Zoats are a rare race in any part of the Known World, but are particularly scarce in the Old World, given it's increasing population and deforestation. As a consequence little is known of them. The are a few academic zoological treatises in universities in the Empire and Kislev on their supposed development : given the lack of hard facts on Zoats, scholars prefer to believe they are a 'stable' form of Chaotic centaur.

In fact they are quite the opposite to this. Zoats, being creatures of the forest and moor, see it as their duty to preserve these wild areas of the world from invaders and transgressors. The act alone, however, they will take help from outside agents (e.g. Druids and Elvish scouts) where they think they need it, but Zoats aren't ones to deliberately seek help. This is perhaps why they fight a losing battle against the predations of Man and Orc : there simply aren't enough of them to make a significant difference. Their rarity originates from two points :

1. they are solitary creatures, preferring to follow their own path rather than be influenced by other races;
2. as their forest homes are increased being cleared, the Zoats move on in search of more isolated patches of forest, becoming more insular.

Zoats live a very long time - several hundred years - and their environmental efforts are designed to work over long periods of time. Such work is easily wrecked by marauding goblinoids or woodsmen, and those Zoats still alive are increasingly taking a guerrilla stance against their enemies, destroying them with mace and magic.

They live principally in the upper reaches of the Border Princes, the depths of the Forest of Shadows (in Imperial territory), the wooded foothills of the eastern side of the World's Edge Mountains, and in the New World, where they battle against the depredations of the Dark Elves. Most encounters will either be in their forest environment, or near country trade routes (which are equally used by Goblinoids as routes into the Old World). Either male or female Zoats may be encountered (numbers of male and female Zoats roughly equal).

Physique :

   Zoats are centauroid in basic appearance, although they look more
   reptilian to outsiders. Their legs are short and cylinder-shaped, rather like
   an rhino's, on which they move with surprising speed.  Their 'scales' are
   nothing more than overlapping layers of thick leathery skin; nonetheless it
   provides a degree of protection from both physical blows, and the elements.
   Skin on both centaur and human bodies is coloured, from black to grey and dark
   brown.  Their torsos and arms are human-like but thicker, and they give a
   strong impression of physical strength.  Their heads retain the characteristic
   turtle-like appearance, armoured with thick bone.

Profile

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Dex	Ld	Int	Cl	WP	Fel
6	45	25	5	5	20	50	2	43	50	48	89	89	33

Their leathery skin gives them 2 Armour points on their centauroid bodies, and 1 point on their humanoid bodies (all locations).

Weapons :

   for their forest environment, Zoats carry a short wooden scythe
   (to reduce encumbering  levels of undergrowth).  For combat - an increasing
   necessity - Zoats use a unique weapon : a wooden stave, topped with a cylinder
   of locally-available stone.  Counting as a two-handed mace, other races
   have great difficulty in mastering its use (half WS - if they are able to
   get hold of one in the first place).

Magic use by Zoats will be covered later.