One of the most evil books, the Necromancy of Thay, can be found early in Baldur’s Gate 3‘s first Act. Any party character can read the book; however, before proceeding, it is important to point out that it contains some dark information. The book can provide a special buff, but only if you find a special artifact capable of opening it.
This magical object happens to be the Dark Amethyst, an object you can find below the Blighted Village. The Whispering Depths under here act like a dungeon, with multiple spider enemies and a boss named the Phase Spider Matriarch. Once you defeat this creature and its allies, you can insert the gem into the book to open it, allowing you to read it at any time from your inventory.
Should You Read or Destroy the Necromancy of Thay?
Gain Dark Powers At A Cost
You have two options once you obtain the Necromancy of Thay – either destroy it or try and read it. Reading the book can grant your character some permanent buffs, but also some debuffs if you fail certain checks. You could simply destroy it as well using any source of Radiant damage, but this does summon three Shadow enemies you and your party will have to beat immediately.
When it comes to what to do with the Necromancy of Thay, the best option is to read it. Doing this will require your character to pass a check every time you turn a page of the book, which are determined by what class you are. For example, turning the first page of the book requires Wizards to make a DC 5 Intelligence check, while Bards may try to make a DC 5 Performance check instead.
Those who get the Necromancy of Thay can also hand it over to Gale or Astarion to gain favor with either character. Doing this does prevent your character from every using the book the rest of your playthrough.
Turning more pages will demand higher and higher checks also tied to your character’s archetype. No matter how many you pass or fail, reaching the final page gives you a passive ability called Forbidden Knowledge, which grants you a +1 bonus to Wisdom ability checks and saving throws in Baldur’s Gate 3. Once the book has been opened by one party member, no one else can read its pages.
Characters with high modifiers have the best chance at passing the three total skill checks needed to read the Necromancy of Thay. Sometimes, you may need to roll up to a 20 to pass the final check, so don’t be afraid to spend Inspiration to reroll if you must.
Failing one check gives you the Whispers of Madness curse while failing another gives you the curse of Baleful Knowledge. Both curses each give you disadvantage on Wisdom checks permanently, threatening to debuff your character forever. Thankfully, these curses can easily be cleansed by a 
Scroll of Remove Curse or the Remove Curse spell learned by a spell-casting character.
How To Use The Necromancy Of Thay
Gain New And Powerful Magic
Reading the Necromancy of Thay also gives your character the Speak with Dead spell in Baldur’s Gate 3, allowing you to communicate with spirits along your journey. Speak with Dead can be cast as a Ritual spell, not expending spell slots when used. This spell can be targeted at a dead body to temporarily contact its spirit, allowing your character to ask it several questions if it isn’t hostile to you.
Some backgrounds in Baldur’s Gate 3 also gain Inspiration from reading the book, specifically those tied to the study of arcane knowledge. Later in the game during Act 3, you can find a way to investigate the Necromancy of Thay further to gain two new abilities:
- Danse Macabre
- The Tharchiate Codex: Blessing
These are obtained by getting The Tharchiate Codex from the Sorcerous Sundries location in the Lower City. Danse Macabre is a powerful Necromancy spell that allows you to summon four Ghouls to your side in battle. Meanwhile, the Codex Blessing gives your character 20 temporary Hit Points every time they finish a long rest in Baludr’s Gate 3, giving you more health to survive intense battles.
Be careful attempting to read the book a second time, as you will have to pass another high Wisdom check to not gain the Forbidden Knowledge curse again. Although this can be easily removed by Act 3, you don’t want to take any risks when trying to read the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3 rather than destroying it.
