Necromancy of Thay

File:Book NecromancyofThayUnsocketed.png

Necromancy of Thay is a Story-related Book related to the Search the Cellar Quest.

It. Is. Not. Too. Late.

Properties

• Books
• Rarity: Story Item
•  Weight: 0.5 kg / 1 lb
• Price: 14 gp

Where to find

• In the Apothecary's Cellar beneath the Blighted Village, behind a locked gate, on an altar.
  • To access the hidden portion of the cellar containing the book, you must move a wardrobe by pulling a lever hidden behind a box, then speak with the magic mirror and either intimidate it or correctly answer its questions:
    • What think you of the Zulkir known as Szass Tam? 'Szass Tam is a foul, wretched creature.'
    • Why might one use balsam ointment? 'To clean a wound.'
    • If you could see anything in me, what would it be? 'I'd look for whatever spell will rid me of this worm in my head.'
  • The locked gate in front of the book can be lockpicked as of release. The Rusted Key found on a shelf in the next room (near the lever that opens a shortcut back to the cellar entrance) can also be used to open the door. Alternatively, spells like Misty Step can be used to bypass the gate.
  • Note that taking the book will trigger a trap. To avoid this, you can enter turn-based mode and place an item of similar weight (like another book) on the pedestal, or simply disarm the two nearby statues.
• To read the book, you must obtain the Dark Amethyst from the Whispering Depths, which can be accessed from the well or the blacksmith's basement in the Blighted Village. The Amethyst is guarded by a Phase Spider Matriarch. X: -550 Y: -350
• See Notes and Trivia for the possible paths that can be taken with this book.

Notes and Trivia

Chapter One

• The Necromancy of Thay has three main paths that can be chosen, each with different outcomes.
  • Give to Gale for his condition or to Astarion. Giving it to one of those Companions will net you approval from the one you've given it to, and disapproval from the other. Once one of said Companions obtain the book, it will be impossible to transfer it to a different party member.
  • Destroy the book. The book can be destroyed only by Radiant damage. Destroying it will net you disapproval from both Astarion and Gale. However it will net you approval from Karlach, Lae'zel, and Wyll if you bring them in your party.
  • Read the book for its dark secrets. Interact with the book and use the dialogue option to insert the Dark Amethyst into the oval recess to unlock it. In total, three pages of the book can be turned. Each page you turn prompts a progressively harder Wisdom Saving Throw (DC 10, 15, and 20; certain spellcasting classes and race/class combinations may receive special options to lower these DCs). The following possible events can occur:
    • Failing one Saving Throw curses you with Whispers of Madness ( Disadvantage on Wisdom Checks) for 50 turns.
    • Failing two or more Saving Throws curses you with Baleful Knowledge ( Disadvantage on Wisdom Ability Checks) until cleansed by the Remove Curse spell.
    • Turning at least one page permanently grants the reader the Speak with Dead Spell. This spell does not consume a Spell Slot and is usable once per Long Rest.
    • If the player character is a sorcerer, you will have a unique option to make 3 charisma saves instead of wisdom saving throws. Once you make 3 successful save DCs of 5, 10, and 15 you will learn the Speak with Dead spell as a ritual meaning you can cast it as many times as you want outside of danger.
    • Bards get a similar option, with a performance check of DC 5, then 10 to stay on the first page. This also leads to learning the Speak with Dead spell as a ritual. You are still able to turn the other pages afterward (provided you pass the saving throws).
    • Turning three pages regardless of success grants the Forbidden Knowledge tag and  Forbidden Knowledge passive feature.
    • Closing the book before turning three pages leaves the Search the Cellar quest uncompleted and allows the character to reopen the book again later.
• Once the book has been opened by one character, it will not open for any other character. Once all three pages have been turned, the book will refuse to open again for anyone.
• After reading, the item quote will change from 'It. Is. Not. Too. Late.' to 'Look. Away.'

Chapter Three

• With the help of Mystic Carrion in Philgraves' Mansion in the Lower City, you can learn - for a 1500 gp fee - that in order to unlock the full potential of the book, you need to seek the Tharchiate Codex somewhere within Sorcerous Sundries.
• The Tharchiate Codex is stored in the basement vault of Sorcerous Sundries. You can reach the vault in two different ways:
  • By interacting with the Clasped Book in the leftmost upstairs bookshelf of Tolna Tome-Monger's office and going through the portal, or
  • By using the Weave Button labelled 'Vault' on the middle level of Ramazith's Tower.
• Within the vault, the codex is located in the Elminster section of the maze. To unlock the Elminster door, you must first find the lever at the end of the the Silverhand section by opening doors in this order: Silverhand, Evocation, Wish.
• After reading the Tharchiate Codex, you can re-read Necromancy of Thay to gain the permanent ability to summon 6 ghouls via the Danse Macabre spell once per Short Rest. Additionally, reading the Tharchiate Codex grants you The Tharchiate Codex: Blessing passive feature, which allows you to automatically gain 20 temporary Hit Points after each Long Rest. Upon death & revival The Tharchiate Codex: Blessing feature grants Extra Bonus Attack condition which grants an additional Bonus Action until the next Long Rest.