Nere

Nere
Voiced by	Joseph Capp
Information
Title	True Soul of the Absolute
Race	Lolth-sworn drow

Nere, also known as True Soul Nere, is a True Soul of the Absolute, and potential boss in Baldur's Gate 3. In Act One he can be found at Grymforge, trapped inside a room that suffered a cave-in. He is a pivotal character for the quests Free True Soul Nere and Deliver Nere's Head.

Involvement

A group of enslaved deep gnomes under the whip of Duergar are trying to free a True Soul from a cave-in near the main room of the Grymforge. To save him, the gnomes tell you to go find Philomeen, a runaway gnome in possession of an explosive capable of destroying the rubble.

Warning: having two full rests after discovering that Nere is trapped will cause his death and the death of those who are trapped with him.

After freeing him, the player can decide to kill him and his mercenaries to save the slave gnomes. The player may also convince Elder Brithvar and his companion, another duergar at the entrance of the main room, to side against Nere, making the fight easier. Alternatively, you can betray Brithvar and convince Nere and the Absolute Cultists to turn on the mercenaries.

It is also possible to lock yourself out of either of these options through dialogue choices prior to rescuing Nere, leading him to kill both the gnome slaves and Sergeant Thrinn immediately after he is freed from the rubble. He will then demand that you help him kill the rest of the cultists and duergar mercenaries; this will make all NPCs except for Nere hostile during the battle.

If you choose to defy Nere when he kills the gnome slaves, or when he demands that you kill the other cultists, and you don't have a deal with Elder Brithvar, you will be forced to fight Nere and all of the duergar at the same time. If, however, you do have a deal with Elder Brithvar, you can interrupt him from killing the gnome slaves and still side with him once Elder Brithvar attacks him, leading to an option of saving the gnomes while Nere is still alive.

Should the player decide to fight his mercenaries before freeing him, an option to convince him that the Absolute is a group of cultists will appear once freed.

After defeating Nere, the player can remove his head to bring it to either Spaw or Glut. You can also remove his head if he dies off-screen, presumably from either a revolt or poisoning.

Regardless of his status, the player will receive a  Broken Moonlantern, a precursor to a crucial item needed to travel through the Shadow-Cursed Lands in order to get to Moonrise Towers. Unfortunately there is no way to fix this lantern before going to the Moonrise Towers, rendering this item useless, as you will find a working moonlantern before you get a chance to fix this one.

If you manage to keep Nere alive in the Grymforge and loyal to the Absolute, he will appear briefly in Act 2 as a zombie servant to Balthazar

Combat

Nere
Medium Humanoid
Level 5 Lolth-sworn drow
Stats
Armour Class	12
Hit points	78 (Balanced) 101 (Tactician)
Movement speed	9 m (30 ft)
Weight	60 kg (120 lb)
Initiative	+2
Ability scores
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 15 (+2) 15 (+2) 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 18 (+4)
Proficiency bonus	+3
Saving throws	Str +6 Dex +2 Con +5 Int +4 Wis +1 Cha +4
Resistances
Resistant	Psychic
Features
Darkvision	Can attack nearby creatures in the dark without disadvantage.
Sunlight Sensitivity	Has disadvantage on attack rolls and Perception checks while in sunlight.
Fey Ancestry	Immunity to sleep and advantage on saves against Charmed.
Extra Attack	Make an additional free attack after an unarmed or melee attack.
Opportunity Attack	Make a melee attack against an enemy moving out of range.
Muscular	Has advantage on ability checks and saving throws using Athletics.
Legendary Action: Psionic Visage Honour	After being hit, Nere can cast Psionic Visage to protect himself.

Spells and abilities

 Shield of Screams ()

2d6 (2~12) Psychic

Recall the voices of all who scorned you - and how they screamed in the end. They form a shield around you.

Your Armour Class increases by 3, and anyone who hits you with a melee attack takes 2d6Psychic damage.

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Dissonant Whispers ()

3d6 (3~18) Psychic

 Frighten a creature: they'll have Disadvantage on Ability checks and Attack rolls and they cannot move.

WIS Save

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Wicked Coercion ()

2d4 (2~8) Psychic

Invade an enemy's mind and force them to join your side. They also take 2d4Psychic immediately, and 1d6Psychic per turn.

WIS Save

 Range: 16 m / 52 ft

Honour mode

 Psionic Visage

Summon 3 psychic copies of yourself to protect you. As long as one of those copies remain, you are immune to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.

When the caster is struck, a Psionic Visage will  Detonate.

 Range: Self

Recharge: Per turn

 Shatter Visage

2d6 (2~12) Psychic

Detonate a psionic visage, striking the attacker with a psychic wave that pushes it back 3 m / 10 ft.

AoE: 6 m / 20 ft (Radius)

Tactics

The fight against Nere is made easier if you first complete Blind the Absolute, as there are more allies and fewer enemies in this fight.

It is highly recommended that you keep away from the lava as well, because it is possible to get shoved into it, easily taking out one of your allies.

Be sure to take out the Mind Masters as soon as possible, as they can cast Mind Mastery, which would rob an ally of their action. After those, you can focus on taking out Nere.

Bringing a Sussur Bloom to the fight can greatly reduce the amount of magic being cast, thanks to its Sussur Flower Antimagic Field .

Loot

At Grymforge:

• Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen
• Nere's Head
• Broken Moonlantern
• Disintegrating Night Walkers
• Dagger +1
• Sword of Screams
• Potion of Healing
• Silver necklace
• Simple Robe
• Amethyst Ring
• 1402 Gold
• Spider's Lyre

Gallery

• 

  Nere in early access

• 

  Nere's model

Notes

• Looting Nere's corpse is considered a crime by any remaining Duergar and Deep Gnomes and they will turn hostile if they catch the party looting. The dwarves and gnomes will leave after a Long Rest, allowing the party to loot to their heart's content.

External links

• Nere on the Forgotten Realms Wiki