The dead. They’re not generally a particularly talkative bunch, really. That said, for players of Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3), there are ways to speak with the dead if you find yourself needing to revive and contact a dead character. However, you don’t need to fully reanimate a passed away character in order to speak with the dead. As such, today, we’re looking at how, in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can speak with the dead, and whether there is a simple way to animate the dead or if you’ll need to use cheats to make this work.
Why Baldur’s Gate 3 Players Might Need to Speak with the Dead

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There are many reasons that you might want to speak with a dead character in Baldur’s Gate 3. Keeping these in mind could help you plan the right way to converse with passed foes and bystanders, too.
- To interrogate a witness. Suppose a key witness has passed away. Well, that doesn’t mean they can’t still reveal their secrets. Accordingly, in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can speak with the dead to get information from witnesses about events that may have taken place.
- To get a lost companion’s backstory. Companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 don’t necessarily have so-called “plot armor,” and this can put them at risk of dying during your adventures. However, if you don’t feel that you’ve gotten all of their lore and guidance just yet, reviving them for just long enough to find out their last thoughts could prove incredibly useful.
- Out of curiosity. Not all revivals will necessarily yield useful information. However, it can undoubtedly be interesting to revive corpses to find out the secrets they contain, even if they’re ultimately unhelpful in the bigger picture.
These are just a few examples of reasons that you might want to speak with the dead in Baldur’s Gate 3. Definitely a potentially handy skill to have!
Baldur’s Gate: How to Revive and Speak With a Dead Character
Thus far, we’ve considered why it could be handy to revive and speak with a dead character in Baldur’s Gate 3. But how can you actually go about this? Well, reviving a dead character in order to speak with them is done using the Baldur’s Gate 3 Speak with Dead spell. However, there are actually several ways to get hold of and use this spell.
The simplest is to unlock it as a spell slot - if your character is able to use necromancy spells, that is! Speak With Dead is a Level 3 necromancy spell, and it’s definitely a useful option to have. However, taking this spell does mean passing on other useful offensive and defensive spells, so it is important to weigh up whether it’s worth taking.
Taking it as a spell slot isn’t the only way to unlock Speak with Dead in Baldur’s Gate 3, though. The Amulet of Lost Voices and the Necromancy of Thay items can both grant this effect, and warlocks choosing the Eldritch Invocation Whispers of the Grave can also gain this benefit. Of course, to choose a warlock build, you’ll need to decide this at the time of starting your game and setting up your initial game
server.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Speak with Dead spell only lasts for up to five questions on a single corpse. However, after you have cast the spell, the ability to Recast Speak with Dead unlocks and remains active until your next long speak, reducing the need to recast without expending a spell slot.
The main reason that the Speak with Dead spell doesn’t work in Baldur’s Gate 3 will be because the corpse was killed using acid, fire, radiant, lightning, or necrotic damage, which cause the corpse to no long have a mouth. However, it could also be because the corpse doesn’t want to speak to the person who killed them; in this case, you will need a disguise to make the Speak with Dead spell work.
In order to speak with a dead character in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can revive them by casting the Speak with Dead spell. This allows the player to talk with a deceased character, although not all characters will have something useful to say.
Unsurprisingly, many corpses won’t be best pleased to speak with you if you were the one who killed them. In this case, you will need to don a disguise in order to get the corpse to open up, the best way being to use the Disguise Self spell. This only applies to the person who dealt the killing blow, so if another member of your party knows the Speak with Dead spell, they may be able to talk to the corpse instead.
Final Thoughts
If you have found yourself in need of a little more insight, speaking with the dead in Baldur’s Gate 3 can actually offer a surprisingly helpful option. However, try to keep in mind here that reviving the dead isn’t always an immediate guarantee to get the answers you need; some corpses may not be able to talk at all, while others may simply not want to speak to you! So, there’s a lot you’ll need to consider if you’re planning to speak with the dead in Baldur’s Gate 3 to ensure that your re-animated dead character is willing to help.