In Baldur’s Gate 3, a lone ox wanders the wilds-until it melts into a puddle of shapeshifting ooze. What secrets does this bizarre creature hide?
In this Baldur’s Gate 3 guide, we’ll teach you everything we know about the Strange Ox, and even tell you what happens if you kill it.
What is the Strange Ox in Baldur’s Gate 3
The Strange Ox is a mysterious creature that first appears as an oddly-behaving cow in the Emerald Grove, but its reactions and eerie mental images hint that it is far more dangerous than a simple farm animal. Through later encounters and the “Help the Devilish Ox” quest, it is revealed to be a murderous shapeshifting ooze that worships Cyric, a god of trickery and deceit, capable of assuming different forms and unleashing potent acid-based attacks.
The true nature of the Strange Ox is the one thing it really doesn’t want to talk about, and if you push it too hard, it’ll force a fight. Because of this, we don’t really know much about the Strange Ox outside of its likes and dislikes. For instance, it likes grazing, getting brushed, and fantasizing about murder. It doesn’t like people asking it about who or what it is. In a game filled with strange beings, it’s one of the strangest.
Strange Ox location in Baldur’s Gate 3
The Strange Ox first appears in the Emerald Grove during Act 1, standing apart from other oxen in the stables near blacksmith Dammon, past the main trader area and above the druid sanctuary entrance. Players notice its odd behavior through a passive Perception or Insight check (DC 10), and speaking requires a Speak with Animals spell or potion. It reappears in Act 3 at Rivington coordinates X:36 Y:-149 (or X:38 Y:-146), inside an isolated barn south of the refugee donation barn on a hill west of the requisitioned barn.
You’ll find the Strange Ox for the first time in the Emerald Grove, just hours into your playthrough. It’s standing with the rest of the oxen up above the entrance to the Druid’s sanctuary, just across from Dammon’s shop and where the Tiefling children spar.
If you failed the Perception Check, you can identify the Strange Ox because it’s facing the other direction as the other two oxen, as if it’s watching the children run by on the path.
If you try to interact with the Strange Ox, it will give you a snort and then stop talking, similarly to the other oxen. If you want to actually chat with it, you’ll need someone who can speak with animals, and you have a couple of options there.
The first option is to use a Potion of Animal Speaking, which you can find in multiple places in act 1. However, the easiest way for most players to talk to the Strange Ox is to bring Wyll along with you. By level 3, he can learn Speak with Animals as a ritual spell, which he can cast on himself. Once that’s done, all you need to do is swap to Wyll and have the conversation.
What will the Strange Ox tell you?
The Strange Ox speaks in a calm yet unsettling tone, offering cryptic hints about its nature and purpose. Its words often suggest a deep intelligence hiding behind its unassuming form, revealing fragments of a story that doesn’t quite fit the world around it. Depending on your responses, the creature may express gratitude, confusion, or quiet threat, leaving you uncertain whether you’ve met a friend, a lost being, or something far more dangerous.
Once you strike up a conversation, the Strange Ox will be a bit surprised that you’re talking to it, and is very coy about its true nature (it will try and “moo” at you, but it isn’t particularly convincing). If you pass a quick Arcana Check – note that Wyll has a -1 Intelligence modifier, so best to either save-scum this check or come in with Inspiration ready – you’ll learn that the Strange Ox is not actually an ox at all, and open up some options to intimidate, persuade, or deceive it. While Wyll struggles with Arcana Checks, he’s great at the Charisma-based ones, so you shouldn’t have any issue passing those.
However, even if you manage to pass every check, the Strange Ox still won’t tell you who or what it is. All it will say is that it’s going to Baldur’s Gate with or without the Tieflings. You won’t get a quest from the Strange Ox, but it is possible to encounter it at least one more time on your journey.
It’s also worth noting here that the Strange Ox does have a special interaction if you’re a Druid. It will tell you that it’s a fellow Druid who has shapeshifted into an ox, but this is likely a lie based on what happens if you attack it…
What happens if you kill the Strange Ox in the Emerald Grove in act 1?
Killing the Strange Ox in the Emerald Grove reveals its true nature as a black puddle of ooze. Once defeated, it leaves behind loot such as slime-related materials and other minor items. The act doesn’t cause major consequences for the grove or its inhabitants, but it removes a mysterious thread that could reappear later in the story, potentially affecting future encounters or dialogue related to this shapeshifting creature.
The Strange Ox is a bit of a jerk, and is very suspicious, so we won’t blame you for wanting to know what happens if you take it out.
The good news about the Strange Ox is that it’s holding a pretty decent piece of loot for shapeshifting Druids or spellcasters who use disguises. The bad news is that trying to kill the Strange Ox without dying or getting yourself thrown in jail can be a little tough.
If you kill the Strange Ox, it will explode into a massive pool of acid, killing the other two oxen nearby and potentially some of your party members. It deals a lot of damage at low levels, so your best bet is to take it on from a distance. The Strange Ox only has 15 HP, so sling a few spells or arrows its direction and it’ll go pop. Give the acid a few seconds to dissipate and stroll up to collect your Shapeshifter’s Boon Ring, which gives you 1d4 bonus to all Checks when you’re shapeshifted or disguised.
The bigger problem with killing the Strange Ox is that the rest of the people in the Emerald Grove don’t think it’s strange at all, they think you’re just murdering one of their oxen and will send the guards after you if you cause problems. The best way around this is actually to wait until you resolve the conflict between the Druids, Tieflings, and Goblins. Once the Tieflings leave the Emerald Grove – one way or another – they’ll take the Hungry Ox and Bored Ox and leave the Strange Ox behind. With far fewer NPCs occupying the Emerald Grove, it’s easy to get a quick kill in without disturbing the local inhabitants.
What happens to the Strange Ox in Act 2 at the Last Light Inn?
At the Last Light Inn in Act 2, the Strange Ox waits in the stables near Dammon and can be spoken to again with Speak with Animals, continuing the uneasy rapport from Emerald Grove. Pressing it with intrusive questions or pushing the conversation too far causes it to share a disturbing psychic vision before revealing its true ooze form and turning hostile, but if the inn’s protection fails and the Shadow Curse overruns the area, the ox simply vanishes and later reappears alive in Act 3 instead.
You’ll encounter the Strange Ox again in the Last Light Inn in the Shadow-touched Lands – assuming you didn’t kill it in the Emerald Grove. You’ll find it in the stable, near Dammon’s blacksmithing shop.
Talking to the Strange Ox without Speak with Animals is a little pointless here, just as it was in the Emerald Grove. Either pop a potion or bring Wyll along with you for this endeavor.
The Strange Ox is a lot more hostile this time, and it seems frustrated about something. If you talk to it enough, it’ll eventually transform into a giant, nasty ooze and attack you. Note that you need to let it initiate combat. If you just smack it with a sword, everyone in camp will be mad at you. On the flip side, when it attacks you, Dammon and the rest of the Harpers will rally to the cause. Just know that Dammon has very low health, so be careful or you’ll accidentally get him killed.
The Strange Ox ooze can be a little difficult to fight depending on your level. It hits hard, has a lot of health, and sprays acid everywhere on the ground when you hit it. Not great. But, if you manage to kill it, it’ll drop some extra items in addition to the Shapeshifter’s Boon Ring. This time it’ll also have the Hat of Fire Acuity – which gives the user the Arcane Acuity buff whenever they deal fire damage – and two Malachite gems to sell. Just don’t ask us how it managed to pick those items up since the Emerald Grove … or where it stores them.
[Ed. note: This section contains spoilers for act 3 of Baldur’s Gate.]
What happens to the Strange Ox in Act 3?
In Act 3, players encounter the Strange Ox outside a Rivington barn, where it requests smuggling into Baldur’s Gate by disguising as an apple crate. Agreeing grants the Shapeshifter’s Boon ring, which boosts ability checks during shapeshifting. If spared earlier, it later aids against the Netherbrain as a versatile ooze ally capable of morphing into forms like a Phase Spider.
As mentioned, the Strange Ox is maddeningly enigmatic. However, we do know two things about its true nature. If you fight it, it reveals itself to be a shapeshifting ooze monster, not an ox. And, if you talk to it in act 3, it praises Cyric, a god of trickery and lies – which would certainly explain the Strange Ox’s proclivity for, well, trickery and lies.
We killed the Strange Ox back in act 2, when it threatened our party. However, according to the Baldur’s Gate 3 wiki and a video of all the Strange Ox interactions on YouTube from Gamepillar, the questline does continue in act 3 if you don’t kill the Strange Ox.
Once you reach the town of Rivington – before you get into Baldur’s Gate proper – you can find the Strange Ox in a barn. If you talk to it using Speak with Animals and don’t question it about what it really is, it will ask you to smuggle it into the city before transforming into an apple, giving you a quest called “Help the Devilish Ox.” Pick up the apple and head into Baldur’s Gate. The Ox/apple will disappear once you reach the Lower City, leaving behind its Shapeshifter ring and the Slightly Slimy Note.
How to recruit the Strange Ox as an ally in Act 3
To recruit the Strange Ox as an ally in Act 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3, ensure it survives encounters in Acts 1 and 2 without hostility, then complete its quest to smuggle it into the city.
Prerequisites
Keep the ox alive in the Emerald Grove (Act 1) and at the Last Light Inn (Act 2) by avoiding combat triggers like excessive questioning of its nature or failed checks that provoke it. Use Speak with Animals (via potion, scroll, or Wyll) for dialogue, but choose non-confrontational options to prevent it transforming into a hostile ooze.
Act 3 Steps
Locate the ox in Rivington near the requisitioned barn (X:36, Y:-149) and speak to it peacefully; pass a DC 10 Insight check to recognize it, then agree to help without probing its identity. It shapeshifts into an apple-pick it up to start “Help the Devilish Ox” and carry it past Wyrm’s Rock checkpoint into the Lower City. Upon entry, the apple vanishes, leaving the Shapeshifter’s Boon Ring (+1d4 to checks while shapeshifted) and a note promising aid; this unlocks it for the “Gather Your Allies” finale.
Ally Benefits
In the final battle against the Netherbrain, summon Zlorb (the ox’s true ooze form) to shapeshift into powerful minions like a Minotaur or Phase Spider, aiding your forces significantly. Killing it earlier forfeits this recruitment and ring.
Where to find the Strange Ox location in Act 3 coordinates
The Strange Ox in Act 3 is located in Rivington, near a requisitioned barn. Precise coordinates vary slightly across sources, with reliable guides pinpointing it at X:36 Y:-149 on a hill west of the barn, or nearby spots like X:38 Y:-146 and X:41 Y:-143.
Finding the Location
Head south from the main Rivington path, past the refugee donation barn toward an isolated stable or shack on the outskirts-often described as off the beaten path on the east side or south wall. Use Speak with Animals to interact; a DC 10 Insight check confirms its identity if it survived prior acts.
Tips and Notes
Only appears if spared in Acts 1 and 2; entering the Lower City first may cause it to despawn or bug out in some patches. Once found, agree to smuggle it as an apple to recruit for the finale.
