In Baldur’s Gate 3, a party consists of up to four characters. However, you can summon additional companions, such as through summons. One of them is the dog Scratches, who can even revive members of your party.
What is special about Scratches? Scratches is not only a cute dog but also a useful companion. After you have found him and won him over for your camp, you can pet him and play with him. If you spend enough time with him, he will bring you a ball.
Once you have played ball with him, he can also be used as a summon. In your spellbook, you will find the appropriate ability under the category General
/“Common“.
Once summoned, Scratches can also assist you in combat – beyond the limit of four characters. Each member of a party can theoretically use a summon, which can lead to four additional companions. Besides Scratches, there is also a cat, a spider, ghouls, angels, and many other creatures.
If that is not enough, you can even have up to 16 characters in the group with a mod, as reported by GameStar.
What can Scratches do? The dog has an ability that removes states like burning or sleeping. He can also lick characters who have been defeated, reviving them with one hit point.
Another useful aspect is that he occasionally finds items that you otherwise would not be able to access.
Scratches can die forever, but not in combat
Can the dog be used without hesitation? Yes. While Scratches can die in combat, which can be heartbreaking, you can always summon him again. He cannot experience a final death.
How quickly Scratches can get into trouble is shown in this clip from the streamer Maurice Weber, who is part of our network and has already extensively commented on Baldur’s Gate 3.
Although Scratches cannot be killed in combat, the situation is different in your camp. If you experiment with explosive barrels and Scratches runs through one of these fire fields, he will be permanently killed and can no longer be summoned.
So always remember to save just in case!
Is Scratches the best summon? Definitely not. Most place him somewhere in the middle. He is not super strong in combat and is mainly used for finding items and because of his cute appearance.
At the top are usually Animated Dead and the Air Myrmidon. However, these can only be used by the necromancer and the druid. Scratches, on the other hand, is available to every class.
Which is your favorite summon? Feel free to write it in the comments.
You can find more about the perfect party here: Baldur’s Gate 3 Guide to the Companions – Here’s how to create the best party.
