Baldur’s Gate 3: Decipher the ancient book – How to find and open the necromancy of Thay

To decipher the ancient Book of Necromancy from Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3, you have to overcome several challenges. MeinMMO reveals how to open Thay’s necromancer book – without getting lost – right above with a quick guide, and below in detail.

Finding and opening Thay’s Necromancy – Quick Guide:

• Enter the apothecary in the ruined village in Act 1 and find the secret cellar door.
• Upon reaching the cellar: Look for the rusty key and the next secret room.
• Outsmart the talking magical mirror and disable the traps.
• Find the Dark Amethyst in the lair of the Phase Spider under the Ruined Village to unseal the ancient Book of Necromancy from Thay.

Step 1: Quest Search the cellar – How to find Thay’s Necromancer Book

What should I do? Go to the Ruined Village to the second building on the left – the apothecary. On a counter, there is a book titled “Search the Cellar”.

Behind this counter, you will find the cellar hatch to the underground adventure. Once in the cellar, you will find a rusty key on a shelf in the westernmost room of the lab that you need.

Behind three wooden crates next to the large wardrobe, you will find a lever to the next secret room after a perception check. You can lift and move the crates aside to reach the lever. Then, the wardrobe shifts and the passage is open.

Outsmarting the Magical Mirror

You will encounter some enemies. After defeating them, you will meet an ornate mirror. Start a conversation with the talking magical mirror and outsmart it with the following sequence of answers:

• Yes, an ally! An ally of your master.
• Szass Tam is evil and abhorrent.
• Balm is used for wound cleansing.
• I would look for a spell that frees me from this worm.

After that, the magical mirror lets you pass and you enter a room.

In the middle of the room, you will find a research note on the table that continues your quest. Then, unlock the closed gate with the rusty key. Behind the closed gate, you will find Thay’s necromancer book.

Be careful! It is best to disarm the traps beforehand – there are many. And then grab the book.

Here are tips for all classes directly from the developers:

Step 2: Deciphering the Ancient Book

How to open Thay’s Necromancy

To follow the dark path of necromancy and open the book, you need an item called Dark Amethyst. Visit the Ruined Village, this time not a house – but The Whispering Depths:

• Go to the well in the ruined village, examine it, and enter the Whispering Depths.
• Prepare for a battle against nasty Phase Spiders.
• Head to the lair of the Phase Spider Matriarch – all the way in the west.
• Stealth up (Tip: Invisibility Potion), or defeat the matriarch.
• The glowing purple Dark Amethyst lies under her nest next to a broken pillar – “Press Left-Alt”.

To indulge in necromancy or destroy the ancient book?

After collecting the Amethyst, you can read and open the necromancer book again. However, there are several options to use Thay’s necromancy.

Here are the options:

TIP: Class options: Some classes can adjust the difficulty of the roll or change the conditions:

• Bards can roll Performance checks (DC: 5, 10, 15)
• Wizards can roll Charisma checks (DC: 5, 10, 15)
• Warlocks can make their first roll as a Charisma check with a difficulty of 5. For the other pages, it is the predefined Wisdom checks.
• Mages can make their first roll as an Intelligence check with a difficulty of 5. For the other pages, it is the predefined Wisdom checks.
• Clerics with deities aligned with darkness/evil (like Talos, Gruumsh, or Lolth) receive a Wisdom check with a reduced difficulty of 10 instead of 20 for the third page. Shadowheart, as a cleric of Shar, also falls under this category.
  

Gale: You can give Thay’s necromancy to Gale to help him. You will not have this option if you open the book first.

Astarion: After opening, you can give Thay’s necromancy to Astarion. This will earn you his favor and progress his unique story. However, you can only give the book to one of the two story characters. Maybe it will lead to a more intimate romance with one of the companions.

Destroy it: You can destroy Thay’s necromancy with holy damage – which I wouldn’t recommend. You could, for example, cast “Guiding Bolt” on the book with Shadowheart. However, then three dangerous shadow enemies await you, who are very resilient. Without a strong team, you will likely die quickly. Astarion will not like the destruction of the book, but Karlach, Lae’zel, and Wyll will be grateful.

Put the book down: Leave your decision open for now and choose a path later in the game.

Warning: Spoiler! From here on, the article contains information that will only be revealed much later in the game.

Step 3: Reading the Last Page of the Necromancer Book

How do I read the last page of Thay’s necromancy? To discover the complete secret of Thay’s necromancer book, you must first arrive in Baldur’s Gate. There, head to the place “Magical Trinkets” – which is part of the questline “Wizards of Waterdeep” (Gale). Go there, look for the office of the librarian, and interact with the clasped book on the shelf. It opens a dark portal that teleports you to a spell vault.

Another way to reach this spell vault is to press one of the large buttons in Lorroakan’s tower labeled “Treasury”.

Explore the entire area of the spell vault. Once you are in the puzzle room, go through the doors in the following order:

• Silverhand
• Conjuration
• Wish

However, be wary of traps. Then, you can use the lever in the last room and make your way back to the first room – the Elminster vault should be open.

Inside, you will find the Tharchiate Codex. You need it to read the last page of Thay’s necromancy. The Wisdom check is not easy. You must roll a 20. If you succeed, you will be richly rewarded: With the last page, you receive a powerful spell that allows you to summon ghouls.

By the way, if you are not yet sure whether to take Gale and Astarion into your party, we have a suitable guide for you. With it, you should be well equipped to assemble your dream team: Baldur’s Gate 3 Guide to Companions – How to Create the Best Group

• Read it yourself (successfully): Delve into Thay’s necromancy secret yourself. When turning pages, you must face three Wisdom checks with increasing difficulty – 10, 15, and 20. If you succeed, you gain the achievement “Hidden Knowledge”: A +1 bonus on all Wisdom saving throws and skill checks. You will also get the spell: “Speak with Dead” – a 3rd-level necromancy spell. However, you cannot read the last page yet. The quest continues, which is quite a long process. If you want to know how to read the last page – scroll further down. Warning: Spoiler alert!
• Read it yourself (unsuccessfully): If you fail the Wisdom checks, you will be afflicted with various curses depending on the number of failed rolls (After the first fail with “Whispers of Madness”, after the second fail with “Sinister Knowledge”). Both curses can be removed with the spell “Remove Curse”.
  
• TIP: Class options: Some classes can adjust the difficulty of the roll or change the conditions:
  • Bards can roll Performance checks (DC: 5, 10, 15)
  • Wizards can roll Charisma checks (DC: 5, 10, 15)
  • Warlocks can make their first roll as a Charisma check with a difficulty of 5. For the other pages, it is the predefined Wisdom checks.
  • Mages can make their first roll as an Intelligence check with a difficulty of 5. For the other pages, it is the predefined Wisdom checks.
  • Clerics with deities aligned with darkness/evil (like Talos, Gruumsh, or Lolth) receive a Wisdom check with a reduced difficulty of 10 instead of 20 for the third page. Shadowheart, as a cleric of Shar, also falls under this category.
    
• Gale: You can give Thay’s necromancy to Gale to help him. You will not have this option if you open the book first.
• Astarion: After opening, you can give Thay’s necromancy to Astarion. This will earn you his favor and progress his unique story. However, you can only give the book to one of the two story characters. Maybe it will lead to a more intimate romance with one of the companions.
  
• Destroy it: You can destroy Thay’s necromancy with holy damage – which I wouldn’t recommend. You could, for example, cast “Guiding Bolt” on the book with Shadowheart. However, then three dangerous shadow enemies await you, who are very resilient. Without a strong team, you will likely die quickly. Astarion will not like the destruction of the book, but Karlach, Lae’zel, and Wyll will be grateful.
• Put the book down: Leave your decision open for now and choose a path later in the game.

Warning: Spoiler! From here on, the article contains information that will only be revealed much later in the game.

Step 3: Reading the Last Page of the Necromancer Book

How do I read the last page of Thay’s necromancy? To discover the complete secret of Thay’s necromancer book, you must first arrive in Baldur’s Gate. There, head to the place “Magical Trinkets” – which is part of the questline “Wizards of Waterdeep” (Gale). Go there, look for the office of the librarian, and interact with the clasped book on the shelf. It opens a dark portal that teleports you to a spell vault.

Another way to reach this spell vault is to press one of the large buttons in Lorroakan’s tower labeled “Treasury”.

Explore the entire area of the spell vault. Once you are in the puzzle room, go through the doors in the following order:

• Silverhand
• Conjuration
• Wish

However, be wary of traps. Then, you can use the lever in the last room and make your way back to the first room – the Elminster vault should be open.

Inside, you will find the Tharchiate Codex. You need it to read the last page of Thay’s necromancy. The Wisdom check is not easy. You must roll a 20. If you succeed, you will be richly rewarded: With the last page, you receive a powerful spell that allows you to summon ghouls.

By the way, if you are not yet sure whether to take Gale and Astarion into your party, we have a suitable guide for you. With it, you should be well equipped to assemble your dream team: Baldur’s Gate 3 Guide to Companions – How to Create the Best Group