| mdvalenz |
I like the idea. The concept of an individual being easy to overcome while the herd is deadly. However I don't think the herd should have mind control abilities. I think the brown mold should be what keeps these animals together. I don't think they should go out of their way to attack things either.
If the mold itself released a chemical or something similar that altered the brain of whatever animal it grew on, that would be a good idea. It could be the urus are the perfect carrier and other animals aren't as good. But if other animals get too close the mold can infect them and grow and make them part of the herd. Granting them protection from the urus freezing abilities while making them fight for the herd.
The mold wouldn't grow as well on other creatures, and as such not have as great a hold on their mind. So when you approach the herd, you will need to fight the stronger animals that tried to feed off of them and failed, getting infected. When their hit points drop to a certain point, they "wake up" and the mold loses it's hold on their mind and the creature runs away. It would also add the danger of player's becoming infected and causing the same thing to happen to them.
Then the urus would be a passive threat in the world. The story line could be trying to rescue a person who got infected, or trying to capture a rare animal that has become part of the herd, or trying to herd the animals away from a settlement, etc.
Would be interesting if you could find a way to put them in Rise of the Runelords. Might be fun to play against a creature no one knows anything about.