Danse Macabre is a spell in Baldur’s Gate 3 that allows you to summon ghoulish allies. These five summoned allies will fight alongside you and obey all your commands. Not only does Danse Macabre allow you to deal plenty of damage to the enemies, but it also enables you to heal your team members simultaneously.
Getting the Danse Macabre spell in BG3
To get your hands on the Danse Macabre spell in Baldur’s Gate 3, you first need to find the Necromancy of Thay book. After that, you need to unlock it with the help of Dark Amethyst. The next step is to read it after finding and reading another book called “Tharchiate Codex” to unlock Danse Macabre’s spell and complete the “Unlock the Ancient Tome” side quest.
Below is the complete process to unlock this level 5 Necromancy spell.
1. Get Necromancy of Thay Book
To get your hands on the Necromancy of Thay Book in BG3, you need to make your way to the region called Whispering Depths. The best way to enter this place is through a hatch in the Alchemist’s House (X: 34, Y: 378) inside the Blighted Village.
Once there, you will come across a lot of coffins housing the undead. Keep going Southeast to find a sentient mirror. It would be best to discuss the Balsam Ointment with the Mirror during the questionnaire.
First, you need to tell the mirror your name, followed by the name of the creature called “Foul, Wretched Creature.” Afterward, you must select the following dialogue option: “He used Balsam to Clean a Wound.”
Once you defeat the ornate mirror in its own game, a path to the next room will unlock. If you fail the checks at any point, make sure to reload to avoid fighting the Golem protecting the magic mirror. Obtain the “Rusted key” from the next room and use it to open the locked iron gate. The room is littered with traps, so be careful.
2. Find the Dark Amethyst
The Necromancy of Thay book can’t be unlocked or read without its key, Dark Amethyst. Keep traveling west until you come across Phase Spider Matriarch, boss. Defeat her to obtain the purple glowing object (X: -543, Y: -356), the Dark Amethyst.
3. Passing the Necromancy of Thay Book Checks
After getting your hands on Necromancy of Thay Book and Dark Amethyst, place both items inside the same inventory of any party member (including yourself). Now open and read the book, and it will ask you to name the person who will learn the Danse Macabre spell.
Once you start turning its pages, you will be presented with three Wisdom checks. Each check is of increasing difficulty class. The first check is DC10, the next one is DC15, and the final wisdom check is DC20. Completely reading the book at this point will only get you the “Speak with the Dead” spell at this point. To learn Danse Macabre, you need another key item, Tharciate Codex.
4. Get the Tharchiate Codex
After unlocking the Necromancy of Thay Book, you must get your hands on the Tharchite Codex to decode it. Decoding is necessary as the Danse Macabre spell can only be accessed if you read it from the book.
You can get Tharchiate Codex by traveling to Sorcerous Sundries in the Lower City during Act 3. After reaching there, you need to get inside the lower level of Razamith’s Tower. This can only be done if you have progressed Nightsong’s quest in a positive manner.
The book we are looking for, Tharacite Codex, is inside Elminster Room. To open this vault room, you need to go through three specific doors in the following order to find the lever.
- Silverhand door
- Evocation door
- Wish door
Avoid the traps and pull the lever at the end of the hallway. Now, pass through any door to get back to the starting location. The door to the Elminster Aumar room will be opened now. From there, you can finally pick up the Tharciate Codex. This book will put a curse on the person who picks it up or holds it by decreasing their Constitution ability by 5 permanently. Use the “Remove Curse” spell to cure yourself.
4. Read the Necromancy of Thay Book
Now place both Necromancy of Thay and Tharciate Codex in the inventory of the person you named before. Read the book once more, and this time, you will get Danse Macabre’s spell as a reward. We strongly recommend that you use a character with high Intelligence and Wisdom skills, as this is a level 5 necromancy spell belonging to the wizard class.
What does Danse Macabre Do in Baldur’s Gate 3
Danse Macabre is a Level 5 wizard spell from the School of Necromancy. This spell summons 5 ghouls to fight by your side and can only be used once per long rest.
When the Ghouls attack any target, they have a chance to Paralyze the enemy until they pass a DC5 Constitution saving throw. If an enemy is already Prone, Knocked Out, or Sleeping, you can use the Bite action to not only deal massive amounts of damage (6-33) but can also recover the same amount of HP.
Danse Macabre used to be an extremely OP spell in Baldur’s Gate 3 that has the tendency to break the game in your favor. However, Larian has nerfed the spell with patch 4, making all the effort pointless.
