“Undead hands rise from the underground, attacking enemy characters that stand in blood surfaces and clouds. Deals physical damage to each character and sets Crippled.
„—Skill description
Grasp of the starved is an expert necromancer source skill in Divinity: Original Sin II.
Description[]
Skill[]
Grasp of the Starved is a offensive necromancer source skill that allows caster call forth undead hands which will rise from the blood surfaces in a chosen 5 meter radius area (within 13 meter radius from the caster) and attack all hostile and neutral characters that stand upon the blood surfaces. The hands will deal immediate physical damage to all characters standing in a blood surface or blood cloud of any type (frozen, cursed, blessed etc.). The surfaces remain intact and unchanged after casting the skill. Hostile and neutral characters that are not standing fully in any blood surface or blood cloud are not affected by this skill.
Characters without 
Physical Armour are afflicted with 
Crippled status effect which will immobilise them.
Since Grasp of the Starved relies on Necromancy magic it cannot be cast if caster is affected by 
Silenced and 
Enraged status effects. Grasp of the Starved skill damage is not reflected back when the target is under Deflective Barrier skill (Definitive Edition only).
Scroll and Skillbook[]
Grasp of the Starved skillbook is a magical item that allows its reader to learn Grasp of the Starved skill, if they have at least 3 points into Necromancer ability, and use it indefinitely. In order to be able to cast the skill, character needs 2 free memory slots. Note that the book will disappear once read. The book weights 0.5 and its base value is 750 gold. A skillbook can be crafted if a Grasp of the Starved scroll is combined with a High Tier Blank Necromancy Skillbook. Since Grasp of the Starved is a expert Necromancer skill, traders will start selling the skillbook once Godwoken reach level 13.
Grasp of the Starved scroll is a magical item that allows any character to cast Grasp of the Starved skill, regardless of skill prerequisites, but only once. The only limiting element in casting Grasp of the Starved this way is the amount of 
Action Points (AP) character has at their disposal in current turn. The scroll is craftable, weights 0.02 and has base value of 260 gold.
The cost of Action Points between Grasp of the Starved scroll and Grasp of the Starved skill themselves varies. The cost to cast Grasp of the Starved as a source skill is 2 Action Points and 2 Source Points whereas the cost to cast Grasp of the Starved as a scroll is only 2 Action Points.
Both the scroll and the skill itself are affected by other skills and talents that may provide additional bonuses.
Skill Modifiers[]
Damage of this skill is calculated with the following formula: (Base Damage) x (1 + Elemental Bonus%) x (1 + Attribute Bonus% + Weapon Skill Bonus %) x (1 + High Ground Bonus% + Crit Bonus%) x ( 1 + Misc Bonus %)
The damage of this skill is affected by the following attributes of the caster:
- Level
- Warfare ability
- Intelligence attribute
- Height bonus
- Critical Damage Modifier
- Bonus: Necromancer Ability - affects restored Vitality caused by damage to target Vitality
Out of these the most effect on the damage have Level and then Warfare ability as the latter increases damage by 5 % per point. Level provides greatest boost to the damage done. Intelligence provides the lowest bonus out of the three (3 points in Intelligence are equal to 1 point of Warfare).
When it comes to enemies they may resist water damage if they have: Physical Immunity Status. There are no actual resistances that may lower physical damage done.
Since Grasp of the Starved is a skill requiring Necromancer ability to cast on its own, it will cause caster to heal from damage done directly to the Vitality of target enemy. The health received is affected by damage done to the Vitality and by points invested in Necromancer ability itself.
Grasp of the Starved properties can be affected by talents, consumable items (some of which may be affected by Five-Star Diner talent) and other skills.
| Consumable Items | Description | Skills | Description | Talents | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Green Tea |
Lowers AP cost by 2 points (Never below 1 AP). |  Encourage |
Increases Intelligence |  Ambidextrous |
Decreases AP cost of a Grasp of the Starved scroll by 1 point |
 Calocera |
Increases Intelligence by 1 point |  Flesh Sacrifice |
Increases damage done by 10 % (counts as Miscellaneous Bonus) |  Far Out Man |
Increases range of the skill and scroll by 2 meters |
 Intelligence Potion |
Increases Intelligence by 1/3/11 points |  Peace of Mind |
Increases Intelligence |  Elemental Affinity |
Decreases AP cost of Grasp of the Starved by 1 point if caster stands in any type of blood surface |
 Attar of the Blood Rose |
Increases all attributes by 1 point |  Death Wish |
Will grant bonus to damage equal to the percentage of missing health. |  Savage Sortilege |
Allows Grasp of the Starved to do critical damage by using casters critical chance |
 Enlightenment Herbmix |
Increases Intelligence by 8 points |  Farsight |
Increases range of the skill by 4 meters. | — | — |
 Draught of Intelligence Gift Bag: The Song of Nature |
Increases Intelligence by 7 points |  Skin Graft |
Resets skill cooldown | — | — |
 Potion of Power Gift Bag: The Song of Nature |
Increases damage by 10 % |  Apotheosis |
Reduces the Source Point cost of Grasp of the Starved to 0 for 2 turns | — | — |
Locations[]
- On a desk in Ryker's Rest - Private Chambers (owned)
Traders[]
Following table shows all NPCs who are guaranteed to sell necromancer spellbooks, with their location and coordinates in the right column, from them. The location shown in the table (and the coordinates) are only for the initial location the NPC is in. Note that some of these may have other spell/skillbooks and goods to sell. Out of these only Tarquin is guaranteed to follow the Godwoken as they travel with Lady Vengeance. Jahan may join the Godwoken on the ship as well if his demands are met.
Note: Hannag at Cloisterwood also sells this spell. However she is not a true vendor for Necromancer spells as she sells only Expert tier Source books of all combat ability schools.
| Trader | Location (x, y) | Trader | Location (x, y) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Mona |
Fort Joy (233, 134) |
 Kerban |
Sanctuary of Amadia (413, 23) |
 Tarquin |
Dallis' Stateroom (340, 493) |
 Bree |
Driftwood Square (340, 108) |
 Jahan |
Cloisterwood (291, 286) |
 Jawbone the Merchant |
Temple of Tir-Cendelius (262, 916) |
 Black Ring Alchemist |
Black Ring encampment (228, 771) |
 Victor Voss |
Arx (252, 314) |
Crafting[]
- Grasp of the Starved Scroll
- Note: Only the body-parts depicting hand pointing "down" are usable for crafting the scroll.
- Grasp of the Starved skillbook