Midwinter Vole?

[oradafu]

While I was checking out the Midwinter Festival on a caster, there was a creature called the Midwinter Vole running around.

The Midwinter Vole had a health bar. The Vole took damage when I hit it physically. Since I was on a caster in a public area, none of my spells worked so I had no way of damaging it via spells (at least none that I could find). So it was only physically I could damage it. The problem is that the Vole is extremely fast and being on ice it was hard to catch up with the Vole to whack at it.

Another thing about the Vole was that when I first saw it, it appeared to be carrying a snowflake. I'm unsure if it was actually carrying one and if I picked it up when I smacked it. So I am unsure if it picked up the snowflake or if it spawns with a snowflake on it.

So I'm just curious if killing the Vole gives more motes to players or if something else happens. If it does, is it for just the player(s) who damage it? Is it just for the player who kills it? Is it for the player who first hits it? Or is everyone who is buffed for the race at the time of the Voles death get anything special?

Since I wasn't able to kill it (and barely able to damage it or keep up with the skittering thing), I cannot tell you if the creature registers properly in the Monster Manual. If it does register, it would be under Rats, but since I don't have the Rats completed on Lamannia I cannot tell you how many HPs the Vole has. Again, like the above paragraph, if it does register in the MM, is it for the person who kills it only or will everyone who is in the race that's buffed get the kill marked in it?

These are just a few questions that I have since I found the Speed Racer Rodent Edition taunting me on the ice.

[FranOhmsford]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDZBzvTDhGU

[oradafu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDZBzvTDhGU

I knew there was something obvious that I should have called it, instead of Speed Racer.

[Shade]

You aren't intended to kill it. It has several thousand hp. I killed it on my barbarian, but nothing happens.

What it does:
You hit it, and a double points snowflake comes out. (It's a ~15 second buff that gives you double points for its duration)

At least most of them do, some of them may be bugged as I killed one in 1 shot, while most have tons of hp.

It only gives you one boost no matter how long you hit it, so beating it beyond the first hit is pointless. Just hit it once, get the bonus, find some purple snowflake, then find another mole to chop up. Or you can just find the double point boost buffs randomly about too.

Thnk its hp is meant to be high, so if lots of people are running the course, everyone can wack the thing and get the bonus points.

[oradafu]

You aren't intended to kill it. It has several thousand hp. I killed it on my barbarian, but nothing happens.

What it does:
You hit it, and a double points snowflake comes out. (It's a ~15 second buff that gives you double points for its duration)

At least most of them do, some of them may be bugged as I killed one in 1 shot, while most have tons of hp.

It only gives you one boost no matter how long you hit it, so beating it beyond the first hit is pointless. Just hit it once, get the bonus, find some purple snowflake, then find another mole to chop up. Or you can just find the double point boost buffs randomly about too.

Thnk its hp is meant to be high, so if lots of people are running the course, everyone can wack the thing and get the bonus points.

Yeah, that would seem to be my guess also, but I was hoping for something a bit more interesting.

Because I swore I saw It Came from the Underdark was one of the grimoires that Eldrin Szind pulled out. And we all know that particular tome not only summons creatures but also explains the menace of the Midwinter Vole. That vile rodent breathes fire and eats humanoids. Since the creature is immune to even the most powerful of magical spells, the only way to rid the horrid thing is to beat it with a harmless pointed stick. Also rumor has it that the first building that you encounter in Eveningstar is an old abandoned adult bookstore, which we all know is a breeding ground for these nasty creatures.

How utterly disappointing that none of the above paragraph is true.