Baldur’s Gate 3 has a surprising amount of animals that you can encounter and speak with throughout each Act, each complete with a unique personality and quirks. These animal characters are so well-done that they are just as intriguing and often even more endearing than any NPC. For this reason, the Spell ‘Speak With Animals’ has been labeled as a must-have, allowing you to freely talk to any critters you encounter. Out of all possible animal conversations, we’ve rounded up the 10 best candidates you absolutely must speak to, each one standing out as infinitely memorable and lovable.
Timber the Squirrel
Timber is one of the very first animals you can encounter in the game, located in Emerald Grove. Many payers received a rude awakening when Timber reacted to Tav and the party with hostility, lashing out physically. In response, many individuals opted to click the ‘kick the squirrel’ option, assuming this would scare the pesky little fluffball off. Unfortunately, what many did not expect, was for this to result in you punting poor Timber like a football, turning you into a squirrel murderer.
Thankfully, with the assistance of Speak With Animals, you can converse with Timber and even befriend her with a mutual agreement after her bite, saving her from a swift and brutal death, and yourself from the guilt of delivering it.
The Strange Ox
The Strange Ox doesn’t exactly have a lot to say upon triggering Speak With Animals, but this animal interaction stands out purely for how bizarre and disturbing it is. As you can imagine with the title of a ‘strange’ Ox, this being is much less Ox than what it appears to be at first glance. First discovering the fellow at Emerald Grove, the Strange Ox will later appear at Last Light Inn, and if you talk to him there, you will have the option to learn his true thoughts and intentions.
Upon doing so, you’ll witness horrific images of disemboweled and dismembered bodies, hinting at a murderous and evil intent from the bovine. After revealing the Strange Ox’s true form, he will angrily claim that all he wanted was a bit of hay and a good brush, casually failing to mention his murderous cravings. Are you sure that hay and a brush are all you want, Strange Ox? You’re not fooling me.
Myshka the Cat
Myshka is a precious little encounter for the entire duration of your conversation with him. Right from the beginning, he appears to speak in an odd and unintelligible manner, even while Speak With Animals is active. Upon selecting a check, you will understand that he is speaking a rare Feline dialect, and is asking you if you are his mother. Of course, my precious son (or at least, I am now). How could I possibly ever say no to such an adorable little face?
My only problem with this interaction is that it doesn’t actually allow Myshka to join your camp and move back in with his newfound parent. Let’s be real, we all wanted it, especially after we all immediately stepped up to the responsibility of parenthood and told the little guy that we were indeed his mother.
The Owlbear Cub
It seems it’s nature for Owlbears to have a rather brutal natural upbringing, as the Owlbear Cub can eventually reveal that his mother ate his brother a while back. However, the Owlbear Cub in particular received an even more troubling start to its life after potentially having its mother slaughtered, depending on your choices, and then being kidnapped and taken to the Goblin Camp.
Thankfully, you can give this feathery little bundle of joy a new start in your camp, where he will start to come into his own. After getting some help from Scratch to settle in and overcome his nightmares, you will soon find the Owlbear Cub makes himself right and home, and soon grows into one of your most valuable and powerful assets. Speaking to him on different occasions will show how much growing up he does in such a short period, making the Owlbear cub one of the most endearing and intriguing animals in which you can strike up a conversation.
Scratch the Dog
Aw, c’mon! There’s no way we could write this list up and not include Scratch, the best doggo in the entire game. Seriously, I will never, ever, get sick of casting Speak With Animals just to hear his polite and kind-natured “Hope you’re keeping well, friend.” Thank you Scratch, you too, buddy. You’re 10 times more considerate than half my damn party, I swear.
Scratch is the embodiment of a perfect pet. He’s always up for pats, he brings you little treats and treasures that he finds lying around, and he even goes out of his way to help comfort the Owlbear cub after he moves into your camp, ensuring the young little fella settles in safe and sound. I don’t know what we did to deserve Scratch in this game, let alone being able to speak to him, but I’m grateful to the animal Gods of Faerun every single time I load up my save.
His Majesty the Cat
Hiss! He says, Hiss! I could sit here and tell you that His Majesty’s voice acting alone is enough reason to engage in conversation through Speak With Animals (and it is), but it’s not just his voice acting. It’s his hilarious dialogue, his rude, entitled, yet somehow absolutely lovable personality, and the fact that he’s got Isobel in his bad books for failing to deliver on a promise of fresh milk.
Somehow, His Majesty manages to sound exactly how I imagine a pampered, hairless cat would sound if they were able to communicate with humans, and his little animations further accentuate his personality to perfection. Jaheira may be a well-known and respected hero, and Isobel may be the daughter of Ketheric Thorm himself, but His Majesty is truly the only thing that comes close to royalty at Last Light Inn.
Steelclaw the Cat
If there’s one thing that you need to know about Steelcaw, it’s that the Absolute should be completely shaking at her mere presence. This amusing little hairless cat looks like she could be related to His Majesty, and carries a very similar, classic ‘cat-like’ asshole personality to the latter. Simply swap out His Majesty’s self-vanity for more of an overwhelming overconfidence in her abilities, and that’s Steelclaw.
Steelclaw is highly fixated on Mind Flayer Tadpoles and has completely devoted herself to hunting them down and slaughtering them like a true feline predator. This is rather amusing, however, because she’s also living at Moonrise Towers with the Cult of the Absolute, who has dubbed her with the name ‘Fluffers’ (which she thinks is ridiculous, of course). I’m not even sure if it’s just the natural prey drive of a cat, or if Steelclaw has some sort of personal vendetta against the Tadpoles, but either way, the Absolute should without a doubt be terrified of Steelclaw’s wrath.
Grub the Cat
Grub is such a sweet little guy, and quite literally the scaredy cat of BG3. He’s softly spoken in comparison to the other felines, full of a shy, timid personality, and even speaks with a slight stammer. He’s the loyal animal companion to the girl known as Yenna, who he lovingly admits is his best friend, despite his highly anxious state and distrust of Tav and the party.
Even though Yenna’s mother has gone missing, and Grub believes her to be dead, he refuses to leave Yenna’s side, making sure to encourage you to check in with her rather than speak to him. I’m glad to know Yenna’s got Grub by her side, looking out for her. A wholesome kiddo like Yenna more than deserves the most caring cat in the game as her companion, that’s for sure.
Commander Lightfeather the Pigeon
The birds of Baldur’s Gate 3 are truly hilarious. From the treasure-collecting Topaz to the Raven who invades you with an unprovoked speech on how much everyone hates you, or even the unnamed little Blue Jay who puts his entire soul into shouting the phrase “The eagles are pricks!”, there’s plenty of dialogue enjoy. However, none are quite as entertaining as Commander Lightfeather, a pigeon who is very eccentric, loud, and potentially not all quite there.
Commander Lightfeather talks like a general and addresses you like one of his soldiers, claiming to be in charge of the aerial force for the war (messenger pigeons). This was a hilarious touch to the game that I thoroughly enjoyed, with his character reminding me of the Sargeant from Valiant, an animated film take on messenger pigeons in the war. Thank you, commander Lightfeather, for unlocking memories I didn’t even know I had.
Sparky the Dog
Look out, Scratch! There’s another doggo to give you a run for your money as the goodest boi in all of Faerun. Trust me, you’re definitely going to want to use Speak With Animals when it comes to Sparky, as you’ll be bound to get a bit of a giggle out of the experience. You see, Sparky has the personality of….well, almost every dog in existence. He doesn’t seem to have the same intelligence that some of the other animals have and lacks Scratch’s overly polite mannerisms.
However, what Sparky does do best is play the role of a beloved, energetic doggo. All he wants to do is RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN! With a tail that can’t seem to stop wagging and an overly excitedly, energetic tone to his voice, there’s no way you can’t love Sparky, especially when his personality is in such contrast to Scratch.
