent on your own attacks.
  • Goring Charge (HotW): Great for closing to melee if you’re built to use unarmed strikes effectively.
  • Siphon Torment (HotW): Extremely situational. Unless you have an Oracle in the party, this may never see use.
  • Stone’s Passage (HotW): Extremely useful inside structures like dungeons or castles, but remember that it’s only once per hour, so you might find yourself stuck away from your party.

Level 13

  • Phantom Charm (HotW): Only situationally useful, but really good when it does work. You may be able to intentionally produce Misfortune effects to capitalize on this bonus.
  • Shift the Little Ones (HotW): Only situationally useful. This doesn’t appear to allow allies to Step more than once, nor does it allow them to Step if they’re unable to do so for any reason.
  • Threatening Pursuit (HotW): Maybe useful for Rogues and for Sniper Gunslingers.

Level 17

  • Begin Stampede (HotW): Absolutely fantastic, especially if you’re in a big party with numerous allies who like to fight in melee.
  • Into the Labyrinth (HotW): An excellent way to remove a creature from a fight, provided that you’re proficient in Occult spellcasting.