If you want to add some extra magic to your character in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can find a hidden item called the Ancient Tome. You should be warned, though, that the Ancient Tome contains forbidden knowledge derived from taboo necromancy. You can find this artifact fairly early in the game, but you must complete a few tasks to harness the power of the Ancient Tome.
You will need to pass multiple skill checks if you want to learn magic from the Ancient Tome. You will need to pass Arcana checks and Wisdom saving throws in order to gain access to the book’s dark knowledge. These rolls’ Difficulty Class (DC) can be lowered if you play a class more connected with this magic, such as the Wizard or Cleric.
Certain
class and background combinations
have a distinct advantage when passing checks related to the Ancient Tome. For example, the
Sage
and
Acolyte
backgrounds pair well with the Wizard or Cleric to add a big bonus to magic-related checks.
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How To Find The Ancient Tome
The Lost Book’s Location
The Ancient Tome is located in the basement cellar under the Blighted Village, which you can reach during Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3. There are two ways you can enter this basement, i.e., using Sleight of Hand to pick the lock or speak to the Ornate Mirror to receive the Rusted Key. However, you will need to pass a dialogue skill check to convince the Mirror to hand over the cellar’s Key.
Going downstairs reveals the Ancient Tome, also called the “Necromancy of Thay” in Baldur’s Gate 3. The book is in a place guarded by spider enemies, including a powerful Phase Spider Matriarch boss that can be difficult for your party to beat. Killing this creature will reward you with the Dark Amethyst, an item that helps fully awaken and unlock the Ancient Tome.
Once you open the Tome for the first time, you can only read the initial section by passing three skill checks. Any character that successfully passes these rolls will learn how to cast the 
Speak with Dead spell at will without using a spell slot. You will also receive a buff that permanently gives your character a +1 bonus to Wisdom saving throws in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How To Reawaken The Ancient Tome
Awaken The Tome’s Power
The Ancient Tome shuts until you reach Act 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3 and find a way to awaken the full power of the Necromancy of Thay. Those who want more power from the book should head to Philgrave’s Mansion after reaching the main city. Picking a few locks here or destroying the main doors should let you enter this space without any issues.
Next, speak to Mystic Carrion, an NPC you can find in the Mansion. You will need to convince them to have the same goals, which can be done by passing a few Persuasion or Deception skill checks.
Mystic Carrion will reveal that another book named the Tharchiate Codexcan reveal stronger magic from the Tome in Baldur’s Gate 3. Your party must steal the Codex from the inner vault of the Sorcerous Sundries magic shop in the city.
The vault will have a large circle of many doors that will teleport the party around. You must pass through them in this specific order:
Silverhand
,
Evocation
,
Wish
,
Gate
, and lastly,
Minor Illusion
. You can now enter Elminster’s Vault, where the Codex lies among the books.
Any character that uses the Codex with the Necromancy of Thay gains the unique spell Danse Macabre. This magic allows you to summon up to six undead creatures that will fight with your party in combat. An army of the undead that stands against your strongest enemies makes all the effort of unlocking the Ancient Tome more than worth it in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3
- Platform(s)
- PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence