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 stalls to accommodate them. One player found out too late that lack of living space would do push his ox Thomas to seek greener pasture. Since he didn't have an available slot in the tether post, the ox just ran away, which the player found out too late. Adventurous Thomas was a great introduction to more tragic stories of oxen dying in the line of duty (or taken away by game bugs).
Thomas was lucky, because other oxen had a more tragic fate. Reddit user Fruzenius' ox died due to lightning that started a fire that 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 have confirmed that fire has also taken the lives of their animals.
Medieval times in Manor Lords were difficult, according to players, because bandits had a tendency to kill cattle and leave their corpses in the street. And because villagers were too busy with their tasks, a dead ox lay in the town square for all eternity as a memorial to all fallen ox comrades.
When I hear those stories, I'm glad my oxen just ran away to seek happiness.
We can only speculate that future updates will allow us to remember our beloved, fallen oxen and give them a proper burial. Whatever happens, we will always have Thomas and his merry adventures as a story to give hope to other oxen. While the memory of your first one 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 wound in your heart with a new ox.
While oxen are crucial to success, they are not the only animals in the game. Check out how to get sheep in Manor Lord in Pro Game Guides.
