What medieval weapons would CENTAURS really use? FANTASY RE-ARMED

I know one thing that probably centaurs wouldn't want to use: Siege ladders.

"Alright, let's see, we're fighting the Orcs today. What helmet should I wear? Yeah, this basinet looks good. Nice. And hmmmmm, we'll go with this Glaive. Now, which human should I wear...?"

Forget firing a bow on the move. I'm intimidated by the thought of heavy longbowmen with the ability to reposition and retreat with the speed of light cavalry. It would take a full cavalry charge just to keep them busy, and the second you let up, they resume harassing you with their full-sized longbows. And think of all the ammo they could carry! The ultimate medieval kite squad.

"The best weapon is a friend." Cue flowery images, and romantic music.

Shad have you ever actually ridden a horse? Galloping is actually reasonable smooth and the horse does not experience the same bounce that the rider experiences. Again, riders are not attached to their horses. So when the horse goes up, it pushes the rider, but when it comes back down the rider is left to fall. A centaur is completely attached so the horse body will pull the upper body down with it, instead of waiting for it to fall back into the saddle. Just think about how steady your head is while you run, as compared to your backpack

"the best weapon for a centaur would be a person" that reminds me of a reaccuring question i ask my DMs: "So if I use the Paladin as a club, does it do holy damage?"

Watching shad talk about how he is going to mention the best weapon for a centaur Shad: "It's so obvious, a centaur should use a human!" Me: "Yes of course! A centaur could ride around and toss angry dwarves at people!" Shad" "Because the human could do anything mounted combat could!" Me: "Oh well there's that too."

ABOUT CENTAURS ANATOMY Imma adding something: as an artist expert in anatomy, I can definitely say centaurs have some structural issues. They need some fixing. First of all, the spine. Secondly, the muscles. Third Organs and blood pressure to keep the brain going. So... Their spine HAS to be made of HUGE vertebrae. Not just like a horse neck but more like a giraffe! This because it needs to support another rib cage! XD (and possibly a second sets of organs), not to mention that the human arms swings a lot, and need support. This means that the lower part of their human body NEEDS a totally different group of muscles. They need massive lower back muscles, giving them a more "fat" appearance. (just like the neck of a horse, but human-torse-sized). The front part we can actually leave as it is, maybe they could have more abs... so instead of a six-pack they can have a ten-pack XD Now... about the organs... This is interesting: They need two sets of some of them. Like the heart. A blood system made of 2 hearts will give equal oxygen to both the human and the horse part. The heart in the human torso can be smaller though, since no human legs are involved. But it's crucial to irrorate correctly the brain and the upper muscles. A fun thing could be a more complex digestive system, like what we have in cows. This could amply their edible food list, enhancing their survival skills in the wild. Even with all of this what's in the video is perfect! The spine will still be a vulnerable spot! But maybe they could have a different armor, a rigid plate (correctly shaped) can be effective to absorb the shock, especially if padded inside. More importantly this could lead to a far more effective chivalry charge. Creating different roles in their army based on skills and armour, just like humans ;)

Scrolled down a bit and didn't see this idea: many historical warhorses were trained in rearing and kicking maneuvers to give their riders an advantage. But for a sentient half-horse, kicking would be as natural as fistfighting, and would certainly be incorporated into their martial arts. I'm imagining centaurs riding into battle with horseshoes resembling brass knuckles, as a backup side arm. And don't forget the potential to use those kickers in unarmed combat! Centaur ninjas doing Hoof Fu!

"The best weapon a Centaur can use is a HUMAN ON ITS BACK!" I didn't see that coming, but yeah, that makes perfect sense

I propose a centaur with saddlebags full of gnomes using crossbows or composite short bows. Two, three, maybe four on each side! Imagine the carnage! They're all strapped in like it's a roller coaster ride going sideways!

The Mongols mastered horse-archery by shooting when all four legs of the horse were in the air, so they could fire more accurately. That would be way easier if you control the legs yourself

The human turret on the back. SICK. Best. Idea. Ever.

My first thought, as I heard you saying " The best Weaopon would be a Human" was, a centaur grabbing a Human by his legs and swinging him wildly around in a mace kind of fashion. But independent human turrent is also a good idea.

12:46 I'm a bit late to the party, but as a horse archer, there's actually a couple of reasons we stand up before firing -- balancing ourselves before shooting is one of them! When I just started out, I often forgot to do this and remained seated; hitting the mark was still possible, but definitely harder. The biggest problem without standing up for me though, was nocking the arrow. We have methods to do it quickly and efficiently without having to look at the arrow, guiding it along our hands and fingers if you will, and as a starter this was nearly impossible for me to do while my balance was wobbly. The whole process between taking the arrow and loosing it took significantly longer; and while you're on a horse moving 30mph, it's easy to miss your shooting window if you take too long! Finally, standing up makes it easier to turn, twist and maneuver around to hit any targets that may not be directly in front of you, as your hips have slightly more freedom of movement. In general, I don't think it's impossible to shoot if you can't stand up while galloping, but it'll definitely make your life a lot easier if you can!

And here I am, trying to decide what would be the 'best' fit for my Centaur Fighter idea in D&D. Was fully expecting to hear "Polearms aren't really all that great", but then I hear those same polearms would likely be MASSIVELY devastating because of the speed. Thank you Shad! And yes, I'm keeping a (Small) rider in mind for a friend.

Some horse breeds, such as the Icelandic horses, can learn special gaits that are much smoother than the usual trot and gallop . Centaur archers could probably learn something like tölt, too.

The real question is: How good would they be at polo?

Now I can't stop imagining a full plate centaur with a full plate knight on its back as some sort of warship/tank unit capable of taking out opponents in all directions.

"Can you imagine a centaur swinging a polearm." I can because of the character Hecarim in LoL. He uses a polearm and spins it around for one of his spells.