How to get the owlbear cub in Baldur’s Gate 3 and can you add him to your party?

Want to get your hands on the owlbear cub in Baldur’s Gate 3? Half-bear half-owl creatures, owlbears are among the fiercest wildlife you’ll come across in the Forgotten Realms. The cubs meanwhile are adorable. The owlbear cub you can pick up in Larian Studios’ newest entry into the Dungeons and Dragons series is therefore the best of both worlds.

If you want to get the owlbear cub in Baldur’s Gate 3 for yourself, we’ll go through how in this guide. Be warned though that it isn’t a particularly quick or easy process. You’ll want your best Baldur’s Gate 3 companions, a good range of Baldur’s Gate 3 classes, and maybe even some potent Baldur’s Gate 3 abilities to pull this off.

Baldur’s Gate 3 How to get the owlbear cub in a few easy steps

To get the owlbear cub in Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll need to complete the following steps in order.

1. Encounter the owlbear mother and its cub at the owlbear nest near Blighted Village. You’ll find it in the Forest.
2. Encounter the cub a second time at the Goblin Camp west of the Emerald Grove.
3. Speak to Krolla.
4. Speak to Volo.
5. Return to Krolla and denounce or partake in Chicken-Chasing, then convince her to relinquish the owlbear cub to your custody.

Completing all these steps will require you to pass a few various different skill checks, and while fighting actually isn’t necessary, it is one option open to you. Let’s go over each step in a little more detail.

Step one – How to find the owlbear nest

To begin, you’re going to need to encounter a fully grown owlbear by stumbling in on an owlbear nest. The nest can be found in a cave midway between the Emerald Grove and the Blighted Village. Take the path just to the right of the bridge that leads to the village, and down towards the river. You’ll find the cave entrance just ahead. Enter the cave with your party, and you’ll run into a fully grown owlbear.

First, you’ll want to pass an Animal Handling skill check to study the creature’s behaviour. Doing this will reveal the owlbear cub at the back of the nest, which the adult owlbear is clearly protecting.

After this you have a few options open to you. You can pass a Survival check and back away slowly out of the cave. If you want to be bolder, you can pass a Performance check to puff your chest and roar. Lastly, you can attack the owlbear and kill it. If you choose this option, make sure to interact with the cub afterwards, but leave it alone and exit the cave.

Step two – Encounter at the Goblin Camp

Next you’ll want to head over to the Goblin Camp. If you haven’t found this area yet, head out to the main gates of the Emerald Grove. Travel west and you’ll run straight into the Blighted Village.

You can either fight or sneak your way through, but you want to make it to the far side, and continue westward. From here, you’ll run into the Goblin Camp. The main body of the camp is situated in stone ruins across a bridge to the north. This is where you’ll need to head.

So long as you completed step one correctly, you should be able to find the owlbear cub off to the right as you enter, surrounded by a group of Goblins. Note that you may need to take one or two long rests back at camp before the cub appears.

Step three – Speaking to Krolla and Volo

Once you’ve got the animal in your sights, you’ll speak to the Goblin Krolla. You won’t get far, as the bard Volo and his performance in the middle of the camp will prove an interruption. Speak to him, and you’ll easily get him carried away. Then you can resume dialogue with Krolla.

She’ll first want to tell you about Chicken Chasing, a game the Goblins have been playing, involving chasing a chicken (or now an Owlbear) around an obstacle course. It’s up to you whether or not you participate. You can decline, or accept, asking for the Owlbear as a prize. The outcome is largely the same either way. You can use Speak with Animals to talk to the Owlbear cub but this doesn’t change the outcome.

Interact with the owlbear cub and you’ll get another Animal Handling check. Pass this one too, and you’ll be able to unlock the dialogue options you need to free it.

With the animal anxious to leave, you can speak to Krolla again. Either immediately or following a victory in Chicken Chasing, tell her the animal is coming with you.

Step four – Obtaining the owlbear cub

You’ve got a few options available for what happens next.

• You can use Illithid Wisdom to compel Krolla into giving the owlbear cub as a gift. The power needs to recharge every long rest, however.
• You can persuade her that the animal is more trouble than it’s worth.
• You can intimidate her into handing it over.
• You can buy the owlbear from her for gold.
• You can kill her and massacre the entire camp to free the cub.

Whichever option you go with, upon success the Owlbear will follow your scent back to your camp. After a number of long rests, you’ll be able to find the Owlbear at camp.

You’ll need to pass a third and final animal handling check. This could be to offer it food, or to tend to a wound the creature has sustained. Pull it off and the Owlbear will return again, finally becoming a permeant member of your camp.

Is saving the owlbear cub in BG3 worth it?

We would argue that the owlbear cub is worth it. The cub is also extremely cute. If you’ve got Scratch the dog at your camp too, then the animals will become friends with each other.

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Did you know?

You can earn an in-game achievment for petting both Scratch and the Owlbear at once.

If nothing else, rescuing the cub is a feel-good thing to do, and it’ll gain the approval of several different companions. Shadowheart, Gale and Halsin will all approve of your kindness, so it can be a worthwhile move if you’re looking to romance any of them.

Can the Owlbear cub in BG3 join your party?

If you choose to save the Owlbear cub then yes, eventually, he can help you fight. Minor spoilers for the end-game going forward.

Although the cub can’t just become a member of your party at any given point or be summoned in like Scratch can, when you reach the final battle and find your allies gathered, you’ll find the Owlbear – now spontaneously grown to full size – among them. Damon can even craft a unique set of battle armour for him. In the fight atop the Netherbrain you’ll then be able to summon the Owlbear as an ally – and a pretty powerful one, too.

That covers everything you need to know about getting the owlbear cub in Baldur’s Gate 3. There are innumerable other little quests like this throughout the game though, alongside all the main gameplay aspects. If you’re looking to move the Baldur’s Gate 3 scuffed rock or just want to learn a bit more about how the Baldur’s Gate 3 character creator works, we have you covered.

Can the owlbear cub join my party?

From what we’ve seen so far, the owlbear cub doesn’t act as a normal party member once you rescue it. 

Is the owlbear cub good at fighting?

Owlbears are among the most dangerous wildlife you can find in Fae’run, so even an owlbear cub is capable of dealing some deadly damage at close range.

What is the Chicken Chase game in Baldur’s Gate 3?

The Chicken Chase game in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game that sees you chase a chicken through a series of goalposts around an obstacle course, before the time runs out.