Oxen are the most important animal in Manor Lords, which, naturally, results in players becoming emotionally attached to them. Everyone who has played this medieval city builder seems to have a story about their beloved ox, and some of the most emotional memoirs were shared by players in a recent Reddit thread.
One of the challenges of having oxen is having enough hitching posts and small stables to accommodate them. One player found out too late that a lack of living space would push his ox Thomas to look for a greener pasture. As he didn't have an available slot in the hitching post, the ox simply ran away, which the player found out too late. Adventurous Thomas was a great introduction to more tragic stories about oxen dying in the line of duty (or being taken away by game bugs).
Thomas was lucky, as other oxen had a more tragic fate. Reddit user Fruzenius's ox died from a lightning strike that started a fire, which ended the poor animal's life. You can imagine how they felt when they saw their beloved ox lying on the ground and villagers just walking around. It seems that force majeure is one of the main reasons for oxen dying, as other players confirmed fire also took the lives of their animals.
Medieval times in Manor Lords were tough, according to players, as bandits had a tendency to kill oxen and leave their corpses on the street. And because villagers were too busy with their assignments, a dead ox lay on the town square for all eternity as a monument to all fallen ox comrades.
When I hear those stories, I'm happy my oxen only ran away in pursuit of happiness.
We can only guess that future updates will allow us to commemorate our beloved, fallen oxen and give them a proper burial. Whatever happens, we'll always have Thomas and his merry adventures as a story to give other oxen hope. While the memory of your first will last forever, at least you can always get more oxen in Manor Lords. I know no one can replace brave Thomas, but you can at least try to heal that hurt in your heart with a new ox.
While oxen are crucial to success, they're not the only animals in the game. Check out how to get sheep in Manor Lord on Pro Game Guides.
