Save the Grymforge Gnomes

The Ironhand gnomes have been captured by duergar.

Save the Grymforge Gnomes is a Quest in Act One of Baldur's Gate 3. The quest can be obtained by speaking with Thulla at the Myconid Colony at Ebonlake Grotto, after completing  Cure the Poisoned Gnome.

Objectives

Objectives and journal entries may vary pending story decisions and outcomes.

Free the deep gnomes.

• Thulla, a gnome of the Ironhand clan, asked us to help her kin. Duergar are holding them captive.
• We ran into Barcus Wroot. He's a prisoner at the duergar camp and clearly needs saving - again.
• We spoke to some gnome captives. Their leader Beldron is trapped in the cave-in, and their friend Philomeen ran off with some explosives.
• We found Philomeen - she wants nothing to do with the other deep gnomes. We should focus on helping the others.

Check on the survivors.

• We cleared the cave-in. We should check for survivors.

Defeat the cultists.

• True Soul Nere wants the gnomes dead, but we refused. We've made an enemy of him.
• We sided with the duergar mercenaries. Nere is in for a fight.

Defeat the Duergar.

• We fought alongside the duergar mutineers - only to have them turn on us.

Talk to the deep gnomes

• The deep gnomes are free. We should speak to them.

Quest Complete

• The Ironhand Gnomes plan to return to Baldur's Gate without their leader Wulbren, who has been taken to Moonrise Towers.
• Barcus was grateful that we saved him - again. He's planning to rescue his old friend Wulbren from Moonrise Towers. We should let Thulla know what happened.
• True Soul Nere killed all the deep gnomes.
• We initially defended the deep gnomes but then sided with True Soul Nere.
• The deep gnomes and their captors are gone. We missed our chance to rescue them.
• We allowed the duergar to keep the deep gnomes as slaves.
• All the deep gnomes in Grymforge have been defeated.
• We freed the deep gnomes in Grymforge and left.
• We left without helping the deep gnomes.

Walkthrough

The plight of the Grymforge gnomes can first be learned about from Thulla X: 83 Y: -97 in Ebonlake Grotto after curing her poison. She tries to leave but is too weak to move. Instead, she explains that her clan, the Ironhands, have been captured by duergar at Grymforge and need help. Thulla begs the party to save them, starting the quest.

Getting to Grymforge

In order to get to Grymforge, the party needs to take a boat docked at the Decrepit Village near the Underdark Beach Waypoint. If the party hasn't undertaken  Defeat the Duergar Intruders,  Avenge Glut's Circle, or  Find the Missing Boots, then they are stopped by Gekh Coal. Immediately upon entering Coal's proximity, he confronts the party, calling them "sun-scum" who are too loud. He says he plans to "hush" the party before they draw in something hungry with their noise and draws his axe. Depending on the race of the player character, Coal can be made to stand down:

• I could've killed you before you even noticed me, but I didn't. Stand down. (if approached in stealth)
• [DARK URGE] [INTIMIDATION] I'm a rabid dirty dog, and I bite. (DC 10 )
• [INTIMIDATION] Take your hand off that axe before you lose it (DC 15)
• [RELIGION] Stand down - I'm a follower of the Absolute, just like you. (DC 15)
• [PERSUASION] I can be discreet. No need for bloodshed. (DC 15)
• [HALF-ORC] [INTIMIDATION] I'm hungry for a fight, but you're barely a morsel. Choose your next move carefully. (DC 10)
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Back down or bleed. (DC 15 )
• [DUERGAR] I'm a duergar, idiot - we're practically kin.
• [DETECT THOUGHTS] [INSIGHT] Read the duergar's thoughts. (DC 10)
• I follow the Absolute. Take your hand off that weapon. (If mind was read)

However, Coal never stands down if the player character is a Deep Gnome, as he believes they are another runaway slave. Drow have an easier time convincing Coal to stand down (DC 10 vs 15), as he assumes they are a True Soul. Additionally, if the party recruited Glut, then Coal attacks on sight. He is joined by a group of duergar, and a few undead minions.

If the party manages to stop Coal from attacking, then he tells them not to get in the way of his hunt. If asked what he's doing down here, Coal responds that a runaway slave stole his superior, Sergeant Thrinn's boots. The slave is hiding amongst the Myconid Circle and he's waiting for her to eventually make a break for it. The party can offer to help Coal track down the missing boots, or tell him it's not their problem, in which case he attacks.

In order to get on the boat, the party must either defeat Coal and his minions, show Coal the missing boots, or sneak onto Coal's boat. If the party manages to sneak onto his boat, he becomes hostile after they return to the Decrepit Village.

Arriving at Grymforge

During the trip over, a group of duergars on another boat led by Corsair Greymon questions the party on what they're doing on Coal's boat:

• [DECEPTION] I saw a body left by the myconids - your 'Gekh' must be dead. (DC 10) (if Gekh Coal unmet)
• [DECEPTION] I'm afraid Gekh is dead - he fell fighting the myconids (DC 10) (if Gekh Coal was met)
• [BRANDED] [PERSUASION] Just let me cross - I have the brand, see? (DC 5)
• I work on Gekh's behalf. I'm after his sergeant's stolen boots.
• I seek the sergeant - I believe she's keen to get these boots back.
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] MOVE YOUR BOAT, OR SINK. MAKE THE CHOICE. (DC 10 )
• [INTIMIDATION] In the name of the Absolute - you will let me pass. (DC 10)
• [ATHLETICS] Push the duergar into the water. (DC 15)

If succeeding the check then Greymon stands down, telling the party to speak with the sergeant. Once docked, another duergar, Morghal tries to extort money from the party. Tell her "I’m not giving you a single coin" and she backs off immediately. Follow the path south to come across a cave-in, where a group of enslaved gnomes are being forced to chip away at the rocks X: -635 Y: 311.

If the party didn't speak with Thulla, it's also possible to learn about the gnomes by speaking to Barcus Wroot near the cave-in, if he was saved during  Rescue the Gnome. He explains that he went to the Underdark looking for his friend, Wulbren, but was captured after unexpectedly encountering cultists in what was supposed to be an abandoned ruin. Lastly, eavesdropping on Lunkbug and Laridda (Perception DC 10) has Lunkbug reveal that several gnomes are trapped in a cave-in with a True Soul named Nere. They need to clear out the cave-in, but the only explosives they had were taken by an escaped gnome named Philomeen. This starts  Find the Explosives.

Freeing the trapped gnomes

Nere throws a gnome into the lava in his rage.

In order to free the trapped gnomes,  Free True Soul Nere must be completed. Throw the explosives on the cave-in, or use spells, and Nere arrives. He is furious at being trapped and immediately takes it out on Meerna whom he throws into the lava.

If the party choose to say nothing or "Finish the slaves, True Soul. For the Absolute," then Nere massacres all the gnomes. If the party tells Nere not to kill innocents, Nere tells Thrinn to rip out their hearts and feed it to the rothé. At this point, if the party made a deal with Brithvar to kill Nere, he interjects and says Nere owes the duergar money and he's going to get it from his corpse. Nere says he's changed his mind - he'll spare the party if they defeat Brithvar and the other mutineers.

If the party sides with Nere, they'll need to fight Brithvar, Kur, Corsair Greymon, Morghal, Stone Guard Orgarth, Danna, and Thudd. If the party sides with Brithvar, they'll fight Nere, Thrinn, Corsair Greymon, Dalthar, Drar, Mind Master Fonmara, and Mind Master Dunnol.

Beldron and Lunkbug reunite.

The gnomes can be saved either way. If succeeding a wisdom check (DC 15) after the battle, choosing "Enter Nere's mind. The gnomes must be set free", then Nere sets the gnomes free and gives the party a task to inform the General that the temple can't be entered from Grymforge. If Brithvar is sided with, then selecting "And the slaves? What about them?" and either Intimidating or Persuading (DC 10) will result in Brithvar letting the gnomes go.

Time Sensitive Quest

As with freeing Nere, saving the gnomes is on a timer. After arriving at Grymforge, the first time the party goes to camp, Nere reaches out telepathically to ask for help. At this point, the party can safely Long Rest once. If the party Long Rests a second time, the cave-in has been removed, Nere is dead, and all the duergar and gnomes are gone.

Similarly, after fighting Nere, it is necessary to speak to the gnomes before taking a Long Rest -- otherwise they will have left.

Speaking with Beldron after the fight resolves the quest. He mentions that their leader, Wulbren, has been kidnapped and sent to Moonrise Towers, which starts  Rescue Wulbren. If Barcus is alive, speaking to him reveals that he intends to pursue Wulbren. He can also be invited to camp, where he stays briefly before moving on.

Notes

• It is not possible to save Meerna. Even if the party enters turn-based mode and kills Nere before the cinematic, Meerna simply disappears after the fight is over.