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CENTAUR

• +8 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom.
• Large size. -1 penalty to Armor Class, -1 penalty on attack rolls, -4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters.
• Space/Reach: 10 feet/5 feet.
• A centaur’s base land speed is 50 feet.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Racial Hit Dice: A centaur begins with four levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 4d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +4, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +4, and Will +4.
• Racial Skills: A centaur’s monstrous humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 7 × (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Survival.
• Racial Feats: A centaur’s monstrous humanoid levels give it two feats.
• +3 natural armor bonus.
• Automatic Languages: Centaur, regional; Bonus Languages: Common; Centaur, any.
• Level adjustment +2.

Centaurs (translated from the northern mountain dialect: "people") are the natives of what is now referred to as the "frontier." They are seeing the first change to their lifestyle in centuries as the frontier is colonized by people from across the mountains.

History, Legend, and Myth
To say that the frontier was unknown before would be ridiculous. Before the arrival of Krang dwarves traded with the some of the centaur that dwelt near the mountains. And even during his rule the occasional courageous adventurer might pierce through his personal territory and find the other side. Some even returned. But only now, with Krang dead and the Empire in control of the pass, is there any serious push to out onto those lands. That push has caused the first disruption of the lifestyle that has been held by the centaurs since the end of the Giantwar.
Naturally, they have no knowledge of the Giantwar as such. Rather the legends that have been collected tell of a time long past, when a race of a massive two legged beings roamed the world freely. The Centaurs called them Ogres, and had no fear of them. No ogre could run remotely fast, even a child could easily outpace them. But they did gobble up game and force the centaur tribes to move on. Centaur legend holds that the gods grew angry with the Ogres for gobbling up all they did without thought for what would happen to others, or for if the game would ever return. In punishment the gods made the game too fast for them to catch, so that they would starve and shrink. Ogres fled to the distant forests and swamps, where there was no room to run. And they continued to grow smaller with each generation, until they were not much taller than a normal Centaur. The Centaurs call these strange, reclusive creatures Trolls, and avoid the areas they inhabit. Trolls haunt the places where their ancestors fled, hoping to prey on the unlucky and the unready, constant reminders of the price of greed.
But centaur myth holds another warning: that the Ogres are not all gone. That some still live in the high mountains and deep oceans, in the clouds and beneath the earth. These hidden sites, they say, hold the last Ogres who wait until they are freed again, and then they shall return the reclaim the world. And when that time comes no god, nor spirit, nor mortal can stop them.
That's the outline, anyway. The legends change depending on which tribe you ask. Which makes their creation myths even more difficult to relate. The only common theme in each is that the gods found an incomplete world, with form but no substance, and so made it as it is now. How it got there, or even what form it had, is different everywhere.

Government and Culture
Centaurs live in nomadic tribes with no need for central government of any form. Each tribe is ruled in a different manner, and all of the tribes in a region have different relations with each other. Some have been at war with each other for longer than anyone can remember, others have been good friends for just as long. Most pass between these two extremes, and the norm is that tribes simply try to avoid each other.
The tribes themselves each have a different form of leadership. Some choose their best warrior as leader, replacement is based on a right of combat. Others, their best hunter, with a challenge as to either size or number during a hunt. There are matriarchies, patriarchies, and even simple rule by consensus. These just in the few encountered so far!
One thing they generally have in common is the shaman (roughly translated from northern mountain dialect: "one who speaks with the spirits and commands their power"), who in most tribes is at least as important as their other leader. Shamans fill the same roll as the elven witch or the loremasters of the traveling people. They are spiritual leaders, teachers, ambassadors, healers, and magic-users.
Centaur shelters are temporary affairs they can easily take with them. They resemble crude stables (again, details vary), since centaurs sleep standing up. They only bother with these in inclement weather, preferring to sleep under the stars. Centaurs construct camp around a central fire, which they protect in the shaman's hut during bad weather.

Names
No one's entirely sure as to the naming conventions of any centaur tribe, although many do seem to have names that describe either their features or some action they have performed. Precisely how this is decided on probably varies from tribe to tribe, like everything else.

Language
Another fact about centaurs that unfortunately varies. Although no settlements have been formed beyond the northern mountain region (an imperial order, until the current province is safely established), explorers have gone further. Tribes in the region tend to speak similar anguages, but as you move the language shifts. Fortunately, some near the mountains retained a form of dwarvish, which allowed for early communication, and in the areas that have been heavily settled the natives are learning the trade language of the halflings, which is the primary language of the frontier.

Relations With Other Races
Centaurs near the settled areas have had to establish some form of relation with the settlers. They make little distinction between any of the permanent settlers, referring to them all as simply "two legs". The exception to this is the traveling people, who many respect for their similar nomadic lifestyle and the fact that they haven't tried to steal any centaur land. Their name for the halflings (though they make no distinction between any of the Traveling People, size notwithstanding), at least in the northern mountain region, is Gnomes (rough translation: "travelers within huts" named for their wagons).
The exact relationship between any tribe and the settlers varies, naturally. But there are two main divisions: those who have not had difficult relations and freely trade, those who feel their lands have been stolen and are hostile. The hostile tribes are, naturally, careful to avoid legionary camps and well guarded settlements, but raids are not uncommon on the edge of settled territory.

Technology
Centuries of contact with each other and with halfling merchants has put the races on similar technological ground. This is obviously not true for the centaurs. Having no permanent settlements they have not developed forges of any sort, their tools being primarily stone, bone, or ceramic. Centaurs use flint arrows and spears as their main weapons, both in war and hunting. Some also favor a form of stone-head throwing axe, and hide bucklers are also frequently seen. They sometimes favor a form of armor made from hide on their back ends, leaving their upper torso free to move (no one's sure where their vital organs are, though this does suggest the lower torso is more important).
Those who do trade have gained access to steal and bronze implements, especially favoring pots and knives. Some warriors will also take swords, but there is generally seen little use for such a large knife.
In combat, survivors say, their primitive technology is more than compensated for by their incredible speed. They can easily perform hit-and-run attacks on any settlement, and could even pose trouble for the legion if organized. To counter this, and deal with the widespread nature of hostile raids, the Emperor is placing increased focus on cavalry along the frontier, rather than the heavy infantry the Empire generally relies on.