Baldur’s Gate 3 offers players a rich, immersive world to explore and influence.
One quest players can encounter in the game is to unlock the Ancient Tome.
Continue reading to explore the steps to unlock the Ancient Tome and its consequences in Baldur’s Gate 3.
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How To Unlock Ancient Tome In BG3?
The Tome is called Necromancy of Thay and contains secrets of the dark art of raising the dead.
However, opening the Tome is complex, requiring a unique key and a series of wisdom-saving throws.
Two ways to unlock the Tome are to destroy it or find the Dark Amethyst.
1. Destroying The Tome
If you do not care about the secrets of Necromancy, you can destroy the Tome and end the quest.
To do this, you must drop the Tome on the ground and then use a spell that deals radiant damage, such as Guiding Bolt.
This will cause the Tome to explode and earn you 50 XP.
However, you will not be able to learn the Speak with Dead spell or see the vision of your doom.
2. Finding The Dark Amethyst
To unlock the Tome and learn its secrets, you must find the Dark Amethyst.
Spider Passage
The Dark Amethyst is a rare gem that can fit into the lock on the Tome.
It can be found in the passages where the Giant Spider Queen is located.
You can access this area through a hidden Blighted Village door or a tunnel from the Underdark.
In addition, you must fight or sneak past several spiders and ettercaps to reach the gem.
Horn Strategy
One way to make the fight easier is to use the horn that you bought from the three cave trolls in the Underdark.
This horn can summon a giant spider that will help you in combat.
However, you can only use it once per long rest, so use it wisely.
Alternatively, you can persuade or intimidate the Giant Spider Queen to let you take the gem without fighting.
Once you have the Dark Amethyst, you can return to the Tome and insert it into the lock.
3. Unlock The Tome Ancient Tome BG3
Opening the Tome is not as simple as inserting the gem.
You will also have to face a series of wisdom-saving throws that will test your sanity and resolve.
Tome Challenges
There are three saving throws, with increasing difficulty: 10, 15, and 20.
If you fail any of them, you will get a permanent debuff that will lower your wisdom ability checks by 1.
The debuff can be either Whisps of Madness or Baleful Knowledge, depending on which saving throw you failed.
Dark Ritual
If you pass all of them, you will get 50 XP and see a vision of your doom.
The vision will show you a scene of a dark ritual involving a mysterious figure and a pool of blood.
You will also learn the Speak with Dead spell, which allows you to communicate with corpses once per long rest.
This spell can help gather information or solve quests.
Evil Consequences
Depending on your class and alignment, you may have different options to lower the difficulty of the saving throws or avoid them altogether.
For example, if you are a cleric or a paladin, you can use your Channel Divinity feature to automatically succeed on one saving throw.
If you are a warlock or a wizard, you can use your Arcane Recovery feature to regain one spell slot after opening the Tome.
If you are evil or neutral, you can embrace the dark power of the Tome and skip all saving throws but be careful of the consequences.
4. Giving The Tome To A Companion
If you are not confident in your wisdom or do not want to risk getting a permanent debuff, you have another option.
Tome Consequences
You can give the Tome to one of your companions, such as Gale or Asterion, who can read it without problems.
However, this may affect their approval or disapproval of you and their relationship with other party members.
For example, Gale may approve of your curiosity and offer to read the Tome.
However, he may also get addicted to its power and become more reckless.
Asterion may disapprove of your cowardice and mock you for giving up on such a valuable source of knowledge.
However, he may also become more arrogant and secretive after reading it.
Tome Dilemma
You should consider carefully before giving the Tome to a companion.
Additionally, you may lose some control over their actions and personality.
Further, you may miss some benefits or drawbacks of opening the Tome yourself.
The Bottom Line
Unlock the Ancient Tome BG3 is one of the side quests with multiple options related to the Search The Cellar subquest.
Each option in the game has its benefits and drawbacks, as well as implications for the story and character development.
The player should weigh their options carefully and decide what they value most: power, knowledge, or safety.
