Did you pick up the Necromancy of Thay book during Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3 and wonder what you could get with it, but were too scared to open the book because of the possible ramifications? You may also be wondering if the good will outweigh the bad. Well, opening the book is okay for the most part provided you pass the numerous checks, and if you do complete them, you will get rewarded with one of the better spells in the game. Read below to find out exactly what you need to do to get the Danse Macabre spell in BG3.

How to Get the Necromancy of Thay Book¶

When you’re in the Blighted Village, you can go into an underground cave system called the Whispering Depths. There are a couple of ways into this area, but the quickest way is to interact with the Well to the west of the waypoint in the village. The other way, and probably the easiest way to get the book is through the Wooden Hatch behind the counter in the Alchemist’s house behind the waypoint, so take the latter method.

When you get to the Alchemist’s cellar, move the top crate onto the floor to unveil a poorly hidden lever. Interacting with this will move the bookcase and open up a new path to go. Be careful out here, and only loot the coffins if you want a battle as there are multiple undead inside them. As you head forward, turn right (southeast) and you’ll find some stairs leading to a Mirror. Interact with this to find out it’s a magic mirror with a question about Balsam Ointment. Make a quick save, and answer the following:

• Tell it Your Name
• Foul, Wretched Creature.
• He Used Balsam To Clean A Wound - The option says you read it in the Doctor’s notes if you read the - Healer’s Notes in the previous room in the cellar, guaranteeing you pass this.
• Either Option 2 or 3.

If you fail the check at any point, the creature will spawn a Golem-like Guardian to protect it, and you’ll have to defeat it…or quick load. In the next room, you’ll need to find a Rusted Key to open the impenetrable Iron Gate. The Key will be on a shelf in one of the side rooms to the west of the room. Pick up the key, open the Iron Gate, to find the Necromancy of Thay book. Before picking it up, disarm the numerous traps in the room including the trap underneath the book.

Now that you have the book, you’ll need the Key which comes in the form of a Dark Amethyst. This, unfortunately, isn’t as easy to get hold of as you’ll need to defeat the Phase Spider Matriarch to get it, or at least sneak past it to pick it up. You can find the spider, and the Dark Amethyst at the far west of the Whispering Depths. Remember the Well entrance in Blighted Village we spoke of earlier? Well (pun intended), head back to it to reach the Whispering Depths, and head west, defeating the numerous Ettercaps, and Phase Spiders along the way.

When you reach the western end of the Depths, you’ll find the Phase Spider Matriarch on the floor above. The Dark Amethyst is placed next to the wall on the floor underneath it (thanks Larian). You can use sneak/invisible to get Key, but it’ll require a lot of luck and save-scumming. Whatever way you choose to get the key is at your discretion, but once you have it, you can leave the Depths to the safety of your camp.

Passing the Checks - Who to choose.¶

When you open the Necromancy of Thay, you’ll have to keep turning the pages until you reach the end, but this will require you to pass three increasing Wisdom checks to pass it. The first is DC10, the second is DC15, and finally DC20. Before you do this though, you’ll need to decide who you want to have the spell as the person who reads the book gets the spell. Danse Macabre is a level 5 Necromancy spell, and it uses INT as its spellcasting ability, so you’ll want someone who is adept in both Wisdom for the checks, and Intelligence for the spell. Next up, you’ll get the Speak to the Dead spell after you pass the three checks, so you may want someone who doesn’t have access to the spell yet.

When you’re done deciding who is going to open the book, SAVE the game, and pass all the Wisdom checks to finish reading the book, and it’ll close shut. You thought you were getting the Danse Macabre spell that easy? Think again. Now, you’ll need to reach the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate in Act 3 to finish the rest of this quest. This is because you’ll need another book to help translate the more difficult parts, and this can only be found in the Sorcerous Sundries shop in the Lower City.

How to Find The Tharchiate Codex¶

The book you’re looking for is The Tharchiate Codex, and it can be found hidden in the vaults of the Sorcerous Sundries in the Lower City. When you reach the Lower City, head west into the center of the map, and enter the famous shop. Now, you’ll need to have progressed Nightsong’s quest far enough to get Lorroakan to let you into Razamith’s Tower. Read our Lorroakan or Nightsong quest page for more details. Inside the tower, you’ll find floating furniture you can jump onto which allows you to reach the floor below. Here, there are a few puzzles with one rewarding you the legendary Markoheshkir, but that requires completing the Arcane Brazier puzzle.
Around the outside of the room are pedestals with a hidden plaque underneath them, if you use the See Invisible spell/potion, you can see what each pedestal does. Interact with the pedestal that has the “Vaults” plaque, and you’ll get transported to them. Now you’ll have a series of rooms with teleporting doors and an abundance of traps. The book you’re looking for can be found inside the Elminster room, and to get there, you’ll need to head through the following doors:

• Silverhand
• Evocation
• Wish

In this room, pull the lever at the back while avoiding the traps, then head back to the first room. Here, you’ll find that the Elminster door has opened, head on in and loot the various trinkets then pick up the Tharchiate Codex. When you pick up the book, you’ll get a curse that will lower your CON by 5, but you can simply remove it with the aptly named “Remove Curse” spell that a Cleric should have. If you don’t, chances are you’ve picked up a scroll of it by now. There are a lot of other hidden goodies in the Vaults which you can read about in our Sorcerer’s Vault Puzzle page.

How to Get the Danse Macabre Spell¶

Now you have everything you need to get the Danse Macabre spell. Head on back to somewhere safe, make a save, and choose to read the Necromancy of Thay again on the same character you did last time, but this time, have the Tharchiate Codex in their inventory. Read the book again, pass the DC20 Wisdom check, and enjoy your new spell!

What does Danse Macabre Do?¶

Danse Macabre allows you to summon six ghouls to fight alongside you. Seems pretty mediocre right? Wrong, what makes this spell so powerful is the Devour action that the ghouls come with. This can deal 3d10+3 slashing damage (9-63 damage), and heal for the same amount, the only kicker is that the enemy must be prone, sleeping, or knocked out for it to work. But don’t worry about that as the ghouls have access to Non-Lethal attacks too, so you can command them all to knock out their victim, then devour them. Have fun with your new army.

More Act 3 and Necromancy of Thay Related Guides¶

• Lorroakan or Nightsong in BG3
• Sorcerer’s Vault Puzzle and Peculiar Lamp Walkthrough In Baldur’s Gate 3
• Ramazith’s Tower Arcane Barrier Puzzle Walkthrough in BG3
• Baldur’s Gate 3 - Search The Cellar: Bookcase, Mirror, Iron Gate Walkthrough
• Baldur’s Gate 3 - Necromancy of Thay Walkthrough: Key and Powers