True Soul Nere, or simply Nere, is a drow and a follower of the Absolute cult, whom you will encounter in Act One in the Grymforge area. You will find the man trapped under rubble. Immediately after that, the quest "Free True Soul Nere" will begin. Later on, he may become a potential boss you have to face.

It's easy to fail the quest out of ignorance, so in this guide, you will learn how to free True Soul Nere and whether it's worth killing him.

Where to Find True Soul Nere

Head south of Grymforge. You will hear a call that will lead you to the rubble where Nere is trapped. You can inquire more about his imprisonment from the gnomes and Sergeant Thrinn. A reliable way to free the drow is to use explosives.

How to Free True Soul Nere

Acquire Gunpowder

To craft explosives, you will need one of two types of gunpowder: runic or smoke.

Smoke Gunpowder

You can find smoke gunpowder just beyond the door leading to the cellar. The room is located near Grymforge's pier. The gunpowder will be behind a large golden chest. Don't forget to loot it.

Runic Gunpowder

The gnomes will also tell you about Philomina's Cache, which is located behind the Double Iron Doors. The path to runic gunpowder will be longer, but the explosives with it will be more effective. Follow the doors and enter the large dining hall. Use a perception check to discover a hidden button and open a new path. Go upstairs, pass through the Patterned Door, or through a hole in the wall, and meet Philomina herself.

Unfortunately, she won't give you the precious gunpowder so easily. You can either negotiate with her or deal with her in the following ways:

• Pass persuasion checks and convince the gnome to share a small supply of gunpowder. Philomina will give you one vial - it will be enough for crafting explosives;
• Kill Philomina before she detonates herself - obtain a barrel of runic gunpowder. Such a large amount of gunpowder isn't particularly useful;
• Kill Philomina by detonation - you won't get any gunpowder, and you'll be left with nothing.

Keep in mind that Philomina's explosives have a larger blast radius and can lead to the entire party being blown up. Be cautious.

Free Nere

Return to the rubble. At this stage, you will determine Nere's fate and decide whether to kill him or cooperate with him. If you kill Nere, you will free the gnome slaves who have suffered from his cruelty for a long time.

You can take the following paths:

• Negotiate with the dwarves and kill Nere. Elder Brithvar will join your side and assist in the fight against the drow;
• Preemptively kill the dwarves, thereby saving both Nere and the gnomes;
• Side with Nere and fight against Brithvar. The quest will fail as Nere will slaughter all the gnomes. You won't be able to save them.

Kill Nere

Brithvar will agree to assist you in the battle against Nere and will ask you to kill The Ever-Seeing Eye. To quickly deal with Nere, follow this tactic:

• Get rid of the archers on the upper parts of the stairs - this will significantly ease the battle and eliminate additional damage;
• Push enemies into the lava to dispatch them quickly;
• If an enemy uses the Mental Domination spell, attack them to remove the effect;
• Nere is vulnerable to sunlight and resistant to psychic damage. Keep this in mind during the fight and use alternative attacks.

For defeating Nere, you will receive:

• 1000 gold;
• Sword of Screams;
• Simple Robe;
• Daggers +1;
• Very rare Disintegrating Night Walkers boots;
• Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen;
• Broken Moon Lantern.

Even if you cannot defeat Nere in a fair fight, you can simply wait for the drow to die along with the gnomes. You will still be able to loot the corpse and deliver his head for a reward.

To free the gnome slaves, after defeating Nere, speak with Brithvar and persuade him to release the prisoners. Later, you can talk to the liberated gnomes and learn more about their history.

After killing the drow, you will receive the quest "Deliver Nere's Head." Take the head to Spaw, the myconid camp leader (Spaw). As a reward, you will additionally receive the Envoy's Amulet, which provides a +2 bonus to Persuasion checks.

Save Nere

If you decide to spare Nere's life, your choice will be approved by Astarion and condemned by Wyll. In essence, you will support the actions of the Absolute and agree to the killing of the gnome slaves. It's not a very merciful action on your part. However, the choice is yours. This option may be suitable if you are playing the role of a villain.

For saving himself, Nere will reward you with "Gift Of The Absolute." Nere will promise you an even greater reward in the future, but you will have to find out the truth of his words. 

The best choice from a moral standpoint is to kill Nere and free the gnomes. Cooperating with Nere won't yield significant and valuable rewards. The only thing you'll get is alternative questlines for the story.