Should You Kill Or Free True Soul Nere?

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Summary

True Soul Nere can be saved or killed in
Baldur’s Gate 3
, with different outcomes and fights depending on the choice made.
Letting Nere die from poison gas is the easiest option, while fighting and freeing Nere requires more effort and presents a challenge.
Players can choose to side with Nere completely, or they can also free him and then fight him.

True Soul Nere is one of the many characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 that adventurers can interact with. In the Underdark in Act 1, players will have the choice of killing Nere, letting Nere die, or saving him after a cave-in leaves him trapped with poisonous gas. As with most decisions, there are various outcomes depending on which route is taken. One seems to be better overall, but it does come with a small caveat that lower-level characters should know. This is because deciding to kill or free Nere will result in various fights, depending on what choices are made.

One of the best parts of Baldur’s Gate 3 is that choices actually matter. Even seemingly inconsequential decisions may affect certain NPCs’ interactions with the player character or lead to an outcome that isn’t seen until later. Sometimes, like with freeing True Soul Nere, it can even lead to multiple characters being killed. Because of this, knowing which choice is right – and everything that’s affected – is important. Save scumming in BG3 has become common, and it certainly has its advantages, but for those wanting to save time, knowing which choice to make ahead of time is key.

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What Happens If You Free True Soul Nere In Baldur’s Gate 3?

Players Are Given Two Choices Once They Free The NPC From The Room

True Soul Nere, a scarred Lolth-sworn drow with long white hair, frowns.

True Soul Nere appears during Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3 and is found partially buried under rubble from a cave-in near the Grymforge of the Underdark. Poisonous gas is leaking around Nere and his gnome slaves are trying to get him out. It’s obvious from the get-go that Nere is not a nice person, but some people may be tempted to save the drow regardless. An evil-aligned party might sincerely want to support his aims or simply see him as the more powerful party to side with in the hopes of better rewards.

There are two quests related to Nere – “Free True Soul Nere” and “Deliver Nere’s Head.” The duergar NPC Elder Brithvar will task adventurers with collecting Nere’s head for the Sovereign, and will even offer to split the gold, but this evolves into several branching paths in BG3. Nere is an evil character, so siding with him is clearly an evil choice. Players are free to leave the area and let him die, of course, or they can actively begin trying to save him and even take his side once he’s been freed from the rubble.

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Saving True Soul Nere by destroying the rubble with Runepowder or other explosives (like Smokepowder Bombs) will get him free. However, after that, players will have the choice of siding with the drow or killing him. If they save and then side with Nere, they will have to fight off Elder Brithvar and his companions, assuming they are still around.

From there, Nere can continue to be sided with, which means the gnomes will also have to die. If Elder Brithvar’s offer was rejected much earlier on, then he won’t be here, but players will have to fight off the gnomes regardless. However, completely siding with BG3‘s Nere is a fully evil route, so many people may avoid doing it, especially if they’re roleplaying a good or neutral character.

Nevertheless, the evil nature of siding with a dictatorial racist like True Soul Nere may make sense if players are roleplaying an evil-aligned character. This choice is perfect for those who are running a Dark Urge (or Durge) protagonist, for instance, in case they don’t even intend on making their character try to resist being evil and slowly give into the bloodlust. If the character they control in Baldur’s Gate 3 is naturally evil, then siding with True Soul Nere is a superb option to enhance the roleplay experience.

What Happens If You Fight & Kill Nere In Baldur’s Gate 3?

Players Can Then Remove His Head From His Body & Complete A Good-Aligned Quest

Killing True Soul Nere seems like the option players are meant to go with, but Nere is a tough fight if that path is taken. The lava surrounding the area makes for an especially tricky arena, with a quick path to death for a poorly positioned party member. Again, players can leave the area and wait for Nere to die, but a more proactive choice is to set Nere free with Runepowder (or other means), side with the duergar and Elder Brithvar (who can be persuaded to fight Nere), and claim the rewards from Nere’s looted body once he’s defeated.

Need help with the Nere fight? Check out
Screen Rant’s
Guide on

How To Beat Nere
.

After Nere is dead, players can collect the reward and claim the illithid parasite. Assuming the duergar aren’t betrayed at any point, Elder Brithvar and his companions won’t be a bother and will split the gold with the player. This is when Nere’s head can be collected and taken to Sovereign Spaw in order to finish the “Deliver Nere’s Head” quest. A higher-level character may still have trouble with Nere, but lower-level players may want to think about this decision beforehand. Nere can be a tough fight for Act 1, so freeing him and then fighting him can be tricky.

The big gimmick in this fight, aside from its natural difficulty, is that the opponents that players will face will be quite aware of the arena they are in and shove the player’s controllable characters into the nearby lava. This could mean instant death and some trouble reviving them, as restoring them to life in the lava will see them instantly take damage and fall again. Despite the violence of the fight, this is the best option for good-aligned campaigns in Baldur’s Gate 3 since it takes out a villain and helps Sovereign Spaw.

What Happens If You Just Let True Soul Nere Die In BG3?

Nere & Eldir Brithvar from Baldur’s Gate 3

Of course, the easiest option is to just let Nere die in the cave-in. The poison gas will kill him eventually, and resting nearby can certainly speed things along. This avoids the tough fight against Nere once he’s freed, and it also avoids fighting the duergar (since players didn’t side with Nere). Once Nere is dead, his body can still be looted and the rewards can still be collected. This option, of course, means missing out on certain scenes, but it’s far easier – especially for lower-level characters who may not be able to defeat Nere in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Efficiency doesn’t always go hand in hand with morality, however, and letting True Soul Nere die has some major consequences in that regard. Nere himself may not be particularly missed, but he isn’t the only one trapped in the cave-in. Innocent deep gnomes who are also trapped with him won’t make it out either, and although negligence isn’t exactly the same as murder, deliberately choosing not to help out will still leave some figurative blood on the party’s hands.

The gnomes trapped with Nere aren’t crucial to any major story beats, so there aren’t any catastrophic consequences for ignoring the moral imperative and leaving everyone to die. Speaking to them can start the “Rescue Wulbren” quest, which has bigger implications, but this quest can also be activated later on in Act 2. If a party never addresses the cave-in, it’s best to pay attention to the prison when entering Moonrise Towers in Baldur’s Gate 3, where this particular storyline can be picked up again.

It is worth noting, however, that helping save these gnomes could help players a bit near the later portions of Act 3. Choosing to ignore them and leave them to their fate in the poison-filled chambers is a very nonchalant approach, and may be fitting for a character who is mostly neutral and does not care too much about what is going on around them. Depending on the roleplaying situation, this may make sense, even if they are not evil-aligned in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Is It Better To Kill Or Free True Soul Nere In BG3?

The Decision Depends On A Multitude Of Factors, Including Roleplaying Preferences

Ultimately – as with any choice in Baldur’s Gate 3 – this decision will come down to a player’s preference. However, the easiest, and arguably best, choice is to just let True Soul Nere die from the poison gas. It requires minimal effort but still nets rewards, making for an unusual situation in Baldur’s Gate 3 where not getting involved at all can still be a path to profit. Losing out on the XP from the fight isn’t a huge concern, as there are plenty of ways to make up for it throughout the surplus of other encounters in the game.

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Those looking for a challenge, however, might want to fight Nere, and evil characters may opt to just side with him altogether. Either way, the quests revolving around True Soul Nere, Elder Brithvar, the duergar, and the gnomes shed light on the races and politics of the Underdark, so any of these options are interesting from a storytelling perspective. The choice mostly comes down to how interesting the more intricate details of Baldur’s Gate 3 are to anyone faced with the decision, and slowing down to engage in the fight is mostly rewarding in terms of roleplaying and lore value.