Baldur’s Gate 3 lets you explore the world of dungeons and dragons, full of magic, monsters, and mysteries. One of the quests that you can encounter in Act 1 in Blighted Village is Search the Cellar, which leads you to discover a dark and special book called the Necromancy of Thay. This item is a powerful artifact of evil magic that can grant you some benefits, but also some drawbacks. In this article, we will explain how to find the Necromancy of Thay in BG3, how to open it, and what are the consequences of reading or destroying it.
How to Find the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3
In Baldur’s Gate 3, the Necromancy of Thay is hidden in the secret cellar of the alchemist’s house in the Blighted Village. To access the cellar, you need to find a journal in the alchemist’s bedroom that reveals his true identity as a Red Wizard of Thay, a group of mages who practice forbidden magic.
To get the book, you’ve got to crack open a secret cellar door. But that’s not all, you also have to outsmart a chatty magical mirror that’s probably seen too much. Once you make it into the cellar, you’ll find yourself in a lab that’s practically a maze of traps. Here, look for the Rusted Key – it’s stashed on a shelf in the room that’s furthest to the west, right near a lever. This lever is pretty much your backdoor out of there, lowering a wall that takes you back to where you started. But don’t let your guard down just because you’ve got the key. You should be clever for those traps around the book, using whatever skills or items you’ve got to make it through unscathed.
Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Open the Necromancy of Thay
The Necromancy of Thay is locked away with some serious magic but don’t worry, there’s a way to open it. You’ll need the Dark Amethyst, a pretty ominous-sounding gem. This item is located in the Whispering Depths, a cavern underneath the Blighted Village that’s crawling with Phase Spiders – critters are as spooky as they sound, capable of popping in and out of existence.
Getting into the Whispering Depths is an adventure on its own. You can either take the scenic route through the village well or go the smash-and-grab way by breaking a wall in the blacksmith’s cellar. The Dark Amethyst is available in the lair of the Phase Spider Matriarch. She’s a tough cookie, with all that teleporting and poisoning powers.
You’ve got a couple of options: gear up for an epic showdown, or if you’re not in the mood for a fight, maybe try sneaking around or using invisibility to grab the item without the spiders noticing. You’ll find the desired amethyst hanging out among some bones on the west side of the lair, right next to a giant hole. Once you’ve got the Dark Amethyst in your possession, you can finally break the seal on the Necromancy of Thay. Simply put the Dark Amethyst in the empty middle space (an open mouth with big teeth) on the book’s cover to open it, and you will be able to read the Necromancy of Thay.
What to Do with the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3
The Necromancy of Thay is a book of evil magic that contains secrets of life and death. It also has a will of its own, and it will try to tempt you to read it or give it to someone else. You have different options to deal with the book:
- Read the Book: If you choose to read the book and find its mysteries, you will have to pass three Wisdom checks to resist its influence. If you succeed, you will gain a bonus to Wisdom Checks and Saving Throws and the ability to cast Speak With Dead, a spell that lets you communicate with corpses. But, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows; the book curses you with nightmares and creepy visions, messing with your rest, and it puts you on the Red Wizards of Thay’s radar. They’ll want their book back, and they’re not the kind to ask nicely.
- Give the Book to Astarion: He’s a vampire spawn, used to be under a vampire lord’s thumb, and he’s also into this book. Give it to him, and he’ll get the same perks and problems but no immediate consequences. He’ll also grow closer to you and start pushing back against his old boss. The catch is that he gets a bit too big for his boots, becomes secretive, and won’t let anyone else near the book.
- Destroy the Book: We don’t recommend this option but if you want to wash your hands of it, you can destroy the book with Radiant damage – the kind of damage that’s bad news for undead and evil stuff. Spells like Guiding Bolt or Sacred Flame, or even a splash of Holy Water should do the trick. If Shadowheart is also at your party, she might offer to take care of it for you. She’s a cleric of Shar, and Shar’s not exactly on friendly terms with the Red Wizards. Destroying the book means you dodge the curse and any unwanted attention, but you’ll also miss out on the powers it could’ve given you.
If you don’t want to read, give, or destroy the book, you can just keep it with you for a while. Tuck it away in your inventory, and you can figure out what to do with it when the time feels right. Maybe you’re waiting to level up your skills to tackle those three shadows, or you might find it handy as a bargaining chip with someone who’s itching to get their hands on it.
And later in the game, you’ll find a way to read the Necromancy of Thay from page to page completely without any immediate pressure. So, if you’re leaning towards unlocking its secrets, you can hold off until you’re ready. Furthermore, you’ll still have the chance to dive into it once you obtain the item that lets you read more safely – it’s all about keeping your options open and that’s what BG3 comes with.
How to Open the Necromancy of Thay with the Tharchiate Codex in Act 3
If you are ready to fully read the book and unlock the final mysteries of the Necromancy of Thay in Act 3, you will need to grab another book called the Tharchiate Codex – this is the key to the last page of the Necromancy of Thay. So, where do you find this elusive book? Deep down in the Underdark, it’s in the Arcane Tower. To get there, you need to find the portal in Sorcerous Sundries by poking around a book on a shelf.
Once you’re through that portal, look for the vaults beneath the librarian’s office, this leads you to another portal that drops you right into Elminster’s vault. Once you are inside, you can see the floating furniture everywhere. You need to navigate down to the lower levels, and then find a button marked “Vault” on the outer rim of the tower to press – that’s your source to the Tharchiate Codex.
When you get the codex, you can finally unlock the full power of the Necromancy of Thay. Reading it lets you cast Danse Macabre, which means you can summon six ghouls to fight by your side. Pretty cool, huh? But you will get hit with a Constitution debuff. However, if you’ve got someone like Shadowheart in your crew who can cast Remove Curse, you’ll swap that debuff for a pretty sweet perk Tharchiate Vigor. This gives you a hefty 20 temporary HP after each long rest.
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