Centaur Trooper

A centaur trooper is a fey cavalry soldier on loan to the party from a forest court, a ranger captain, or a treaty the players brokered two sessions ago. They are disciplined, loyal to the bargain that placed them here, and uninterested in being treated like a horse. Run the centaur as a peer NPC: the party gives suggestions, the centaur evaluates them through a soldier's lens, and the centaur picks a target.

In combat the centaur opens at range with Longbow if the enemy is more than 50 feet away (Multiattack gives two longbow shots at +4 for 6 average each). Once a melee line forms, the centaur switches to Pike, which keeps the 50 ft. walk speed available for repositioning between turns. The signature move is Trampling Charge: 50 feet of movement without provoking opportunity attacks, through Medium or smaller creatures, DC 14 Strength save against 7 bludgeoning and Prone. Recharge 5-6 means it is a roughly every-other-round option. Save it for a moment when the party would benefit from three or four enemies going prone in a line.

Centaurs do not stay indoors. They will not enter a dungeon corridor that is less than 10 feet wide, will not climb a ladder, and will refuse to be loaded onto a small boat. If the party asks the centaur to come somewhere it cannot fit, the centaur waits at the entrance and rejoins them when they emerge. Make this a feature, not a bug: the centaur becomes the party's reliable rear guard and message-runner across open country, and the dungeon scenes are still a four-character fight.

Have the centaur ask the party's name for the campaign and use it. "I will tell the Warden you fought well at the Iron Ford" lands harder when the players named that ford last week.

A centaur trooper as enemy is rarer than as ally, but a fey court at war with the party's patron, a misunderstanding over a hunted creature, or a charm effect cast on the centaur's captain all sell the setup. The centaur is fighting under orders, not from hate, so they will accept a parley if the party offers one before the second round.

In the fight, the centaur uses the 50 ft. walk to control engagement distance. They open with Longbow at range (two shots at +4 for 6 average each), then close with Trampling Charge when the recharge hits. Trampling Charge is the dangerous turn: 50 feet of move without provoking, through every Medium or smaller creature in the path, DC 14 Strength save or 7 bludgeoning and Prone. Aim the charge through the back-line caster on the way to a melee target so the path catches both. After the charge, Pike Multiattack at +6 hits for 9 average per blow. AC 16 from the breastplate keeps the centaur alive longer than the 45 HP suggests.

Centaurs will surrender or flee at low HP if the party has been honorable. If the party has been cruel, the centaur fights to the last, because the alternative is a dishonor the centaur cannot live with. Make that choice visible at the table: how the players have spoken to the centaur in earlier rounds determines what happens at 10 HP.

Roll one Trampling Charge openly so the party watches the prone effects stack. Half the lesson of fighting cavalry is learning not to clump.