Rugan/Cut content

Cut Content

Backgrounds

Spells

Helia

Nerela

Nightsong

Rugan

Rurik

Shadowheart

 Rugan had originally been planned to be present at the Guildhall, but his presence in Act Three was seemingly cut from the released version of the game. Despite this, there are still trace amounts of information in the game files that attest to his unimplemented role.

Involvement

By saving Rugan from the gnolls in Act One, and remaining on friendly terms with the Zhentarim of the Zhentarim Hideout, Rugan will tell the party to look for him once they were in Baldur's Gate, promising to buy them a drink should they ever cross paths again. Nevertheless, in the release version of the game, Rugan is never seen again from this point forward - were his cut content implemented however, the party would've originally been able to find him the Guildhall alongside both members of The Guild and the other Zhents; tipsy and dejected, he'd attempt to celebrate the party's arrival by telling the Zhents around him his rescue from the gnolls, only to elicit no reaction and get ignored by everyone around him.

Rugan then goes on to reveal that the original Zhentarim in Baldur's Gate were backstabbed and put under "new management" in an internal power play, with every single Zhent beneath Waukeen's Rest returning to the city being betrayed, turned to the Steel Watch, and then hanged. He then explains that their new superiors thought they were responsible for the kidnapping of  Duke Ravengard, and that he owes his survival to his decision to confess to the lies and accusations as though they were true. Further dialogue elaborates that he is the only original "Gate crew" Zhentarim left and that he'd drink to his fallen comrades. Upon asking who the new Zhent management are, he simply says that he has no idea who they are, but that they impressed  Darkhold enough for them to send additional support in the form of reinforcements. As he is still loyal to the Zhentarim after all this, the party could then convince him to leave their ranks.

• [PERSUASION] The Zhentarim have brought you nothing but trouble, Rugan. Cut your losses. (DC 15)
• [ROGUE] [PERSUASION] The Zhentarim sold your friends out. You think they wouldn't do the same to you? (DC 10)
• [ROGUE] [PERSUASION] The Zhentarim made you turn on your people. You really think you owe them loyalty? (DC 10)

Successfully doing so will make him move away from his posting in the Guildhall, and head towards the bar where he'd start drinking incessantly; there, he'd drink to his fallen comrades, like  Olly, who he'd rather humorously misremember his name to be Ronnie or Ozzy. During the Zhentarim's attempted takeover of the Guild, Rugan will not join combat and keep drinking. Talking with Rugan after the battle ends simply has him ask the party incredulously if a fight happened.

As Rugan's involvement in Act Three has been cut from the game, much of the story and information concerning the original Risen Road Zhentarim and the Zhents' internal intrigue has been lost. The only piece of information about this that the party can learn comes in the form of an interaction with  Slick Inatra, who only reveals it to the party if the latter seized the  Caravan Strongbox from Rugan in the first place, received the quest to deliver the strongbox to Inatra from  Zarys, and killed Rugan on her orders. Slick Inatra then simply states that the original caretakers of the cargo are already dead, and that there is new Zhentarim leadership in the city, without elaborating any further.

It's unclear as to who the new management refers to, though it may be possible that it may refer to either  Roah Moonglow,  Boss Friol, or  Trinoda as Rugan never seems to acknowledge or is aware of their existence. Likewise, it appears that the rest of the Zhentarim in Act Three are either a new crew or reinforcements from Darkhold.