If you found the Necromancy of Thay and Gale or Astarion happened to be in your party, you’ll find them clamoring like hungry dogs to be the one to turn the evil book’s pages. But should you give Astarion and Gale the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3? Or should you just destroy it? Keep reading to find out.
Should You Give Astarion or Gale the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3 – Consequences and Benefits
So, getting the Necromancy of Thay is no easy task. But, once you slap that Dark Amethyst in that gaping map, you’ll get the chance to open the tome and receive two benefits… or a permanent skill reduction.
Giving the Necromancy of Thay to Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3
If you opt to give Astarion the Necromancy of Thay when you first obtain it, you’ll gain Astarion approval points. If Gale is in your party while you do this, Gale will disapprove.
Next, Astarion only receives the best benefits from the tome if he reads it. To have Astarion read it, open his inventory then double click on the Necromancy of Thay.
Once Astarion begins reading the tome, you’ll need to pass three skill checks to receive the best benefits.
Those benefits are the passive feature “Forbidden Knowledge” which will give the possessor a +1 bonus to Wisdom Saving Throws and Ability Checks. The second benefit, which can only be obtained in Act 3, is the ability to cast Danse Macabre. This spell allows Astarion to summon five undead each long rest. It’s a very good summon spell.
However, if he fails any of the saving throws, he’ll get a permanent -1 to his Wisdom. So, maybe stock up on Inspiration Points before turning those pages.
Otherwise, there are no significant benefits or changes to having Astarion read the Necromancy of Thay. There is one line of unique dialogue, which has Astarion “drink in the darkness”. But each of the characters that read it (Tav, Gale, Astarion) have their own unique lines.
Tav by far has the most lines.
Giving Gale the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3
Gale, I believe, takes the least priority when it comes to the Necromancy of Thay, at least in terms of the narrative. If you have both Astarion and Gale in your party, he won’t even mention it. You won’t even know he’s upset until you or Astarion read the tome.
But like Astarion, he can read it and receive the benefits. Those benefits are the passive feature, “Forbidden Knowledge” which will give the possessor a +1 bonus to Wisdom Saving Throws and Ability Checks. The second benefit, which can only be obtained in Act 3, is the ability to cast Danse Macabre. This spell allows Gale to summon five undead each long rest.
However, failing any of the three saving throws will have Gale take a permanent -1 to his Wisdom. It’s a high price to pay.
Beyond this, Gale doesn’t see any other unique interactions beyond a single line, which comments on how he feels about the Weave.
Who Should Read the Necromancy of Thay in Baldur’s Gate 3
You should give the Necromancy of Thay to whatever character best benefits from it, and the character you feel confident will be part of the majority of your Act 3 gameplay. For example, if you know you’ll be romancing Astarion, having Danse Macabre on him isn’t a bad idea.
I’m Tav-centric and do all the dialogue options, so I opted to have my Tav read the tome. Forbidden Knowledge is surprisingly helpful. And while you get Danse Macabre until you find the wizard and his vault, it’s a very good spell for the end game. And if you want to terrorize random civilians.
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