Players exploring act one of Baldur's Gate 3 will eventually find themselves in the Blighted Village of Moonhaven, where a group of goblins has taken up residence. The village is left in a serious state of disrepair, with collapsed buildings and looters all around. But the underground portions of Moonhaven, the cellars of certain shops and the caves that connect them, have somehow remained largely intact and untouched.

Beneath the village, players can find a nest of hostile phase spiders, the workshop of a blacksmith hoping to produce master-level weapons, and most notably, a necromancer's lair. This is where players can find the cheeky Quasit, Shovel, and the Necromancy of Thay, a book which unlocks some powerful spells later in the game. But there's more going on here than most players realize, and the story of this long-dead necromancer connects to the wider world of Faerun in an interesting way.

Moonhaven's Apothecary Hides A Dark Secret

Ilyn Toth's Necromancer Hideout

The necromancer's den is located in the basement of the apothecary, behind a hidden door and past a magic mirror. In reality, this apothecary was a red wizard named Ilyn Toth, a Thayan necromancer that appears to have fled his home country. Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't touch much on Thay, but it's a hugely important location within Faerun's lore and history, a nation of wizards and slavers that often end up as enemies of good-aligned parties.

None of this is outright explained in Baldur's Gate 3, but this underground hideout leaves many hints as to the current state of Thay. Ilyn Toth apparently stole away from his country with his apprentice, his familiar, and the infamous Necromancy of Thay, a tome containing many arcane secrets. The exact reason for Ilyn's expatriation is unknown, though his journal implies he wanted to resurrect someone specific using the tome's knowledge, and he set up in Moonhaven under the guise of being a simple healer.

While texts in-game make it clear that Moonhaven was destroyed by Sharrans over a century before the player es through, it's also implied that Shadowheart grew up there, leading to a strange conflict in the game's timeline.

In the end, it seems that Ilyn's apprentice betrayed him, stealing a gem needed to read the tome and fleeing into another part of underground Moonhaven, where he was promptly killed by phase spiders. Ilyn himself didn't last much longer, as he died along with many of the other Moonhaven residents during a raid by the Dark Justiciars. This raid was led by Ketheric Thorm, creating a fun connection between Ilyn Toth and the future general of the Absolute's army.

Why Thay Is So Important In The Forgotten Realms

The Undead Wizards Central To Conflicts In Faerun

Thay's red wizards are servants of its zulkirs, who govern as a council, and who maintain the magocratic nature of Thay. Necromancy is their main focus, especially at the time of the game, when the lich Szass Tam has taken control of the council of zulkirs. The magic mirror guarding Ilyn's lab mentions he is an enemy of Szass Tam, and Ilyn was fastidiously recording the comings and goings of townsfolk to make sure no Thayans came after him, so it's clear that some conflict with this lich at least in part caused Ilyn's fleeing of Thay.

Many Dungeons & Dragons modules see the players fighting red wizards, and even the D&D movie put a red wizard under the influence of Szass Tam front and center as the main villain. This group of necromancers continually crop up as antagonists in the Forgotten Realms setting, though Baldur's Gate as a series tends to be much more focused on the Dead Three and their agendas.

This Thayan's Story Reveals Conflicts Going On Outside The Absolute Plot

World-Shattering Foes Beyond The Netherbrain And Dead Three

As much as Baldur's Gate 3 focuses on the Absolute plot, it makes it clear that the world outside the city and its outskirts is very alive and changing. There are threats just as dangerous mounting on all horizons, creating plenty of potential for another adventure the player's party will be needed for, and justifying Wither's final speech during the epilogue about the world still needing your help. A conflict with Thayans in a future game could be an exciting avenue to explore.

While Ilyn Toth may be dead, Szass Tam is very much still undead, and fighting the lich and his zulkirs could be an interesting premise in another title. Minsc could even act as a connecting thread, since his homeland of Rashemen directly borders the nation of Thay.

Ultimately, the secret lair of this necromancer serves to provide the player's party with a powerful tome and a sassy familiar, as well as provide some fun mysteries to unravel in the Blighted Village. But more than that, it shows how much lore this world has beneath its surface, making Faerun feel lived-in and truly magical. Ilyn Toth is an unseen character with no dialogue who died a century before the events of Baldur's Gate 3, and yet even such a removed character can provide a great deal of life for the game's story.