Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Halsin shouldn't be the one killing the goblin kids

shouldn't be the one who would willingly harm those goblin kids in a deadly way

would he decide to kill that owlbear cub?

And since druid are able to talk to an owlbear

Surely not all druids are hippies flashing peace signs.

You know, thinking back, I don't think I've ever seen Halsin kill one of them. They're usually so fast at disengaging and running away, calling for guards.

When rescuing Halsin, whatever players do with them is players' own decision, but Halsin, on storytelling wise, who is not a shadow druid, shouldn't be the one who would willingly harm those goblin kids in a deadly way. This fight reminds me of the owlbear fight, if Halsin was in players' position fighting those two owlbears, would he decide to kill that owlbear cub? Of which I think not. And since druid are able to talk to an owlbear, while both owlbear and goblin are capable to kill humanoid beings without moral trouble to them, then what's the difference between an owlbear cub and a goblin kid?

As already mentioned, an Owlbear is a monstrosity created by magic, it's not a natural beast, it's an incredibly aggressive monster that will eat any living creature, and absolutely has the potential to upset a local ecosystem.

Hmm, there is no united conformation on the origins of the owlbear(in lore, in real life we know Gygax based it on a toy). Dragons and other monsters are also magical creatures but still considered to be parts of nature in Faerûn. So a druid being against its existence just based on that feels wrong.

Monstrosities are monsters in the strictest sense — frightening creatures that are not ordinary, not truly natural, and almost never benign. Some are the results of magical experimentation gone awry (such as owlbears), and others are the product of terrible curses (including minotaurs and yuan-ti). They defy categorization, and in some sense serve as a catch-all category for creatures that don’t fit into any other type.

The horrible owlbear is probably the result of genetic experimentation by some insane wizard. These creatures inhabit the tangled forest regions of every temperate clime, as well as subterranean labyrinths. They are ravenous eaters, aggressive hunters, and evil tempered at all times. They attack prey on sight and will fight to the death.

Owlbears are extraordinarily vicious predators with a reputation for ferocity, aggression, and sheer ill temper. They tend to attack nearly anything that moves without provocation. Scholars have long debated the exact origins of this creature. The most common theory is that a demented wizard created the first specimen by crossing a giant owl with a bear.

Infamous for its bad temper, an owlbear attacks anything it thinks it can kill.
A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
DC 15: Owlbears are dangerous predators of the Feywild that made their way to the natural world long ago. They typically lair in forests and shallow caves. They can be active during the day or night, depending on the habits of the available prey. Adults live in mated pairs and hunt in packs, leaving their young in the lair.

Deadly Ferocity. The owlbear's reputation for ferocity, aggression, stubbornness. and sheer ill temper makes it one of the most feared predators of the wild. There is little, if anything, that a hungry owlbear fears. Even monsters that outmatch an owlbear in size and strength avoid tangling with it, for this creature cares nothing about a foe's superior strength as it attacks without provocation.

Savage Companions. Although they are more intelligent than most animals, owlbears are difficult to tame. However, with enough time, food, and luck, an intelligent creature can train an owlbear to recognize it as a master, making it an unflinching guard or a fast and hardy mount. People of remote frontier settlements have even succeeded at racing owlbears, but spectators bet as often on which owl bear will attack its handler as they do on which will reach the finish line first.
Elven communities encourage owlbears to den beneath their treetop villages, using the beasts as a natural defense during the night. Hobgoblins favor owlbears as war beasts, and hill giants and frost giants sometimes keep owl bears as pets. A starved owlbear might show up in a gladiatorial arena, ruthlessly eviscerating and devouring its foes before a bloodthirsty audience.

Owlbear Origins. Scholars have long debated the origins of the owl bear. The most common theory is that a demented wizard created the first specimen by crossing a giant owl with a bear. However, venerable elves claim to have known these creatures for thousands of years, and some fey insist that owl bears have always existed in the Feywild.

No, Owlbears are not magical beasts - they are, quite literally, Monstrosities. It's a creature type, with specific meaning and implications.

From the Monster Manual:


They aren't natural or part of any natural order.

Perhaps, if we say they were created in the feywild by one of the creator races, as a magical experiment that didn't go right, then all the lore is true and none if it contradicts ^.^

(Though it's worth remembering that where source book lore contradicts, practice is to give priority to the most recent source book, and where source books contradict novels and story books, it is the source books that have priority. Where video game lore and novel lore contradict, priority is usually given to the novels.)