The Necromancy of Thay is a peculiar and evil-looking book you can obtain during Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3. However, this ominous book is closed and requires a specific keygem to open.
To find Necromancy of Thay, visit the Blighted Village and start the Search the Cellar quest in Apothecary’s house. Once you find the secret entrance to the cellar and solve the Ornate Mirror Puzzle, you can simply loot his book from a table behind a locked door.
Shaped like an evil face, you will be tasked with finding its proper key. This is where we come in to help.
Key to Unlock Necromancy of Thay
Necromancy of Thay can only be opened with a keygem known as dark amethyst. This gem is a key that you must combine with the book once you find it.
A Dark Amethyst lies on the floor (X: -561, Y: -357) near the Phase Spider Matriarch boss in the Whispering Depths. You can reach this area by going down the Well in the central square of the Blighted Village.
Phase Spider Matriarch is a tough boss fight. You can always sneak past it and its babies to steal the Dark Amethyst, but you will miss some amazing loot. Once the keygem is available, combine it with Necromancy of Thay to open it.
Necromancy of Thay Consequences in Baldur’s Gate 3
After opening the book in Baldur’s Gate 3, The Necromancy of Thay will allow you to select from 3 choices.
Read the Necromancy of Thay Book
The first and the most obvious choice is to read the book once you open it with the key. However, this evil book prevents its users from reading its contents, and you need to pass multiple Intelligence checks to reach page 3.
The Intelligence checks are increasingly difficult (10 -> 15 -> 20). If you fail them, Necromancy of Thay will curse you with two debuffs in Baldur’s Gate 3.
- Baleful Knowledge (disadvantage on all Wisdom Checks until you cast Remove curse spell).
- Whisps of Madness (disadvantage on wisdom checks for 50 turns).
However, you will get the following buffs if you succeed in all checks.
- Forbidden Knowledge (+1 bonus on all Wisdom checks and saving throws).
- The Speak with the Dead spell as a ritual spell, which means you can cast it without using a spell slot.
Destroy the Necromancy of Thay
The second option involves destroying the Ancient Tome. However, as this book is evil, you must hit with radiant magic spells like Guiding Bolt. This spell is available to Shadowheart from the beginning.
Drop the book on the floor and attack it with the Guiding Bolt spell. The Necromancy of Thay will summon three shadow enemies to protect it. You can also take them down with radiant magic spells. After destroying the ancient tome, you won’t get any buffs or debuffs.
Give the Necromancy of Thay to a party member
You can pass the book to your party members, Gale or Astarion. Giving them the Necromancy of Thay will open dialogue options with them later, and they both will appreciate the gesture.
However, handing the book to Astarion will earn disapproval from many party members.
How to reopen Necromancy of Thay and complete it
You won’t be able to open the Necromancy of Thay book again until you reach Act 3. Enter Sorcerous Sundries and solve its puzzle to find the Tharchiate Codex. Upon reading this codex, you will immediately be cursed and lose five constitution points.
Don’t worry; you can use the Remove Curse spell to turn this debuff into a blessing. You will gain the Tharchiate Blessing passive, which grants you a temporary 20HP after each long rest. Now open the Necromancy of Thay after reading the codex. You can read it fully this time and gain a level 5 necromancy spell, Danse Macabre.
This spell allows you to summon four ghouls per long rest, which you can use during combat. However, unlike other summons, you can’t control these ghouls.
