Skipping this NPC in Baldur’s Gate 3’s Act 1 has tragic consequences

Here’s what happens in Baldur’s Gate 3 if you ignore this particular NPC in Act 1, located near the Emerald Grove.

You’ll first meet Rolan upon entering the Emerald Grove area in Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3 — just before the sword training area where you’ll find Wyll. The Tiefling wizard can be seen arguing with his two siblings, Lia and Cal, around the left side of the entrance.

But with so many other characters and NPCs running around the place, and given that he has no quest marker, the NPC can be easily missed during your playthrough.

An act as simple as not talking to him can lead to heartbreaking consequences if you’re leaning into a Tiefling-heavy story, as one player shared in a Reddit thread. As it turns out, if you miss interacting with Rolan, many of the Tieflings won’t make it to the Last Light Inn.

“There was no Bex, no kids running around. I didn’t have to save Rolan from Shadows. Once I got to Act 3, I heard that Bex was actually dead, and I had to listen to her boyfriend cry about it,” they explained. 

To make things worse, during the encounter in Sorcerous Sundries in Act 3, Rolan ended up siding with Lorroakan against the player. 

During this, you won’t even be able to pull off a non-lethal attack, as he’ll stay hostile regardless. Despite starting out rude and selfish, Rolan plays an important part in protecting many of the Tieflings. With him gone, there’s no one to protect the Tiefling refugees.

And as if that’s not heartbreaking enough, if you didn’t help him or save his siblings, it’ll be revealed later in Act 3 that he has been abused by Lorroakan. Yet, as pointed out by a player, you won’t be able to save him. This does make sense as since you never help him in the first place, he doesn’t trust you.

If you’d like to avoid this outcome, you’ll need to convince him to stay in Act 1 when he’s arguing with his siblings. To do this, you’ll need to succeed in a Persuasion check, which can be tricky depending on your stats. But unless you’re playing Honour Mode, save-scumming is always an option.