In YouTuber SlimX‘s accounting of Baldur’s Gate 3’s behind-the-scenes secrets, he hit me with one that sent my jaw through the floor: You can summon a magical sheep who can cast endgame spells by killing a minor NPC and ringing both of Act 3’s bell tower bells.
You may have encountered Harvard Willoughby in normal play: This monocole-wearing, mustachioed comedian will challenge you to a duel of wits at the Elfsong Tavern’s open mic night. Kill him, and your initiation to the Dark Brotherhood will be complete you’ll have taken your first step to meeting the real Harvard Willoughby.
Next, you have to climb the Lower City guard tower, then the Church of the Open Hand belfry in Rivington and ring their respective church bells in that order. There won’t be any pop-up or acknowledgement from the game, but a “Mysterious egg” will show up in your party camp.
I found it by the chicken coop in the Rivington bivouac, but I would imagine it has a corresponding location at the Lower City docks and in the Elfsong Tavern.
Click on the egg, and you’ll receive Harvard Willoughby, “Nature’s Fury,” as a summoned helper. This Harvard only has 29-54 HP depending on your difficulty, but he can cast an impressive array of high-level spells, including Call Lighting and Wall of Thorns.
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He also lights on fire at the beginning of combat encounters, and has a chance of exploding at the beginning of each round that increases as the fight drags on. If Harvard Willoughby dies by this or any other means, he’ll be gone for good.
A developer comment in BG3’s code describes the human Harvard as “a tribute to our favorite sheep,” so this summoned Harvard is presumably the original—accept no substitutes.
I just love this: A good, well-hidden easter egg no normal person would find in a million years. I’m reminded of Diablo 2’s legendary Cow Level, which requires you to combine a dead NPC’s peg leg with a town portal scroll to enter a dimension of “Hell Bovines.”
There’s also The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind’s Eltonbrand, an upgraded version of the daedric katana, Goldbrand. To get Eltonbrand, you have to be a vampire with the standard sword, a specific key, and 11,171 gold in your inventory when you talk to a certain quest giver.
It’s all a confounding reference to former Duke and Chicago Bulls basketball player, Elton Brand, whose legacy on the court may wind up outlived by his one in CRPGs. As for Baldur’s Gate 3, I hope this game never stops surprising me.
