While walking through the Druid's Grove in Act 1 of Baldur's Gate 3, you might have noticed a very weird ox hanging out with the regular oxen. You can interact with him, but he doesn't seem to do much or have much of anything to say. So what is up with the Strange Ox in BG3?
Everything we know about the Strange Ox in BG3
If you walk by the oxen in the Druid's Grove between Wyll and Mattis, there is a perception check that rolls. On a success, you notice a strange ox that doesn't quite seem to be what he looks like. If you try to converse with him, you'll get an option for an Arcana check to see what it is about this ox that seems so weird. You can't quite place it, so you are forced to either move on or try to Speak with Animals on him.
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Speaking with the Strange Ox doesn't get you much closer to an answer, even if you pass the Persuasion or Intimidation checks to try to get him to speak. There doesn't seem to be much else to do with him at this point except attack, so what should you do?
Should you kill the Strange Ox?
Basically, the answer is no. Our bovine friend may be suspicious, but he's actually quite a useful character. You have three total opportunities to fight him: once in the Druid's Grove in Act 1, once in the Last Light Inn in Act 2, and lastly in a barn in Rivington in Act 3. However, if you do not kill him and instead help him get into Baldur's Gate's Lower City, the Strange Ox will become an ally in the fight against the Absolute.
What is the Strange Ox in BG3?
Spoiler Warning for Dark Urge. Turns out, the Strange Ox is a slime creature similar to those fought in Grymforge in Act 1. But unlike his slime cousins, he doesn't want to murder; he merely wants to live the peaceful life of a cow.
Thankfully, there is a way to get a little more information on our slimy ox; if you play through BG3 as a Dark Urge character, you will get a lot more context for his personal choice to live life as an ox. In Act 2, if you really push him, the Strange Ox will show you a murderous dream of his: bloody victims piled amongst viscera and rivers of blood. In a moment of comradery, you realize that you are the same: a thing that was born evil, and filled with unwanted evil thoughts.
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You have two options at this point: you can either come to terms with how similar you are and gain hope in the battle of fighting your own inner demons, or you can murder the ox in cold blood to prove how evil you are. If you choose to show the Strange Ox your murderous side, he refuses to fight back, wanting to die as he wished to live: an ox to the very end.
The character of the Strange Ox is a weirdly in-depth one for a throw-away side character that can be missed or ignored pretty easily. His story is one of hope for redemption from what you were born as, one that parallels your own journey as a Dark Urge that doesn't want to be evil anymore. (I'm not crying, you're crying.)
For more Baldur's Gate 3, check out Are There Githzerai in BG3? on Pro Game Guides.
Published: Oct 25, 2023 09:47 am