When players visit the myconid colony in the Underdark region ofBaldur’s Gate 3, they can finda deep gnome suffering from duergar poison. Cure her to learn about the sorry fate of a deep gnome expedition that the duergar raided and captured not long ago. Players can help out the myconids by killing the duergar in the nearby camp, but to rescue the deep gnomes, they’ll need to head down to the docks and take the duergar ship across the lake to Grymforge.
Once in Grymforge, players can start attacking the duergar camp immediately, but doing so isn’t necessary to rescue the deep gnome expedition. Like other quests inBaldur’s Gate 3, players can find a relatively peaceful way to succeed that involves cooperating with some of the locals.
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Where to Find Philomeen
After arriving in Grymforgeand getting permission to walk around, players should look for the two duergar who are throwing gnome bodies into the water. Behind them is a large locked door, but the lock icon isn’t red. This means the duergar won’t care if players pick the door open in front of them or go inside.
Past the door is a dining hall full of valuable silverware, but the player’s goal is abutton on the wall in the back-left cornerof the room. This button will light upwith a successful Perception check, but players can find and press the button even without this success. The button opens the nearby wall, revealing a secret passage.
Next, players must defeat three ochre jellies on the staircase. Be sure to search their bodies for loot, and check the base of the other staircase down for a chest. After that, follow the path up and jump across a couple gaps to reach another massive door.Players can pick this one open, too, but the wall to the left of the door has collapsed and provides an easier way inside.
This room containsPhilomeen, a deep gnome who escaped her captors and has found a barrel of runepowder, the goal of her expedition. She threatens to blow the powder if the party tries to capture her, but players can talk her down with Intimidation or one of two Persuasion checks. The speaker also has a chance to remember what runepowder is with a History check during this conversation.
At this point, players can let Philomeen go, ask for some of the powder, or attack her. Players should ask for the powder, because it’ll come in handy for saving the rest of the gnomes. Philomeen will only willingly give up a vial of the stuff, not the whole barrel, but a vial will be enough for the rest of this quest.
Players can nowreturn to the deep gnome in the myconid colony, since the expedition is technically a success. However, there are more deep gnome captives in Grymforge, and players have a chance to save most of them.
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How to Ally With Elder Brithvar
The next step for players who think ahead is to findElder Brithvar,who hangs out on a balcony south of the Grymforge dock. Brithvar is very unhappywith True Souls and the Absolute, and he can smell the mind flayer parasite in the party’s heads. However, players can roll Deceive to convince him that they were a True Soul and are now out for revenge.
Once Brithvar thinks the party is on his side, he’ll offer to help players kill Nere, a True Soul drow and the leader of the expedition. The first step of this plan is todestroy the Scrying Eyethat floats around in Grymforge.Players should be very careful when they attack the Eye, because harming it counts as assault and killing it counts as murder. In addition, while it doesn’t leave a corpse behind, guards can still realize that something died if they come across the spot where it exploded.
With the Eye down, return to Brithvar to let him know that his plan is ready to go ahead. At this point, the only thing left to do is to free Nere and the deep gnomes trapped by rubble in the magma-filled room next door.
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How to Free (and Betray) Nere
Head over to Sergeant Thrinn and tell her about the explosive powder acquired from Philomeen. She’ll encourage the party to use it, so throw the vial at the Cave-In object. The vial won’t explode immediately, which gives the gnome slaves and duergar guards a chance to run to a safe distance. Once they (and the party) are far enough away,target the vial with a ranged weapon or cantripand blow the Cave-In.
Nere and several gnomes will emerge. Nere kicks one gnome into the magma immediately, but then players can either demand that he stop or encourage him to continue. Since players on this path are here to save the gnomes, they shoulddemand that Nere stop,explain that the party is here to kill him, and then tell Brithvar to join in. Players get one last chance to choose which side they’re on, and then a fight breaks out.
This fight is against Nere and a room full of duergar, but if players allied with Brithvar, they’ll have around the same number of duergar on their side. This makes the fight much easier than it could have been. Players can defeat some of the duergar quickly by shoving them into the magma, but keep in mind that the enemies can do the same thing to party members and their allies.
If Brithvar survives the fight, he’ll speak to the party as soon as the combat ends. If he doesn’t, players will speak with Kirgrath. Either way, players will get paid in gold and the duergar will mention that it’s time to leave. Players can nowuse Persuasion or Intimidation to convince the duergar to leave their deep gnome slaves behind.If they fail, players can still attack the remaining duergar to free the gnomes.
With the duergar gone, the deep gnomes will express their gratitude to the party. Their expedition leader is still missing, but the True Souls took him to Moonrise Towers,a location players will come across later. After some time passes, the deep gnomes will appear in the myconid colony where players can get a reward for their efforts. The myconids also wantNere’s Head, so this is a good time to go back to complete both quests. Players can then return to Grymforge to loot every object since no one is left to stop them.
Baldur’s Gate 3is available now on macOS and PC.
