How To Get The Owlbear Cub In Baldur's Gate 3

Although Baldur’s Gate 3 has an interesting cast of companions, none feel quite as equal-parts fearsome and adorable as the owlbear cub. Recruiting the owlbear cub takes effort and a bit of patience, but bringing this little menace to your camp is absolutely worth it.

These half-bear, half-owl creatures are among the earliest classic monsters in Dungeons & Dragons, first showing up in the Greyhawk supplementary rulebook. Thankfully, owlbears don’t have to stay purely terrifying anymore (well, you can still be a little scared), because an owlbear cub can now be added to your camp in Baldur’s Gate 3.

How To Find The Owlbear Nest

An owlbear and its cub can be found in a cave between the Druid Grove and the Blighted Village, just north of the bridge and close to where you’ll find Scratch the dog.

As soon as you get close enough, a cutscene will trigger. You’ll be able to either use Animal Handling to study the owlbear’s behaviour, back away by passing a Survival check, puff out your chest and roar by passing a Performance check, or attack.

Note: If you convinced Brynna and Andrick to enter the Owlbear Nest to take revenge on the creature for killing Edowin, they’ll be waiting for you inside the cave. Speaking with them will push them into attacking the creature—and if that happens, you’ll be pulled into the fight. Don’t worry: you can still recruit the owlbear cub as long as it doesn’t die during the battle.

Still, be careful: the cultists may target the owlbear cub and could kill it before the encounter ends (which happens immediately after defeating the Owlbear and, if you’re playing on Honour Mode, its mate).

If you pass the Animal Handling check, you’ll notice the owlbear cub, clearly being guarded and protected by the owlbear.

At that point, you can either hold out your hands to show you mean no harm, move toward it, back away slowly, or attack. Keep in mind that any failed checks or hostile actions can cause the owlbear to attack you and your party. If you handle things calmly, the owlbear will let you leave the cave.

Tip: If you have a way to Speak with Animals, you can also talk to the owlbear directly. The choices are mostly the same, though—you still can’t approach the Owlbear without starting a fight.

Leaving the owlbear alive with its cub still allows you to run into the owlbear cub later and eventually add it to your camp. That said, if you do want to remove the threat, you can fight the mother without automatically putting the cub in danger. The battle ends as soon as the mother owlbear is dead.

If you decide to go the violent route and kill the owlbear mother, make sure you interact with the owlbear cub afterward—and, obviously, don’t kill it.

Tip: You can loot the Owlbear to obtain the Head of a Broken Spear, which can be combined with the Shaft of a Broken Spear found on Edowin’s body. Also, check the nearby skeleton for the Oak Father’s Embrace armor.

There’s also an Owlbear Egg at the very back of the cave! It won’t hatch into a second owlbear cub, but you can attempt to pass it off as a Githyanki Egg later on during a future side quest.

Where To Find The Owlbear Cub In The Goblin Camp

After your encounter in the cave, you’ll be able to find the owlbear cub at the Goblin Camp, located west of the Druid Grove and the Blighted Village. The cub is usually near the camp’s entrance, surrounded by goblins. Once you approach and interact with it, you’ll be pulled into a conversation with a goblin named Krolla, who introduces you to a grim little pastime called Chicken-Chasing.

Krolla will start explaining the rules, but she’ll eventually tell you to “come back when that halfwit’s done wailin’.” She’s talking about Volo the Bard, who appears to be captured by the goblins and is standing on a pedestal in the middle of the camp. Speak with him, then return to Krolla to continue the Chicken-Chasing thread.

Note: You can also talk to the owlbear cub and prove you aren’t going to hurt it by passing two Animal Handling checks. Even then, it’ll ultimately insist you deal with the goblins first before it can follow your scent back to camp.

How To Get The Owlbear To Come To Your Camp

From here, there are three different routes you can take to secure the owlbear cub. The most important part—no matter which route you choose—is to interact with the cub and let it smell your hands. That scent is what allows the owlbear cub to track you and show up at your camp later.

• Save time by calling out Chicken-Chasing for the cruel sport it is.
• Play a round and potentially earn some extra gold.
• Slaughter the goblins outside. As long as there are no goblins keeping the owlbear cub captive, and it knows your scent, it can become yours.

For the first (and quickest) route, you can condemn Chicken-Chasing entirely. Go back to Krolla, tell her you can’t remember the rules, then say you won’t play because it’s cruel. The conversation ends there—afterward, speak to Krolla again and tell her the owlbear cub is coming with you.

At that point, you’ll need to either Intimidate, Persuade, buy the owlbear cub for 500 gold, or use your Illithid wisdom. The simplest option is typically your Illithid powers, which convince Krolla you’re a True Soul and lead her to “gift” you the owlbear cub.

For the second route, you can actually play a round of Chicken-Chasing. It costs 30 gold to enter, or you can wager 75 gold if you’re feeling confident. After agreeing, the owlbear cub will run toward the pen where the game takes place.

Note: If you want to make winning easier, interact with the owlbear cub beforehand and either pass an Animal Handling check to encourage it to run through the posts or Persuade it to attack the goblins. Once the game starts, you’ll need to chase the owlbear cub between the posts—watch out for the grease, though.

After you win, talk to Krolla to collect your wager. She’ll predictably claim Chicken-Chasing can only be won by goblins, but you can Intimidate or Persuade her into paying up. Then speak to her again and tell her the owlbear cub is coming with you, which brings you back to the same set of options: Persuade, Intimidate, pay 500 gold, or use Illithid wisdom.

Whichever route you pick, the owlbear cub will vanish and then show up at your camp a few nights later. If it doesn’t arrive right away, you may simply need to progress the story a bit more.

Once the owlbear cub joins your camp, you can interact with it whenever you return to rest. You can pet it, and if you have a way to speak with animals, you can even talk to it. If Scratch is also in your camp, you can trigger a cutscene where you pet both at the same time, earning the You Have Two Hands For A Reason achievement.