Baldur’s Gate 3 Runepowder Vial: Where to find Philomeen

Philomeen's ran off with some explosives, so here's where to find her.

Image credit: Larian/VG247

Guide by Kelsey Raynor Guides Writer

Published on Aug. 18, 2023

If you’re searching for Philomeen in Baldur's Gate 3, you’re likely in the middle of a rescue mission involving the Grymforge Gnomes. This particular Deep Gnome has ran off with some explosives, and if we want to rescue the rest of the gnomes, we’re going to have to convince her to hand over the Runepowder Vial she possesses.

Fortunately, this isn’t too tricky, especially if you’ve someone in your party who’s skilled in Perception and Persuasion. So, without further ado, here’s where to find Philomeen and the Runepowder Vial in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Where to find Philomeen in Baldur’s Gate 3

Return back to the docks, where we will have arrived at Grymforge. On the eastern side, you’ll come across some Duergars and Deep Gnome corpses. You will need to pass a Perception check and ‘Inspect the corpses’ to avoid battle with the Duergars.

The player stands beside the bodies of multiple dead Deep Gnomes in Baldur's Gate 3 — After convinving the two druergars to sod off, unlock the big iron door beside the gnome corpses. | Image credit: Larian/VG247

Once that’s all done and sorted, the Duergars will leave and you can enter the room next to them via the big double iron doors, but you will need to lockpick the door first. Good luck!

In this room, you’ll need to pass a Perception Check in the corner of the room to be able to see a hidden button.

The player passes a Perception check which reveals a button in Baldur's Gate 3 — After passing a Perception check in this room, press the newly-revealed button. | Image credit: Larian/VG247

Press the button, and a hidden passage will be revealed. Go up the stairs, taking care of the Ochre Jelly enemies, and you’ll soon run into Philomeen at the top.

How to get the Runepowder Vial in Baldur’s Gate 3

This next bit of dialogue is quite important for what we want to do, and if it goes wrong, we’ll want to try again. So, make sure to save your game here.

Philomeen has run away out of fear, and it’s now your job to try and calm her down so that she’ll hand over the Runepowder Vial. If you don’t manage to calm her down, it doesn’t end well, for her or your party…

The player speaks with Philomeen and attempts to calm her down in Baldur's Gate 3 — When speaking with Philomeena, we want to calm her down as much as possible. | Image credit: Larian/VG247

The dialogue options we chose, to get the Runepowder Vial, were as follows:

Calm down. Let’s talk this through.
[Persuasion] Laridda sent me. The gnomes need your help.
Calm down. Beldron’s trapped in a cave-in, and I need the smokepowder.
Deal.

If you successfully manage to get Philomeen to listen to reason and calm down, she’ll hand over the Runepowder Vial that we need. She’ll then request that you tell Laridda she is dead. After this, you can leave her be, or kill her if you really want.

With the Runepowder Vial in hand, let’s quickly return to the Cave In and save the Grymforge Gnomes.

When you’re done rescuing the Grymforge Gnomes, there’s plenty more to do in Baldur’s Gate 3. Make sure you’ve rescued the Druid Halsin, if you haven’t already, and be sure to rescue Baelen from down in the Underdark while you're nearby, too.