Who Dror Ragzlin Is In Baldur’s Gate 3 (& Why He's Important)

Baldur's Gate 3 has such a large cast of characters, and some may be easily forgotten after reaching the end of a campaign. One such character who can easily be set to the side is Dror Ragzlin, a hobgoblin who players will come across in Act One. However, looking closely at his character reveals some dark undertones for any campaign of BG3.

Alongside Minthara and Priestess Gut as the goblin leaders, Dror Ragzlin is set up to be one of the major early game protagonists. Despite this, there isn't much content to explore when it comes to him. While Minthara can be recruited as a companion later on, and Gut is able to provide the player with the branding of the Absolute, Dror seems to fall short. Nonethless, Dror Ragzlin serves an important role in the narrative of Baldur's Gate 3.

What Is Dror Ragzlin Doing In Act 1 Of Baldur’s Gate 3?

Taking Orders From Ketheric Thorm, Dror Seeks A Weapon That Players Know All Too Much About

Ragzlin is a True Soul and fiercely loyal to the Absolute. He first appears at the very start of the game and can be seen observing the nautiloid crash with Minthara. His main motivation is to find a weapon sought by Ketheric Thorm —the astral prism. He first scours the nautiloid for the weapon, but he returns instead with the body of a mind flayer. When players first Ragzlin, he'll be attempting to use "speak with dead"on the corpse.

During this interaction, the party will have to convince Dror that they are not responsible for the mind flayer's death. Though this will often lead to a fight with him, a character can use their status as a True Soul to calm him down, which shows how Ragzlin is willing to work with anyone who is allied under the Absolute. The player can decide to either side with the goblins, Ragzlin, Gut, and Minthara, or against them and save the grove. If they decide to kill him, then Ragzlin can also appear again in Act 2 alongside Minthara as a zombie.

Why is Ragzlin Working With Minthara?

Ragzlin Works With Minthara And Priestess Gut To Please The Absolute

When using the “speak with dead” spell on Dror Ragzlin himself, the party can interrogate his motivation for working alongside Minthara. His response will be that “the Absolute binds obedience.” This is quite notable, as if the player decides to spare Minthara, she will later reveal to the player that she was not in complete control of her mind and committed various acts of violence underneath the Absolute’s influence. It is possible that the same could be said for Ragzlin — all the goblin leaders are infected with parasites, and had some sort of allyship with one of the three chosen.

“If you had killed me when we first met, I would have been just one more casualty of your crusade against the Absolute. And nobody would remember me.” - Minthara.

When talking to him whilst he is still alive, it will become clear that he would not seek Minthara as an ally under normal circumstances, but does so to not defy the Absolute. If the player gets through the dialogue without angering him, he will say that he hopes Minthara is in trouble and in need of assistance in the raid against the Emerald Grove. This implies that he, Minthara, and Priestess Gut have little in common outside their faith and that he's more than willing to step over them to prove himself in the eyes of the Absolute.

Why Is Dror Ragzlin Important?

Minthara's Dialogue Shows There's So Much More To Minor BG3 Characters

Considering how little exposition the game provides on who Ragzlin was before being tadpoled, he may have once been, at least somewhat, innocent. Although hobgoblins in D&D tend to lean towards a lawful evil alignment, Baldur’s Gate 3 appears to present them in a genial light. Characters like Blurg, Kled, and Toadbreath are all shown to be sympathetic characters, which is significantly different from regular goblins, who are generally portrayed as being purely evil.

The player fighting Dror could be a testament to their “crusade against the absolute” and how many of their enemies may have once been innocent. Though only Minthara can actually be spared, perhaps Ragzlin had the potential to show similar growth. The chosen of the Dead Three who Dror is shown speaking to is also Ketheric Thorm, who is arguably more sympathetic than Orin and Gortash, implying that the two may have something in common.

If knocked out in Act One, Minthara will point out that they were both in the same position, as seen in a video by xpertgamer on YouTube. Baldur’s Gate 3 has a vast story, and characters like Ragzlin show that there is even more lore surrounding characters who are outside the party's spotlight.

Source: xpertgamer/YouTube