Philomeen

Philomeen is a Deep Gnome character in Baldur's Gate 3. She can give the party a Runepowder Vial.

“

Hold it. I swear to Ironhand, one more step and I blow us to chunks!

„

— Philomeen's greeting

Involvement

Act One

Brithvar mentions that a deep gnome fled with some smokepowder. This gnome is Philomeen, who was fed up with the Duergar's cruelty towards her and her people, so she ran, took a Runepowder Barrel with her, and hid.

Philomeen wants to bring the Runepowder - an explosive of immense power handed down to them by their war-god, Gaerdal Ironhand - back to Baldur's Gate. She wants to have her clan with her, but she knows that the mission must come first. She considers her fellow clan members to be freedom fighters and believes that they need this powder to "prove a point".

It is advisable for the party to calm her down using one of the following options:

• [PERSUASION] Laridda sent me. The gnomes need your help. (DC 10)
• [INTIMIDATION] If I was a True Soul, you'd be dead. Stand down before you hurt yourself. (DC 15)
• [BERSERKER] [INTIMIDATION] KILL THE FIRE. OR DIE. PAINFULLY. (DC 15 )
• [PERSUASION] Smile sincerely and hold out your hand. (DC 15)
• [PERSUASION] Are you sure about this? Once you're dead, that's it. It's over. (DC 15)
• [DETECT THOUGHTS] [WISDOM] Cast Detect Thoughts.
  • You will not serve Ironhand in death. But you might still serve him in life.

If calmed, she refuses to give up the barrel but agrees to give the party a Runepowder Vial.

If failing to calm her down, she lets the barrel combust. In addition to losing the barrel as a useful item later on, the resulting explosion delivers enourmous area of effect damage, killing Philomeen and (likely) any party members nearby.

Act Three

If she escapes, Philomeen can be encountered in Angleiron's Cellar with the rest of the Ironhand Gnome resistance. She is as zealous as the rest of the clan's plans for the city, and confirms that she broke up with Laridda for good.

Related quests

•  Avenge the Ironhands
•  Deal with the Gnomes
•  Deliver Nere's Head
•  Free True Soul Nere
•  Save the Grymforge Gnomes

Loot

• Runepowder Barrel - pickpocketed, looted or bartered during dialogue options in Angleiron's Cellar after discussing the fate of the Gondians with Wulbren. (After completing the dialogue with Philomeen the party is locked out of trade with her.^{[Needs Verification]})
• Runepowder Vial - obtained via dialogue options in Grymforge

Related literature

• Hand-Drawn Map
• Slaver's Inventory

Notes

• It is possible to obtain the barrel without her detonating it by sneaking past her and moving it away from her or stealing it while hidden. The party can obtain both barrel and vial by first accepting her deal, then stealing the barrel while still in conversation. If pickpocketing the vial from her, and then stealing the barrel before talking to her, she notices and becomes hostile.
• Another way to acquire both explosives is to steal the barrel first, which will initiate dialogue and then pickpocket the vial from her in turn based-mode after the talk is over and she starts to run away.

Bugs

• Philomeen asserts that the player character must be a True Soul because she witnessed them "sail in" and be greeted by the Duergar, even if the party initially entered Grymforge through the elevator from the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

See also

• Community gags - Philomeen's page on this wiki has been a subject of meta-jokes.