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While exploring the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’re likely to encounter a few owlbears, but the only one you can try to recruit is the cub found early in Act 1. The owlbear cub and its mother are located inside a cave between Druid’s Grove and the Blighted Village—just north of a bridge and near the spot where you can find Scratch, another potential companion.
Once inside the cave, you’ll see the mother immediately. Approaching her will trigger a cutscene, allowing you to choose how to act: use Animal Handling to observe her behavior, attempt a Survival check to back away, perform a Performance check to puff out your chest and roar, or attack.
If you succeed with Animal Handling, you’ll reveal the owlbear cub, which the mother is protecting. You can then try to show no harm by holding your hands out, moving closer, slowly backing away, or attacking. Even with Speak With Animals, your options stay the same—there’s no completely peaceful way to approach the mother and her cub without provoking her.
Failing checks or hostile actions will cause the owlbear to attack you, and she will focus on defending her cub. If you manage to kill the mother (and her mate if you’re on Honor Mode) before the cub is injured, you can still recruit the cub later.
Walking away with the cub without harming her allows you to encounter her again at your camp later. Alternatively, you can choose to attack the mother, ending the fight once she is dead. If you take the violent route, be sure to interact with the cub afterward and avoid killing it. You can loot the mother for an item called the Head of a Broken Spear, which can be combined with a Shaft found on Edowin’s body, and examine the nearby skeleton for the Oak Father’s Embrace armor.
After the initial encounter, the owlbear cub may later be found at the Goblin Camp, located west of Druid’s Grove and the Blighted Village. Regardless of whether you killed the mother, the cub will be there. It is usually near the camp entrance, surrounded by goblins, and interacting with it will lead you to a goblin named Krolla, who introduces a game called Chicken-Chasing.
You can also show the cub that you mean no harm by passing two Animal Handling checks, but ultimately, the cub will tell you to deal with the goblins first. Krolla will explain the rules, but she will ask you to come back after Volo the Bard has been captured by goblins and is standing on a pedestal nearby. When you talk to him, you can return to Krolla to learn more about the game.
To bring the owlbear cub to your camp, there are three options: denouncing the game as cruel and persuading Krolla to give you the cub, participating in a game of Chicken-Chasing for gold, or attacking and killing all goblins outside the camp. The quickest and most straightforward way is to refuse to play, tell Krolla the cub is coming with you, and then persuade her—using Illithid powers for an easier route or passing persuasion or intimidation checks—to hand over the cub.
If you choose to play, wager gold—30 or 75—and win the game, then persuade or intimidate Krolla to give you your earnings. During the game, you can ensure victory by passing an Animal Handling check to encourage the cub to run through the posts or persuade it to attack the goblins.
Regardless of your approach, once the cub is coming to your camp, it will disappear after a few nights but will always return as long as you don’t attack it. If you kill the mother, make sure to properly interact with the cub afterward and avoid harming it. You can loot the mother for the Head of a Broken Spear and also find a Githyanki Egg in the cave, which may be used in future side quests.
Completing the main quest by destroying the goblin camp doesn’t prevent future encounters—you can still see and add the owlbear cub to your camp later. It’s advisable to handle goblins within the camp in small groups instead of outside to avoid widespread hostility, which would make internal combat more difficult.
Once at your camp, you can pet and speak to the owlbear cub regularly. If you have Speak With Animals and Scratch at camp, you can pet both simultaneously in a special scene and earn the “You Have Two Hands For A Reason” achievement.
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