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Danse Macabre is a 5th level Necromancy spell that summons 4 uncontrollable Ghouls to fight for you.
Description
Create 4 ghouls that fight alongside you.
Properties
Range: 9 m / 30 ft 
Duration: Until - Each Ghoul has a chance to
the target on hit (DC 5 Constitution Save). - Only available through items as a once per
Recharge: Long rest action that does not consume a 
Spell Slot.
How to learn
Notes
- The ghouls are also able to bite a target that is
, 
, or 
. The damage dealt through biting will be regained as 
Hit Points. [Needs Verification] - Currently (7/13/2024), ghouls summoned by Danse Macabre will continue to attack a target for 0 damage and will not switch targets so long as the target remains .
- This spell can only be acquired by completing the quest Unlock the Ancient Tome, in Act Three, which fully unlocks the secrets of the Necromancy of Thay.
- The ghouls are immune to
. This prevents them from being driven due to a failed Wisdom saving throw when the summoner wears 
Abyss Beckoners. - Currently (09/13/2023) the Necromancy Wizard subclass is causing this spell to summon 5 ghouls instead of 4. Spell tooltip unchanged.
- The Ghouls explode when killed, dealing Necrotic area-of-effect damage. This can destroy other Ghouls as a chain reaction and hurt nearby party members as well.
- Since the Ghouls cannot be controlled by the player, they can sometimes 'split' player-controlled characters into different sections of the Initiative order (e.g. Player character/Gale/Astarion/Ghoul/Shadowheart). This prevents the player from swapping between party members before the ghoul and party members after the ghoul (e.g. they cannot have Shadowheart cast
before Gale casts a spell with 
Lightning damage). This is a potentially large downside to using Danse Macabre. - Appears to be twice per long rest