Baldur’s Gate 3 Necromancy of Thay guide: How to access, key location, choices, and more

Quite early in your Baldur’s Gate 3, you will come across the Necromany of Thay in the Blighted Village cellar. It is a dark book, and upon interacting with it, you will get the choice to either read it or destroy it. Hence, it’s not all that surprising why there are so many players who are a bit confused as to which of the two choices they should opt for.

However, to interact with the book, you need to first gain access to it by finding a key, which is a Dark Amethyst. Acquiring it is a challenge as the only way to go about getting it will be to venture into the Whispering Depths and defeat the Phase Spider Matriarch boss that's protecting it.

The entire process is a bit challenging, which is why today’s Baldur’s Gate 3 guide will go over how to get the key to the Necromancy of Thay and the consequences of either choice.

---

How to get the key to the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3

To obtain the key to the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3, you need to make your way to the Whispering Depths and search for the Dark Amethyst. Here are the steps you can follow:

• Make your way to the surface of Blighted Village from the cellars and then approach the old well, which is located in the town square. You will be required to interact with it and then chose the option to climb down.
• This will automatically take you to the Whispering Depths, which is one of the more dangerous locations in the area. It will be filled with monsters called Phase Spiders, who are not all that easy to take down.
• After making your way to the Phase Spider Matriarch boss, you have the choice to either defeat it or sneak past it to the Dark Amethyst. If you have a strong party, then feel free to take on the challenge.
• Once you have the Dark Amethyst, you will now be able to unlock the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Before making your way to the Whispering Depths, make sure that you nab the Necromancy of Thay from the cellar. You can unlock it using the Dark Amethyst from your inventory itself.

You can now choose to either read the Necromany of Thay or destroy it.

Necromancy of Thay Wisdom Checks (Image via Baldur's Gate 3)

---

What happens if you read the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3?

If you decide to open the book and read it, the Necromancy of Thay will force you to take part in multiple Wisdom Saving throws, each more difficult than the previous one, as your character starts reading the pages.

The hardest page will make you beat a DC of 20, however, if you are able to beat the checks, then you will be granted the Speak With Dead spell, which is considered by many to be one of the most fun incantations in the game.

Hence, it’s recommended that you read the book if you believe that you can beat the various Wisdom Saving throws.

After it grants you the spell, the Necromancy of Thay will slam shut. However, it does have a dialogue that suggests that more can be obtained from it later on in the narrative.

---

What happens if you destroy the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3?

If you choose to destroy the Necromancy of Thay, then you will earn Lae’zel’s approval and nothing more. If you are looking to romance the character, then this is one of the things you might need to do.

However, destroying the Necromancy of Thay is not easy. The book is immune to almost all damage types, excluding Radiant attacks.

If you have Shadowheart in your party, you can use Guiding Boltor, and if you are playing as a Paladin, you can use the class’s Radiant imbued attacks.

Gale consuming Necromancy of Thay (Image via Baldur's Gate 3)

---

What happens if you give the Necromancy of Thay to a party member in Baldur's Gate 3?

You also have the option to give the Necromancy of Thay to either Gale or Astarion. Giving it to the former will allow him to consume the book, and it will open up unique dialogue options for the latter.