Cow (Skill)
Cow form is a curse bestowed by Maronesa in the Tutorial Cave.
Cows are able to collect grass and heal themselves with it — which turns out to be a cheap, potent self-healing mechanism.
Since it’s a newbie curse, it’s not too hard to lift. But not trivial! Removing the cow curse takes an hour or so of grinding, during which you unlock the various cow powers and see what it’s like as a cow.
Having the cow-curse right there in the newbie experience (Tutorial Cave) also teaches players another important thing about the game: there are lots of ways to play. Being a cow is a difficult journey, but if you wanted to, you could eventually become a moderately competent fighter-cow. You won’t be able to wield weapons, but you’ll be able to use abilities like Mentalism and Combat Psychology, along with a barrage of kicks and moos.[1]
Being a cow means you look harmless to other animals, so deer and similar animals don’t run away from you.
“I don’t expect many players to remain a cow indefinitely as it’s quite restrictive with very few up sides. But I do want some up-side to every choice you can make.[1]
Non-Combat Experience
Cows are kind of screwed with hooves instead of hands, they can’t use a saw for carpentry, for instance. But with a little imagination we can envision a cow planting vegetables and growing a garden, so they can do that, and a few other things.
Crafting Niche
Higher-level cows can create milk, which is useful for all sorts of cooking. Low-level milk is plentiful anyway, you can buy it from NPCs, but only player cows can create higher-tier milk. If they chew only top-quality grasses for long enough, they create better milk.