How to Get the Owlbear Cub in BG3: Complete Recruitment Guide

Step 1: The Owlbear Cave

The Owlbear Cave is located northeast of the Blighted Village, near the river that separates the wilderness from the risen road. Follow the path past the bridge (where you meet Scratch’s deceased master) and you will see a cave entrance marked with scattered animal bones.

Inside, you will find a mother owlbear and her cub. You have two ways to handle this encounter:

Option A — Fight the Mother: Attack and kill the mother owlbear. The cub will run away during the fight and will not be harmed. After the fight ends, the cub will return and eat its mother (a dark but important detail — this is the trigger that marks the cub’s survival). Do NOT kill the cub. Use the Speak with Animals spell or potion to talk to it, and it will flee toward the Goblin Camp.

Option B — Peaceful Resolution: If you have Speak with Animals active, you can talk to the mother owlbear. Succeed on a Persuasion or Intimidation check and she will let you leave unharmed. The cub survives, and the mother stays alive. However, the cub may still end up at the Goblin Camp later, as goblins eventually raid the cave.

Critical Warning: If you kill the cub, or if it dies from AoE damage during the fight with the mother, it is gone permanently. The owlbear cub is one of the few camp followers that can die permanently before recruitment.

Step 2: The Goblin Camp — Chicken Chasing

After one or two long rests following your encounter at the cave, travel to the Goblin Camp in the Shattered Sanctum (west of the Blighted Village). On the raised area to the right of the main courtyard, you will find goblins gathered around the owlbear cub. They are using it for “chicken chasing” — a cruel game where they make the cub run through an obstacle course.

Speak to the goblin handler, Krolla. You have several options:

• Persuade/Intimidate Krolla to release the cub to you.
• Pay her gold (around 500 gold) to buy the cub.
• Use Illithid Wisdom if you have the tadpole power unlocked.
• Kill the goblins. If you are already hostile with the goblin camp (or plan to be), simply kill Krolla and her companions. The cub will flee.

If you convince Krolla to release the cub, speak to the cub using Speak with Animals and tell it to follow your scent to your camp. The cub will mention it is hungry and scared — assure it that there is food at your camp.

Step 3: Camp Recruitment

After freeing the cub from the goblins, long rest. On the first rest, the cub will appear at your camp briefly, sniff around, and run away. On a subsequent long rest (usually the second or third), the cub will arrive wounded and hungry. Feed it when prompted — you can give it camp supplies or use an Animal Handling check to calm it down. Once fed and calmed, the cub is now a permanent camp follower.

If you have Scratch the dog in your camp already, the two will eventually become friends after a few more long rests. The cutscene of them playing together is one of the most heartwarming moments in the game.

Benefits of the Owlbear Cub

The owlbear cub does not join you in combat and is not a summonable companion. However, it provides a unique buff in the final battle sequence: if both Scratch and the owlbear cub are alive in your camp at the end of the game, they become summonable allies during the final confrontation. The cub also appears in the epilogue if you recruit it.

Quick Tips

• Always have Speak with Animals available for the cave and goblin camp interactions.
• Do not use AoE spells or abilities near the cub — friendly fire can kill it.
• If you clear the Goblin Camp before visiting the Owlbear Cave, the cub will still appear at your camp after you clear the cave (the goblin step is skipped).
• The cub’s camp cutscenes queue behind other camp events — keep long resting until they trigger.
• The cub cannot be killed once fully recruited (unlike before recruitment).
• Recruiting the cub has no impact on any companion approval except possibly gaining a small amount of approval from animal-loving companions.