Maulotaur

The Maulotaur is a creature from the Heretic/Hexen series. Maulotaurs greatly resemble the mythological Minotaur, except that they wield giant hammers (or mauls), which they use to smash their enemies into a pulp.

They also have several ranged attacks. One is a scatter of small, flaming pellets summoned with side-swipes of their hammers. Another is the ability to summon 'snakes' of flames that crawl along the ground and up ledges in a line formation (although these flames can be extinguished by, and are therefore ineffective in, standing water). The third of their ranged attacks is to dash forward from a distance and gore their opponent, which seems to be used most often at medium range (usually when a player is trying to make optimum use of the Phoenix Rod).

Maulotaurs are tremendously strong and tough with 3000 health. Like the Iron Lich and D'Sparil, Maulotaurs cannot be transformed using the Morph Ovum or instantly killed by a Firemace under the influence of the Tome of Power. Like D'sparil, the Maulotaur also has a 50% immunity to the powered up Hellstaff's rain.

In Heretic, they sometimes drop a Flame Orb worth 10 shots, and on a rare occasions, drop a Mystic Urn when killed.

They first appear as final bosses in "The Portals of Chaos" and again as final bosses in the "Field of Judgement", and occasionally as "normal" enemies in episodes three through five.

As a Heretic boss, any monster that is hurt by him will not fight back. However, the boss will attack any non-boss creature that hurts him.

Maulotaurs also appear in the sequel to Heretic, Hexen, as summonable creatures that will fight for the player, created by an artifact known as the "Dark Servant". The Maulotaur will attack enemies without question, but each summoned Maulotaur fades from existence after roughly 30 seconds, or if they are killed first (they have nearly 3000 hit points). Also, they have 'notoriously bad aim', and will not consider withdrawing their attack even if the player is directly between them and their target, and they could accidentally kill a player this way.

The Nintendo 64 port of Hexen is the only home port that has the Dark Servant item.

E2M8 Boss Battle
When going down the staircase to the inner structure, make a beeline for the ring of invincibility. This will awake the maulotaurs. Circle around them in a way that will group them together. If you cannot group them together, then start by using the powered-up crossbow, and use the ring of invincibility to avoid damage from attacks on all sides. If you can group them together, use the powered-up hellstaff, which will rain upon the group of maulotaurs.

Another strategy which may require more skill (but is unlikely to cause any trouble to experienced players) is to quickly run from the starting point to the staircase connecting the inner and outer parts of the level. The walls between them will then lower and allow for a gigantic monster infighting. Run in big circles across the level, attracting the monsters to the central part and picking up weapons and items. By doing so, you will have Maulotaurs being accidentally hit by other monsters and fighting them back, providing you with a possibility to conserve ammo. With the use of this strategy the level can be easily completed even if you have started with only an Elvenwand, and if done perfectly, you will only have to fight Maulotaurs in the end. It is not even necessary to visit the little ammo caches adjacent to the outer part of the level.

It's a bit tricky yet possible to lure the Maulotaurs (one or more of them) under the crusher in a room at the edge of the map. Ring of invincibility is necessary for this if you have already accessed the room and activated all the crushers; use the ring to get the Maulotaur(s) into the confined space in front of the crushers and then run under the latter. Wait on the other side in a room with a teleporter (the one behind the secret door) and use the teleporter after the Maulotaurs have been crushed (it may take a while). Another option is to use the Chaos device to return to the starting point

E4M1 Battle
Dispatching the Maulotaur in the courtyard of this map may be tricky on higher skill levels due to the scarcity of ammo (the player is forced to start with only an Elvenwand and conserve ammo for the final battle with Ophidians and Iron Liches guarding the exit). One way to get rid of the beast while conserving ammo is to first circle around the tower in the courtyard, having the Maulotaur take out most Sabreclaws (and possibly some Ophidians) with collateral hits. Once the Maulotaur is alone, the player may quickly get within melee range (so that the Maulotaur switches to melee attacks, which are far less damaging than his ranged attacks) and use powered-up Gauntlets of the Necromancer until the Tome of Power runs out, at which point the player should quickly withdraw and finish the beast in only a few crossbow shots. The leeching ability of the powered-up Gauntlets will continuously heal the damage suffered from the Maulotaur's melee attacks. On lower skill levels, the Ring of Invincibility is also available on the map, and can be used instead of the Tome of Power.

E5M8 Boss Battle
Once the walls have lowered, run and collect the newly revealed Enchanted Shield and Tome of Power, and begin circle strafing the Maulotaurs while firing with a weapon of your choice with the intent to gather the Maulotaurs together. Once they're in a tightly packed group, a highly effective strategy is to activate the Ring of Invincibility and Tome of Power simultaneously, and use the Phoenix Rod's flamethrower at point blank range for maximum damage (hold down the fire button the whole time to conserve ammo). Once the Invincibility expires most of the Maulotaurs should be badly hurt, if not dead. Finish them off by whatever means necessary; there is nothing beyond this point so hit them with anything you want.

Trivia

 * In Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, if you choose to quit the game, a text box will appear that will display a different message upon choosing. One of the messages is a sentence saying "If you have NOT paid for Shadow of the Serpent Riders, call 1-800-IDGAMES and register this game, or we'll send a Maulotaur out to visit you".