Owlbear Cub

Owlbear Cub is a Beast and a potential Camp Follower encountered in the Owlbear Nest with his mother during Act One.

“

Like it here. Warm fire. Scratch reminds me of big brother.

„

— Owlbear Cub chatting in camp

Involvement

The Owlbear Cub can be recruited as a pet Camp Follower and remains in the Campsite afterwards.

Owlbear Cave

To recruit the Owlbear Cub, the  Owlbear Mother must be encountered in the Owlbear Nest in the Forest, near the Blighted Village. It does not matter whether the Owlbear Mother survives the encounter, but the cub must be spared to be available as a camp follower later. The principal scenarios to recruit the Owlbear Cub include:

1. Meeting the Owlbear Mother in a cutscene, then retreating without combat. After long resting, the party can return to the cave and find the Owlbear Mother killed by a goblin hunting party. The cub survives and reappears in the Goblin Camp after the next long rest.
2. Meeting the Owlbear Mother in a cutscene, then fighting and killing her. A second cutscene in which the cub begins eating its mother gives the party an opportunity to spare the cub. The cub survives and reappears in the Goblin Camp after the next long rest.
3. Attacking the Owlbear Mother from stealth, skipping the initial conversation cutscene with her. In this case, the second cutscene with the cub eating his mother after she is killed is not triggered, and the cub remains hostile. To save the cub in this scenario, it is necessary to flee from combat while the cub is still alive. After a long rest, if he survived, he reappears in the Goblin Camp. Downing the cub with non-lethal combat does NOT spare him for this purpose.
4. If not in turn-based mode, a party member can launch a ranged attack, then be seen by the Owlbear Mother and trigger her cutscene before the ranged attack lands. In this case, the first cutscene ends when the ranged attack hits or misses, and combat begins. When it ends, the second cutscene with the cub eating his mother is still triggered, and the party can spare him.

In Honour mode, the Owlbear Mother summons her  Owlbear Mate. During scenarios 2 and 4 described above, if the Owlbear Mother is killed before her Owlbear Mate, there is no second cutscene, and the party must flee, as in scenario 3, to save the cub. If the Owlbear Mother is killed after her Owlbear Mate, the second cutscene plays normally.

Goblin Camp

If he has been successfully spared in one of the above scenarios, then after long resting, the Owlbear Cub can next be found in the Goblin Camp, where  Krolla invites the party to play the Chicken Chase game to earn a bit of money. Playing Chicken Chase is not required to recruit the Owlbear Cub.

Chicken Chase

During the chicken chase game, the party can talk with the Owlbear Cub in an attempt to influence the game towards victory:

Without Speak with Animals

• [ANIMAL HANDLING] Coax the cub toward the goalposts. (DC 15)
• [ANIMAL HANDLING] Guide his gaze to the goblins - they deserve to die. (DC 15)
• [RANGER] [DRUID] [ANIMAL HANDLING] Nod to the goalposts - he'll be safe there. (DC 10)

With Speak with Animals

• [PERSUASION] See those posts? Run toward them. (DC 15)
• [BERSERKER] [PERSUASION] The goblins hurt you - CRUSH THEM. (DC 10)
• [BARBARIAN] [PERSUASION] The goblins tried to hurt you. Show them what hurt really means. (DC 10)
• [RANGER] [DRUID] [ANIMAL HANDLING] They won't hurt you if you run to those posts. (DC 10)

Saving the Owlbear Cub

Whether participating in Chicken Chasing or not, the party can talk to the Owlbear Cub to invite him to their camp.

• Beckon him closer.
• [ANIMAL HANDLING] Kneel down - you won't hurt him. (DC 10)
  • Offer him your hand. He can follow your scent to your camp in the wilderness.  +1  +1  +1
• I have a camp. You're welcome there.  +1  +1  +1

However, before the Owlbear Cub can be freed, the goblins must be dealt with. They can either be killed or Krolla can be convinced to let the party leave with the Owlbear Cub.

• [INTIMIDATION] You love this game enough to die over it? (DC 10)
• [BERSERKER] [INTIMIDATION] ROAR. (DC 10 )
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Feel differently? How about you feel dead? (DC 10 )
• [DRUID] [PERSUASION] I'd be doing you a favour. The beast will only get bigger - and tougher. (DC 5 )
• [ILLITHID] [WISDOM] I don't care what you think. I'm not asking. (DC 5)
• [PERSUASION] I'd be doing you a favour. Keeping such a large beast fed isn't easy. (DC 10)
• I'm saying I want to buy it. (500 gold)

If playing and winning Chicken Chase and intimidating or convincing Krolla into giving the party their winnings, she does not have to be intimidated again to let the party leave with the Owlbear Cub.

The cub does not seem to appear in the Goblin Camp if  Devout Mezzka is killed before a long rest or if the Goblin Camp is poisoned through the Booze Tub.^{[Needs Verification]} Should the party kill the entire Goblin Camp before encountering the owlbears, then the mother is killed by a goblin hunting party, and the cub shows up at the campsite after a couple of long rests.

If calling  Lump the Enlightened to participate in combat with the Goblin Camp exterior when the cub is present, then the Owlbear Cub becomes hostile to the three Ogres and, by extension, the party. If this happens, recruiting the cub is likely not possible anymore, as it is difficult to prevent the Ogres from eventually killing him. Even if knocking him out using non-lethal attacks, the cub still disappears after a long rest.

The final cut-off point for recruiting the Owlbear Cub is entering the Mindflayer Colony at the end of Act Two.

Owlbear Cub is Hungry

As long as the cub is spared and not stuck in the Goblin Camp (i.e. the party freeing him or clearing the camp before he is captured), the cub appears at the campsite one evening. Feeding him and keeping distance encourages him to be a friend, while taunting him or approaching him causes him to attack.

If he appears to be ready to charge, the party can attempt to "hoot softly" as a last-ditch effort to calm him down.

• [DEXTERITY] Move out of the way. (DC 10)
• [PERFORMANCE] Hoot softly to calm him down. (DC 10) (he becomes a friend)
• Brace yourself to meet his charge. (begins combat)

Without Speak with Animals

• Fetch a piece of food from your bag. (if the party have food)  +1  +1  +1  +1  +1
  • Toss the food to the owlbear.
  • Keep the food held out in front of you.
  • Eat the food.
• [ANIMAL HANDLING] Wait for him to approach you. (DC 10)
• [ANIMAL HANDLING] Beckon him closer. (DC 10)
• Keep your distance. (becomes friend)
• Move closer.

With Speak with Animals

• I have food. Would you like it? (if the party have food)  +1  +1  +1  +1  +1
  • Go ahead. Eat.
  • Come on, then. Take it.
  • On second thought, I'll have it myself.
• Are you injured?
  • You are strong. (becomes friend)
  • You don't look very strong to me.
    • [ACROBATICS] Step away from the beast. (DC 10)
    • [PERSUASION] No, you will not bite. (DC 10)
  • Then prove it - defend yourself. (begins combat)

Owlbear Cub is Injured

He reappears after another long rest, but is injured. The party can attempt to heal the injury:

Without Speak with Animals

If not a friend:

• [ANIMAL HANDLING] Whisper to calm the creature. (DC 10)

Already a friend or after being calmed:

• [NATURE] Inspect his wound. (DC 10)  +1  +1  +1  +1
• [MEDICINE] Attempt to heal the injury. (DC 10)  +1  +1  +1  +1
• [SURVIVAL] Try cleaning the wound. (DC 10)  +1  +1  +1  +1

With Speak with Animals

If he is not a friend:

• [PERSUASION] You're hurt. Let me see. (DC 5)
  • [PERSUASION] I can help you. Just stay calm. (DC 10)
  • [DECEPTION] Let me see, or the leg will fall off and I'll eat it for dinner. (DC 5)
  • [INTIMIDATION] Behave, or you'll end up like mother. (DC 15)
  • [BERSERKER] [INTIMIDATION] SHOW ME. (DC 15 )
  • [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Show. Me. Now. (DC 15 )

If he is already a friend:

• [MEDICINE] Hold still. I'll make it better. (DC 5)
• [PERSUASION] It's barely a scratch. You'll be fine. (DC 5)
• [SURVIVAL] Come here. I'll clean it for you. (DC 5)

Successfully passing a check recruits him for good.

The cub quickly acclimates to camp life. At some point after recruitment, a long rest is interrupted by a noise. If  Speak with Animals is active, it is revealed that the cub had a nightmare, and  Scratch is trying to calm him down. The cub also remarks that Scratch reminds him of his older brother. If asked about that, the cub says that he used to have an older brother, but his mother ate him.

Act Three

If the cub is a camp follower and  Dammon survives until the game's finale, then Dammon transforms the cub into a battle-ready beast before the group arrives in the Upper City. Dammon feeds the cub potions to accelerate his growth and outfits him with steel armour, granting him the  Dammon's Special Brew condition and transforming him into an  Armoured Owlbear. The party can summon the owlbear to assist in the final battle using  Gather Your Allies, though he is one of two major characters who can permanently die in this fight and be removed from the Epilogue, the other being  Zevlor.

Epilogue

If the cub survives the final battle, he appears at  Withers' reunion celebration still armoured. The player character can pet him, tell him that it is good to see him, to which he becomes flustered, and ask what he is up to, though his answer is mistaken for dancing. If the player character uses  Speak with Animals, the cub reveals that he was never invited but instead followed the player character's pleasant smell to join the gathering. Speak with Animals casters can also comment on the cub being so much larger than his "big brother" Scratch and ask again what he has been up to, to which he shares that he made new cat, turtle, and kraken friends but killed the kraken after it ate the cat.

If the cub survived but was not upgraded by Dammon, due to not completing  The Hellion's Heart or because Dammon is killed at any point, he still appears as a juvenile owlbear and shares the same story of what he has been up to. However, he lacks the enhanced strength or armour, so he instead says that he had to run away when the kraken ate his cat friend.

Either way, the player character then has the opportunity to let a former party member adopt the cub: either  Halsin,  Shadowheart (if she turned away from  Shar), or the player character themselves if they romanced Selûnite Shadowheart or Halsin in Act Three and went home with one of them. Regardless of who adopts him, the cub says that he likes the player character's choice and will go to them after the party.

Combat

Attacks and abilities

 Tiny Claws ()

Damage: 2~5

1d4 + 1⁠Slashing

Lash out with your tiny but deadly paws.

 Melee: 1.5 m / 5 ft

Companion approval

• After killing the owlbear in the Owlbear Nest:

• Let the creature live.

 +1  +1  +1  +1

• Attack.

 -1  -1  +1  -1

• The first time the cub comes to camp:

• Feed the cub something from your pack

 +1  +1  +1  +1  +1

• Tell the cub to go away, or attack him (with Speak with Animals)

 -1  -1

• Attack (without Speak with Animals)

 -1  -1  -1

• The second time the cub comes to camp:

• Nature, Medicine, or Survival check to heal him

 +1  +1  +1  +1

• Scare him away (without Speak with Animals)

 -1  -1

• Attack

 -1  -1

Inspiration

Interacting with the Owlbear Cub grants the following inspirations:

• ⁠Born Innocent (⁠Urchin background) – for saving the Owlbear Cub in the Goblin Camp
• ⁠Chicken Chase Extraordinaire (⁠Entertainer background) – for playing the Chicken Chase game in the Goblin Camp
• ⁠Cub Tamer (⁠Outlander background) – for healing and recruiting the Owlbear Cub at the campsite

Achievements

You Have Two Hands for a Reason

Pet Scratch and the owlbear cub at the same time - the greatest joy an adventurer could ask for.

Gallery

• 
  Fully grown and in armour
• 
  Owlbear cub's Early Access model
• 
  Armoured Owlbear resting on a stone bench.
• 
  Early Access appearance
• 
  Render by Bert Vanhengel

External Links

Owlbear on the Forgotten Realms Wiki