I hate killing the owlbear. It makes me feel terrible every time despite nesting so close to the road. It's not about the cub, it's that it drops a spear part.
I know this is off-topic in this goblin thread, but can’t resist adding to this that I really feel there should be options to try to remove the spear part and heal the owlbear (eg a medicine check after an initial animal handling one to placate the owlbear).
The only reason my druid and ranger characters in particular would have for going anywhere near it would be to try to help after hearing it’s been injured by Edowin, so it’s disappointing that they don’t have a chance to try. And if they failed and it attacked, then at least they could console themselves they’d meant well!
Certainly! We need a reason for many good or neutral characters to even get there. If we deduced the owlbear would perish from infection without help, the pressure would be even greater.