post #4627532

Scratch, Epithet: The Goodest Boy in the Realms is a Camp Companion, attached follower, and familiar in Baldur's Gate 3.

Scratch is a courier dog whose previous master, Gomwick was attacked and killed by a pack of gnolls while returning to the city of Baldur's Gate. He is found guarding the corpse of his master believing that he was merely unconscious and would eventually awaken. Scratch can be convinced that Gomwick is dead and persuaded to come with you back to your camp. After petting him, talking to him, and playing fetch with him Scratch will give you a magic item in the form of his ball, which can be used to cast a variant of the Spell: Find Familiar that summons him as a Familiar.

Because Scratch can be fought during his initial encounter, his hit points and stats scale based on difficulty. This means his stats can be much higher than the average familiar and even some of the weaker enemies at the beginning of the game. Scratch has several unique skills, including the ability to take the help action to free immobilized enemies and "Pack Tactics" to give nearby allies advantage. Outside of Combat, Scratch has the ability "Scratch's Stiff" which allows him to make wisdom throws for survival and perception and identify where they need to be made, as well as the ability to dig up dirt mounds with treasure chests without a shovel. It is also possible to play fetch with him, in earlier version of the game, this would lead to a humorous situation where here he could pick up and "equip" certain weapons and use them to attack in combat.

Scratch will wind up becoming a surrogate big brother to the owlbear cub who can also be adopted by the party. He has a side quest in Act 3 where you may decide to return him to Sword Coast Couriers or keep him for yourself. Petting him the very first time will give approval from all companions who can see him. He can be pet everyday and may periodically give you various items including bones, shoes, and potions.

Scratch has the appearance of a White Swiss Shepherd Dog.