I'm trying to balance the idea of actual evolution/design versus 'game designs' because game designs are often based on "is it hot/awesome/cool?". A lot of alpha versions get modified because test players don't find the original version appealing enough. So in video games, it's likely female centaurs are going to have breasts because reasons. Now, I'm trying to think of a reason why that would happen and I've come up with one. I'm not sure how scientifically accurate it would be, but we are talking about six-limbed horse-human-like hybrids so that's probably a bit out of the window! So here goes... What if centaur foals are in between human babies and foals in terms of movement? Basically, they can't run in just a few hours, but they don't stay near as helpless as human babies. So let's say...it takes them a few months to be able to keep up with the herd. Before that, they need to be carried for traveling and can't even walk very well for at least 4-5 weeks, right? So to feed them, the mothers need an option that they can do themselves. So the udders aren't an option yet. What if colostrum and early milk are in the breasts? Centaur foals are born considerably smaller than horse foals because their unusual design makes birth a lot more risky; so smaller and less developed is better and safer. Mamma Centaur carries them for a month or two, nursing them in her arms so she can continue to keep up with the rest of her clan/herd/tribe, right? So they get older, they start to walk and run about and when that happens, the milk in the chest dries up (leaving possibly small/modest breasts since as you said, too much flopping around up there in probably a lot of trouble) and the udders start to develop as the foals start trying to nurse from the ground. So basically the two sets of mammaries reflect the needs of the offspring and the efficiency of the mother being able to tend them? Pfft. I don't know about amazing. You flatter me. I just enjoy world building. I totally agree though. I assume centaurs have a very diverse diet, much like wild horses and early humans. Fruits, flowers, leaves, nuts, and pretty much anything they can hunt or gather with relative ease. I picture centaurs having a fairly long digestive system to make the most of food, but yes they definitely go for higher proteins and such so they don't have to constantly graze like wild horses. Although I assume centaurs probably eat more than humans and probably fairly often. They might be a bit like Hobbits and have 6 daily meals instead of just 3. I think the "human half" probably doesn't have a lot of organs; it's mostly muscle and connection with some "tubes" for breathing and eating mostly. I think the waist and torso would probably be quite flexible, much like a horse's neck. A horse's neck can reach down to graze, groom it's own flank, reach back far enough to touch it's own hind leg, etc. I'm sure it varies from centaur to centaur, but I would think logically so they can self-groom and all that, the "human half" would need to be pretty darn bendy. I think they probably have a heart and set of lungs up there; or at least organs modified to be similar to them. A horse's respiratory system is designed to take in huge amounts of air, warm it, clean it of any debris, and filter out as much oxygen as possible; that's why horses have a nose and skull shaped like they do (other reasons, but breathing is a big part of the design). I think the "human lungs" are there to filter, warm, and push the air down into the very large lungs in the "horse torso". A centaur probably has excellent breath control and can probably hold their breath for quite some time. The second heart probably helps to pump all that blood and oxygen through the somewhat unusual design, as well as keep the blood pressure from being too high or damaging. I imagine centaurs are extremely tough; injuring the human body probably is painful but not fatal since there are "back-up" lungs and heart, although damaging the head/brain and spine is bad news. The major/larger organs in the "horse torso" are protected by the heavier hide, bone, and muscle of the equine parts too. Although I assume the legs are probably still fairly vulnerable as in the belly, but centaur intelligence means a broken leg isn't fatal, the same way it often is for a real horse. A centaur would be intelligent enough to know how to take it easy and understand what was happening to them so they wouldn't panic and could follow the healer's orders. But I'm sort of rambling. I really enjoy world-building and this centaur MC is stuck in my brain. I think it might be really fun to write about them impulsively ending up a centaur and having to get used to not only the unusual body, but also learning about the culture of the centaurs in the world.
BC reasons! HA! BC Humans you mean! lol I too love world building, and I had never thought about how flexible the "torso" would be. I'd always imagined it as it's drawn with a flat, washboard stomach merging with the horse half. I think your design makes more sense. Like a cheetah I've always imaged a centaurs spine would have to be extra bendy meaning they probably have more 'vertebrae' then we do. I do like the idea, IF they must have breasts, to have the child/foal born less advanced than a horse. I mean there would need to be more time spent on the brain developing (which is why we take so long to mature). As to diet, I imagine they are 'grazers' (Ha, see what I did there? oh very punny). they would be nibbling on food all day. Like you said there is pretty much nothing they won't eat that they won't be poisoned by. also I think they wouldn't be scavengers. Simply meaning there not going ot come up to a rotting corpse and start munching on it.
That's probably likely true. I think the "human half" would probably be pretty lean and muscular on a healthy centaur. They would need it for balance as well as strength for using their arms and hands. I think the human torso probably isn't really larger than a human's for the most part. They might be thicker if their "horse half" is a bulky/draft type build, but the average one probably would be about average human build or slimmer, maybe even closer to an elf? It makes sense because having a huge, top-heavy torso would likely throw off their balance and agility quite a bit. And yes, definitely a bendy, flexible spine for quick turns, long strides, and agility. We'll have to throw science out a bit as centaurs basically have "two spines" because of their design. If we kept the same number of vertebrae as a human, they would be highly inflexible and just wouldn't be able to move very well at all. Their arms would have to be attached in a very different place too! And that's likely very true. They probably do eat frequently, even if it's just little snacks. I imagine if a group of them is moving, they're probably grabbing berries, fruits, and anything they can easily pop into their mouth to eat as they travel. I think you're right and they'd probably avoid rotting carrion, although they probably would steal a fresh kill from predators if possible. Humans did (and still do) the same thing.
Oh yeah, they would totally be opportunists! even if they aren't "half human" they are sentient. That means they're going ot problem solve and realize if something else has done the killing already that's less effort for us! I agree they have to be super bendy. I think where their torso meets the horse part would need to almost be double joined. Both so it could reach down further, and so it could turn and reach behind. However once you pointed it out I think there would be a different musculature to the centaur. I think that muscle that comes from the chest up to the head would likely still be there (though different) as a centaur. TO keep the torso up would require some decent muscle so all that muscle connecting the horses torso to the head would likely still be there;
You can also use 'backseat driver', if you like. And it basically refers to people who have all kinds of opinions about things, but they are just commentators, they don't actually 'do', and don't have any actual work to back them up. The usual, slightly snarky response to such things is to ask them if they have such excellent opinions, why they have not written their own book?
Be careful carrying that around Santa Barbara. I hear they’re handing out jail time for straws, and you must have used a lot of them to make that straw man! RauthrMystic makes a good point, however. The reliance on humans as the go to species in stories may well be lazy worldbuilding, but that’s only one possibility. She, for instance, has made a point to say that she identifies, narratively, with elves. If she wrote a fantasy book, but didn’t want to take the time to create the lore of an eleven species, that would be just what she called it: lazy worldbuilding. But there can be other reasons. It can be familiarity, it can be because humans represent a certain ideal in a given world, or it could be because the story works best from a human perspective. Heck, it could be because the tale being told doesn’t need a transhumanistic theme. In any case, I’m certain you’re an amazing author - I couldn’t tell, as your content, laced with rape and cannibalism, does nothing for me - but the acerbic tone isn’t going to do you any good in this (or any) conversation. Please try to be civil.
That's likely true. It makes me think that the human "belly" would likely be a semi-vulnerable place since it's just protected by muscle, but no doubt would house "tubes" to the "lower lungs" and "lower belly" as well as lots of blood vessels. I feel like since they're archers, their armor would likely give a lot of freedom to the shoulders, but focus on protecting their "human belly" while still leaving them enough flexibility to turn and shift the "human half" to help properly balance the lower equine half, just like a horse that's running and jumping needs to be able to lower and lift its head and arch its neck.
Honestly, I'm not fond of that kind of outlook. By that logic, no one should ever have an opinion without first being a professional in the area. Now, I could throw out the crazy examples like "I've never been a slave, but I still know slavery is wrong!" but I'll just use ones that more applicable to this situation. How can you say what's a good or bad game system? No system you've made has ever been a standalone tabletop game or an online MMO, right? So how can you know what's a good one? How can you say if a book is good if you're not a Best Seller on the best seller book? If your book isn't there, how can you judge if a book is good or bad? You haven't written a book up to that standard. How can you decide if a movie is good or bad? You've never made a movie that was in theaters, right? So how do you know? Obviously, those are kind of silly examples. Well, in my opinion saying someone has to write a book to know if they like a book is silly. I don't need to be a professional chef to know if the chicken is raw or that something is burnt black. So I can read something and form an idea that this or that doesn't appeal to me. Or this or that seems to be lazy writing or a poorly done trope. Granted, opinions are like rear-ends; everyone has one. Still, I think it's a poor frame of mind to condemn someone's ability to have an opinion or criticize just because they haven't done something to an arbitrary standard.
So I decided today to check out centaur books on Amazon. Let me just say...wow. That is a lot of erotica. Like I don't think I could find a single book in 10 pages that wasn't "Savaged by the Centaur" or "Claimed by the Centaur" or "Brood-whatever to the Centaur." I did not realize that centaurs were such a big thing (no pun intended) in terms of monster sexy times. So I'm just sitting over here like: I just thought centaurs were cool, but apparently there is a very large market for centaur porn. So...that's a thing I learned today.
I think that's valid thinking, though they could also be pretty amazing with spears and great swords. ooohhh Could you imagine a centaur as a classic 'tank'? almost comically huge shield with a spear or great sword. kaboom. with that in mind they would probably be pretty amazing as a phalanx (I'm pretty sure they are Greek, which makes sense because centaurs are also if I'm not mistaken). I will say that I see their musculature as different then ours, especially around the torso. The human torso is muscled the way it is because of how bendy we need to be, plus how we walk, meaning it has to be strong and flexible. The centaur while also needing a strong and flexible torso would need a musculature to help keep their torso erect (assuming that is the 'resting' positing [or least energy cost position]of the centaur). I'm gonna be honest: I"m LOVING THIS =0) The culture would also be interesting. Assuming there are other race options in this 'game' that means that the centaur (and others) have had to deal with something humans have never had to deal with: growing along side other sentient races. We've only had wars with each other, we've only fought each other for land and food, we've only fought each other for sovereignty. In this crazy, amazing, and interesting idea your races would've have impacted each other somehow. (omg I'm geeking) As I think about that I think it's something a lot of fiction worlds miss. WoW for example rarely talks about that sort of thing. TO be fair there are the big ones: the blood elves leaving the night elves, the orcs fighting the humans...okay that's all I can think of lore wise. and by that I mean pregame stuff. the 'set up'. okay I'm gonna stop before this gets novel length lol
*blink* *blink* Well...um. that's interesting. I remember reading a paranormal romance called "wild magic" (i think) where she called a centaur as her ...power/battery. They bypassed the animalia of it by making him being able to 'shift' to a man. SO there was no weirdness just more magic. (I don't know if I've been clear but I'm a *huge* fan of magic..If I lived in WoW my need for magic would probably make me a blood elf)
I had to double check and make sure I linked the previous book (which I've still not read) where the protagonist is a slime. Thats a fantasy I'm pretty sure. However https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074N1P685/ref=series_rw_dp_sw is Life Reset: A LitRPG novel (New Era Online book 1) where the character becomes a Goblin. It was pretty good. a few times the author missed tense but it didn't throw you out of the reading. The book does a good job of showing how being a goblin is not only different but difficult. There are some other loops that get thrown at the character but for our discussion the race of the mc is not human. So now there are 2 books that I know of (not counting serial novels after the first) where the protagonist isn't human AND it matters..only one of which is LitRPG
It was certainly not what I expected when I typed "Centaur" in the search bar for books. That's for sure.
Yeah, it was definitely a bit of a shocker. I mean, I'll be honest, I expected a few because Rule 34. If something exists, there's going to be porn of it. I just didn't expect there to be so, so damn many books. Typing "Centaur" is a dangerous game. Now I'm a bit afraid to type in things like minotaur and dragon.
Now, to be fair, I have nothing against erotica or porn. It's a good market and kudos to the people who sell it well! I just honestly hadn't really expected sex with centaurs to be quite so popular!
