Recently crowned Game of the Year, Baldur’s Gate 3 has a wide array of animals to talk to, befriend, turn into, or become the mortal enemy of (I’m looking at you, Timber). One player, who clearly loves bears, has decided that playing with a party of humanoids just isn’t good enough anymore.
Enter Minato_b, a Reddit user who dared to dream of a world where the only weapons they need are the claws on their paws. Surely making beloved companion Halsin proud, Minato proudly demonstrated the fruits of their labor in a thread that has to be seen to be believed. Four characters, all multi-classing as Druidic Rangers, transformed into bears while summoning a furry friend each.
The thread went down like a storm, racking up over 3,500 upvotes at the time of writing. It’s the strangest things that inspire us. Immediately, a discussion broke out regarding the possibility of making more bears. Yes, more. One user posited that as a Druidic Ranger, a Beast Master bear could summon another bear. Unfortunately, though, the level cap prevents players from using the skill alongside Wild Shape. You have to pick one or the other.
Unsurprisingly, players discussed using mods to solve the problem. “Level 20 multiclass mod exists only for 12 bear party and you can’t stop me,” announced MrDrSirLord. If you are willing to go down this route, you too can lift the party cap for a truly bear-illiant time. As another user pointed out, the Party Limit Begone mod by Sildur allows for a bustling gang of 16 to head out adventuring. That’s potentially 48 bears, a certified sleuth at your beck and call.
Christopher Livingston at PCGamer attempted a modest four-bear run of BG3 in August. But his bears were exclusively summons, which caused a few issues with game progression. In theory, this wouldn’t be much of an issue with Wild Shape, as the “owners” are present to interact during cutscenes. I’m not quite sure how BG3’s engine would handle 48 hulking beasts crammed into such a small area, though.
But James, I hear you cry, I’ve heard enough about bears and the tales of freaky Haslin. Is there an alternative for us? Well, I’m glad you asked, because Reddit user AwesomeDewey has you covered. “You can play as a Ranger who summons a small raven,” they began, “then summons a large raven that summons two more ravens.” Then, you can transform into a raven yourself with Corvid Token. That makes five. With each of your party members adding three brilliant birds, your flock of fourteen will look fabulous in Faerûn.
Flippin’ heck.
