Do Man-eating Aurochs damage all characters?

[Longshot11]

The exact text on the card is "If undefeated, EACH CHARACTER attempts Dex/Acro 10 check...".

I'm aware what the ruling should be as written; however, all similar card usually have "at your location" effect, and the Aurochs seem a pretty weird choice for an exemption. So, it this is bug in the wording, or is the card intended to be that far reaching?

[Andrew L Klein]

It is definitely odd for a single monster to affect everyone at all locations, but it wouldn't be the first time a card (maybe the first for a monster, I doubt it) has done it though.

[Longshot11]

Andrew L Klein wrote:

It is definitely odd for a single monster to affect everyone at all locations, but it wouldn't be the first time a card (maybe the first for a monster, I doubt it) has done it though.

There are of course barriers (Arboreal Blight) and some monsters (*villain* Faxon - "each character must recharge a card before playing a card"") that affect all players in *some* way, but if a friggin' dragon can only blast characters at his location for damage, an overgrown bovine damaging everyone everywhere seems a little off, thematically (I know that theme is not of major gameplay consideration, but still).

[jduteau]

I was just going to say, before I read Longshot's response, that Aurochs are big. :)

[Mike Selinker]

The plural of Aurochs is Aurochs.

[Longshot11]

Mike Selinker wrote:

The plural of Aurochs is Aurochs.

Soo ... is that meant to imply that a whole bunch of Arouchs stampede all over the locations...? :)

[Keith Richmond]

No matter what the answer, I think we all know there's a whole load of bulls, and it might hurt everyone playing the game.

[Hawkmoon269]

Here is the RPG reference document entry. Looking over that with my limited RPG knowledge, I think the idea is that if undefeated, a stampede of the herd starts and thus all characters need to try and jump out of the way or get trampled on.

Whether you are trying to defeat 1 aurochs or multiple aurochs, failing to do so starts a stampeded. (Either your ungraceful interaction with the 1 draws all their attention or you are interacting with all of them and they all just decide you are in their way.)

[Mike Selinker]

We borrowed the Aurochs concept from what became the Courtyard location in Rise of the Runelords 4.

Spoiler:

A large area of hard-packed earth fills the southwestern quadrant of Jorgenfist—a courtyard used by those giants who are allowed to dwell within the compound for public gatherings.

CREATURES: The courtyard’s lack of cover presents a challenge to anyone attempting to move stealthily through the area. Further complicating movement through the area during the day is the 75% chance that a single stone giant is in the final steps of breaking a recently caught mammoth in the yard. The mammoth remains wild and angry enough that when it spots the PCs, it issues an indignant trumpeting and charges—much to its stone giant rider’s shock!

And then we took note of the Aurochs in Runelords 6.

Spoiler:

Krak Naratha currently serves as the home of a particularly enterprising group of harpy-like lamias known as kuchrimas. These kuchrimas have transformed Krak Naratha’s bailey into an enormous paddock for the keeping of a vast herd of high-altitude mountain aurochs as food sources. While many of Xin-Shalast’s inhabitants hunt within the city itself for food, quite a few have taken to the convenience of Krak Naratha’s farm and paid the kuchrimas handsomely for access to their herd. With Karzoug’s wakening, the burgeoning lamia matriarchs have decreed that the kuchrimas are no longer to charge for access to the aurochs—that any of Xin-Shalast’s growing army can visit here for food as they wish.

Worse, the lamia rulers have seized Krak Naratha’s treasury. The kuchrimas are foul-tempered about this recent turn of events, but when three previous rebellions resulted in quick and painful punishment from the lamias and their rune giant allies, the kuchrimas swallowed their pride and accepted the new order bitterly.

Unless the PCs are particularly stealthy, one of the four Krak Naratha soldiers always on duty on the walls notices their approach and uses a thunderstone to sound the alarm. A few moments later, three soldiers fly down to confront the PCs. If the characters can produce Sihedrons and can bluff the kuchrimas, they might be able to convince the lamia-kin that they are new recruits of Karzoug’s growing army and be allowed to pass into the city. Otherwise, the lamiakin shriek in anger, detonate another thunderstone to raise the alarm again, and attack.

If the PCs attempt to enter Krak Naratha, several soldiers use thunderstones to whip the aurochs into a stampede. The stampede consists of 24 aurochs running at full speed (160 feet) from the entrance of the fortress.

So we put those thoughts together to create the Man-Eating Aurochs concept from Wrath of the Righteous 2, which involves the Aurochs in the attack on Drezen's Ahari Bridge:

Spoiler:

The bridge crossing into central Drezen is guarded by an 8th-level tief ling sorcerer, eight additional tiefling cultists, and four man-eating aurochs. One of these carnivorous creatures is chained to each of the four supports directly under the four watchtowers on the bridge span. These chains are 20 feet long, and limit the aurochs’ movement as a result. If ordered, the aurochs move forward and strain against the chains as they attempt a successful 24 Strength check each round to pull down a support. Each support that crumbles causes a cumulative 25% chance that the bridge collapses—any character standing on the bridge when it collapses falls 30 feet and takes a total of 6d6 points of damage from the fall and crumbling rubble.

So we figured these things were big enough and stampedey enough to stomp around everywhere if riled.

[Longshot11]

Mike Selinker wrote:

We borrowed the Aurochs concept from what became the Courtyard location in Rise of the Runelords 4.

** spoiler omitted **
And then we took note of the Aurochs in Runelords 6.
** spoiler omitted **...

Wow... O_0

Thanks for the extensive reference, Mike. I never even imagined that much background could go into a single card... And now I wish there was a way this could somehow fit into PACG :)

You certainly had us scratching our heads back in RotR, how those checks fit with a 'Courtyard' location; we kinda settled on 'the courtyard is bustling with people, so it's hard to maneuver without being trampled'. We weren't that far off the mark, it seems.

Incidentally, now I also know why a carnivorous cow is heavily featured on my Crumbling Bridge location. My day is complete :)

[Mike Selinker]

That's just about the amount of background that goes into every card.

[Frencois]

I knew that... and that's why not-this-Mike is my beloved Master.