Larian Studios has put so much time and attention to detail into Baldur’s Gate 3 that the game has become a true work of art. MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiß also enjoys every second of the game. But she would have liked to sacrifice an NPC to the bad guys in Act 1 during her good run.
I started playing at release and am still on my first playthrough. Although I haven’t yet accumulated 200 hours like MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski, over 160 hours is a lot for my standards.
I have now reached Act 3 and also completed some of the side quests more or less successfully. One NPC in particular stood out for me: Rolan, the grumpy apprentice magician from the emerald grove. As much as I would have liked to have delivered him to the goblin camp in Act 1, I am happy with his character development.
Warning – Spoilers: Spoilers for Rolan’s possible story from Act 1 to Act 3 and the characters associated with it await you below.
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Rolan – don’t bother me!
When you first meet Rolan, he is standing in a corner of the Emerald Grove. He discusses with his two siblings, Cal and Lia, whether they should stay and help the druids fight the goblins.
Rolan is absolutely against it: he uses every argument he thinks is effective to persuade his family to continue their journey to Baldur’s Gate. He always comes across as arrogant. He also brushes off any argument to stay and is visibly annoyed.
What does Rolan want in Baldur’s Gate? Become a magician’s apprentice. For a magician whose reputation isn’t all that good – at least according to Gale. And this job is so much more important than the emerald grove. Or maybe he just cares about the safety of his family. You don’t know at this point.
As a player, I was able to convince his siblings to stay. Since Rolan doesn’t want to leave his family behind, he stays. Albeit grumbling and cursing loudly. At the Tiefling party after successfully defeating the goblins, he at least entertains everyone with his magic tricks.
Overall, he just got on my nerves: what a windbag, I thought to myself.
If Rolan survived Act 1, you can find him in Act 2 in the Inn Zum Lasten Licht. There he drowns his sorrows in alcohol: Cal and Lia have been captured by the Absolute’s followers. Because I persuaded the two of them to help, he insults my character accordingly.
Angry and drunk, he storms out into the eternal night to save his two siblings himself. I almost lost him here and didn’t feel sorry for him: The idiot tries to sneak into the Towers of Moonrise and is trapped by a horde of shadow monsters.
If you wait too long – one or two long rests – it is as good as dead.
I was lucky enough to stumble upon him in time. Not because I planned it, but because I simply discovered it while exploring. And then of course you help. Just like I later freed the gnomes and Rolan’s siblings from the prison in the towers.
Only now does the hard shell begin to crack: Rolan is enormously relieved about the return of his brother and sister. Maybe – just maybe – he’s just afraid that the whole family won’t make it safely to the presumed safety of Baldur’s Gate.
But they manage it. Rolan even becomes…friendly. And he gets the offered apprenticeship at Lorroakan. Unfortunately, he is promptly demoted to an employee in the magician’s magic shop.
What’s more, his new master regularly abuses Rolan. The worst thing for Rolan is that his two siblings are not allowed to live with him in the magician’s tower. Lorroakan just threw them out.
By the way, this magician is of a completely unique caliber: he wants to capture the Nightsong and use it as a source of immortality like Ketheric Thorm. The Nightsong, Dame Aylin, doesn’t find this funny and challenges Lorroakan.
And this is where the real stuff that Rolan is made of shows up: When Lorroakan asks him to fight with him against me and Dame Aylin, he promptly takes my side. The fact that he simply ignored his hard-earned education to do the right thing made me extremely happy.
After a hard fight, Lorroakan lies defeated on the ground and Rolan thanks me. He’s actually really nice. He quickly makes himself the new master of the tower and even swears his loyalty for whatever comes.
Rolan is already a tragic character. Only at the end of his quest can I look back at the beginning and understand why he is the way he is: like so many, he is afraid for his loved ones and simply wants to avoid all potential trouble.
But the fact that he ultimately committed himself so fervently to my character and would probably stand by my side in the final battle surprised me positively. Rolan is one of the good guys, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first glance.
Hats off, Larian
Actually, Rolan’s great development shouldn’t surprise me. Larian has not spilled the beans: Baldur’s Gate 3 is a gem among games and even the smallest role is well thought out and written. But I wouldn’t have thought that they could turn that grouchy wooden head from Act 1 into a likeable guy.
Of course I realize that Rolan was very lucky in my run. I could have let the goblins overrun the grove or let him die from the Shadow Curse in the Shadowlands. But he not only survived, but sometimes became a valuable and reliable ally because of my actions and decisions.
I’m really glad that I helped save him this far. Hats off, Larian!
Then I’m excited to see what else awaits me. Zevlor is probably still around somewhere in Baldur’s Gate, Mizora just doesn’t want to leave my camp and Orin has taken a hostage. It’s good that we have a few days off now. I still have a lot to do – maybe I’ll finish it before the new year. And let’s see how my romance ends – by the way, I’ve already written about it: In order to date the biggest joke in Baldur’s Gate 3, I spurned two of the hottest companions