The Counting House

Key takeaways

• The Counting House is a Lower City location in the Steeps district, built on a small rocky island between Flymm Cargo and Old Garlow’s Place.
• Its scope includes the main bank, underground storage, vaults, high-security vaults and south-western docks. The docks are part of the location, not a separate ordinary harbour area.
• A Bank Pass is the normal route below the teller hall You can obtain one through Head Clerk Bloris Meadhoney, steal one from the upper offices, or talk your way past Captain Faril.
• The high-security vault door uses the code 1-3-5-6 The code can be learned from Flintdigger’s Abridged Dwarven History, or bypassed by electrifying water in front of the door.
• The bank is central to Minsc’s recruitment route After the Bhaalist encounter, inspect the smashed vault and follow the sewer clue.
• Most vaults can be looted without causing a general security response, but restricted-area trespassing, alarms and unauthorised access to the docks can provoke guards or combat.

About this guide

Overview

The Counting House is Baldur’s Gate’s principal bank and one of the most elaborate infiltration locations in the Lower City. It is not merely a teller hall with a single vault behind it. The location includes the public banking hall, staff offices, the lower storage area, ordinary safes, private vaults, high-security vaults and a restricted dock complex patrolled by Cashguards and Steel Watchers.

The bank is especially important during Aid the Underduke. Rakath Glitterbeard has taken the Stone Lord into the vaults, while the Guild plans to ambush him there. Reaching the deepest vaults leads to a confrontation with Bhaalists and provides the clue that sends the party into the sewers in pursuit of Minsc.

Canonical place directory

Main building

• The Counting House

Nearby but separate locations

• Flymm Cargo
• Lustrous Lass
• Lower City sewers

The legal entrance

The normal entrance is the stone bridge from the southern embankment of the Lower City. This is the only legal route into the building. The public doorway leads directly into the teller area.

The bank is not automatically hostile when you arrive. You can speak to the staff, observe the waiting customers and investigate the suspicious delay in service before committing to an infiltration route.

Getting a Bank Pass

The Bank Pass is the most useful access item in the Counting House. It allows the party to pass through the guarded gates leading from the teller area into the lower levels.

The most straightforward method is to speak with Bloris Meadhoney, the Head Clerk. An Insight check or Detect Thoughts can reveal that something is wrong with the bank’s current business. Dialogue and a successful Persuasion, Deception or Intimidation approach can persuade Meadhoney to issue a pass. If Jaheira is present, she can assist with this conversation and reduce the difficulty of the checks.

The pass can also be stolen from the Head Clerk’s Office on the upper floor. The office is normally restricted and guarded, so this is an infiltration route rather than a public option. The upper offices can also be reached through less conventional routes, including a roof opening and a pipe usable by Tiny creatures.

Captain Faril, who guards the way below the teller area, can also be handled through dialogue. Showing a Bank Pass is safest. Depending on the dialogue situation, bribery or successful Persuasion, Deception or Intimidation checks can avoid combat.

Teller area

The teller hall is the public face of the bank. Visitors wait to be served by two clerks, a cashier and Head Clerk Meadhoney. The waiting customers comment on the slow service and the danger posed by the Absolute’s armies. These conversations help establish that the bank is operating under unusual pressure.

Several display cases are marked as restricted and contain common weapons, +1 weapons or armour, and ordinary valuables. The larger cases require a DC 10 Sleight of Hand check to open. These are useful but not the bank’s most important rewards.

The staff area contains accounting books listing owners of safes and vaults. The list of High Security Vault owners is available to read from a desk, which provides useful context for the bank’s clientele and can help connect keys found elsewhere in the city with their intended vaults.

Upper offices

The upper corridor is restricted and guarded by two Cashguards. It contains two locked rooms:

Both office doors require DC 20 Sleight of Hand to pick, although alternative routes exist. The roof opening leads into the Head Clerk’s Office, while a pipe from the lower storage area can be used by Tiny characters to enter or leave the Head Banker’s Office.

Roof

The roof is reachable with Fly, Misty Step, Dimension Door or similar spatial movement. Most of it contains little of interest, but a Perception check can reveal a cracked tile on the western roof.

The exact number of Thieves’ Tools can vary within the listed range. The roof route is particularly useful for a small or stealth-focused party that wants to steal the Bank Pass without crossing the main restricted corridor.

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The stairs below the teller hall lead to a landing with eastern and western routes.

Eastern receiving office

The eastern section appears to be used for receiving valuables for custody. It is not actively guarded, and looting its containers does not cause a security response according to the location’s documented behaviour.

The Private Stash chests can be opened with the Private Stash Keys from the upper offices or picked with DC 18 Sleight of Hand. One contains the Amulet of Restoration, an Elixir of See Invisibility, a Scroll of Cloud of Daggers, a Potion of Superior Healing, 800 to 840 gold and possibly additional random potions.

Other fixed or semi-fixed contents include

Western route and checkpoint

The western stairs lead to the storage doors and the route towards the docks. The double doors leading to the docks are restricted. Opening them without concealment causes the guards inside and outside to become hostile.

The paper waste room contains a pipe leading to the Head Banker’s Office. Only Tiny creatures, including characters made Tiny through disguise or Wild Shape, can use this route.

Farther along is a second guarded gate. The guards request the Bank Pass again. Four concealed Marble Plates lie between the gates. If the trap is triggered, both gates close and a Poison Cloud fills the area. Each gate then requires DC 25 Sleight of Hand to pick. A button behind the counter can disable the trap and reopen the gates.

Safe approach to the checkpoint

1. 01
   Bring the Bank Pass.
2. 02
   Enter the checkpoint normally.
3. 03
   Search for the Marble Plates with Perception.
4. 04
   Avoid stepping on them.
5. 05
   Use the button behind the counter if necessary.
6. 06
   Continue down to the subaqual storage area.

Counting House Safes

The ordinary safes are reached after descending through the vault door. They are numbered and placed behind ornate iron grates.

The grates cannot simply be opened as doors. Teleportation effects such as Misty Step, Dimension Door or an Arrow of Transposition can bypass them. Flight does not solve the problem because the grates extend to the ceiling, and Gaseous Form does not work for this purpose.

Each safe requires DC 20 Sleight of Hand or its corresponding key. Picking and looting these safes does not trigger a general security response. The keys are named according to the safe number, for example Counting House Safe nº1 Key. Their locations and contents are distributed through other Act Three areas, so opening every safe usually requires city-wide exploration.

There are also chests outside and near the grates. One requires a Vault Chest Key, while another requires DC 10 Sleight of Hand and contains gold and minor random loot.

Counting House Vaults

The ordinary vault room lies opposite the safes. Two Glyphs of Transposition protect the approach. Walking, flying or jumping over the glyphs teleports trespassers back to the entryway.

Each Counting House Vault requires DC 25 Sleight of Hand or its corresponding key. Like the safes, these vaults can be looted without automatically causing a security response.

Vault directory

Note

High Security Vaults

The deepest vault chamber is behind a large door protected by nine pressure plates bearing numerals from 1 to 9. Four lamps above the door indicate whether the entered sequence is correct.

The sequence can be learned from Flintdigger’s Abridged Dwarven History in the Head Banker’s Office. Press one correct plate at a time. A wrong plate resets the sequence.

High-security key directory

Dock directory

The Lustrous Lass should not be treated as a shop or ordinary Counting House service. It is a separate story-associated ship connected to the dock route.

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Named residents and story-associated characters

The bank also contains unnamed clerks, a cashier, Cashguards, customers and dock patrols. The precise identity of every background customer is not established in the location material, so they should not be treated as named residents.

Security system

Restricted-area trespassing normally starts dialogue with the nearest Cashguard. Persuasion or Deception at DC 15, or Intimidation at DC 25, can resolve the incident by having the party escorted back to the entrance. Failure makes the guards hostile. Alarm Machines attract nearby guards for three turns, after which they may switch the machine off if they find no intruder.

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Main route

The vault encounter does not end with Minsc joining immediately. He escapes, and the party must follow the sewer trail. The next stages lead to the Abandoned Cistern or an alternative route through a restricted area near the Steel Watch Foundry.

Main route: steps

1. 01
   Enter through the public bridge and speak with the bank staff.
2. 02
   Talk to Bloris Meadhoney.
3. 03
   Use Insight, Detect Thoughts and dialogue checks to uncover the irregularity involving Rakath and the Stone Lord.
4. 04
   Obtain the Bank Pass.
5. 05
   Present it to Captain Faril.
6. 06
   Descend through the lower checkpoint.
7. 07
   Avoid the Marble Plates or disable the trap from behind the counter.
8. 08
   Continue into the subaqual storage area.
9. 09
   Reach the high-security door.
10. 10
    Enter 1-3-5-6, or use an alternative bypass.
11. 11
    Enter the High Security Vaults.
12. 12
    Watch the scene involving Minsc and the Bhaalists.
13. 13
    Defeat the Bhaalists.
14. 14
    Inspect the smashed vault at the far end of the room.
15. 15
    Pass the Perception check to identify the sewer mud.
16. 16
    Follow the clue into the sewers and continue the Stone Lord storyline.

Minsc and quest progression

The Counting House is the point at which the party finally sees Minsc during this section of the quest. He disappears before the party can confront him, leaving Bhaalists behind. The smashed vault provides the physical clue needed to continue the investigation.

These places and characters are part of the quest chain but are not part of the Counting House’s physical boundaries.

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Safe completionist route

1. 01
   Speak with Meadhoney and obtain the Bank Pass legitimately.
2. 02
   Explore the teller area and inspect the owner list.
3. 03
   Enter the lower storage area.
4. 04
   Loot the eastern receiving office.
5. 05
   Search the upper offices for the pass, Private Stash Keys and code book if you have not already obtained them.
6. 06
   Complete the Minsc-related vault sequence.
7. 07
   Return for the ordinary safes and private vaults.
8. 08
   Use teleportation to reach safes behind the grates.
9. 09
   Visit the High Security Vaults with any keys collected in the city.
10. 10
    Leave the docks for last.

Stealth and infiltration route

1. 01
   Reach the roof using Fly, Misty Step or Dimension Door.
2. 02
   Enter the Head Clerk’s Office through the roof opening if your character is Tiny.
3. 03
   Take the Bank Pass and Private Stash Key.
4. 04
   Use the pipe route to access the Head Banker’s Office if you have a Tiny character.
5. 05
   Read Flintdigger’s Abridged Dwarven History.
6. 06
   Descend through the official checkpoint using the stolen pass.
7. 07
   Avoid the Marble Plates.
8. 08
   Use the code rather than brute-forcing the high-security door.
9. 09
   Return to the upper area before exploring the docks.

Loot-first route

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If you are primarily interested in rewards

1. 01
   Take the Bank Pass.
2. 02
   Loot the eastern receiving office.
3. 03
   Collect the Private Stash Keys.
4. 04
   Open the ordinary safes whose keys you already possess.
5. 05
   Visit the Counting House after obtaining keys from other Act Three locations.
6. 06
   Open the High Security Vaults.
7. 07
   Search the docks and cargo boats.
8. 08
   Only then complete the Minsc sequence if you want to delay the quest progression.

Is the Counting House only the main bank building?

No. Its documented area includes the main three-storey building, underground storage, ordinary safes, private vaults, high-security vaults and the south-western docks. The docks are a restricted extension of the location.

Can I enter without doing the quest?

Yes. The bank can be explored and infiltrated independently, although Aid the Underduke gives the location its main story purpose. You can obtain access through Meadhoney, steal a pass or use dialogue and stealth routes.

What is the Counting House vault code?

The high-security door code is 1-3-5-6. The clue is in Flintdigger’s Abridged Dwarven History in the Head Banker’s Office.

Do I need the code?

No. The door can also be bypassed by electrifying water in front of it, achieving a critical lockpicking success or trying the pressure plates until the correct sequence is found.

Does stealing from the safes make the whole bank hostile?

The documented behaviour is that lockpicking and looting the ordinary safes, Counting House vaults and high-security vaults does not trigger a general security response. Restricted-area trespassing, alarms and dock access are much more likely to cause trouble.

Can Flight bypass the safe grates?

No. The grates extend to the ceiling. Use Misty Step, Dimension Door, an Arrow of Transposition or another suitable teleportation effect instead.

Where does the Counting House lead in the Minsc quest?

After the Bhaalists attack, inspect the large smashed vault at the end of the high-security area. The sewer mud found there points towards the next stage of the investigation.

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This guide treats The Counting House as the Lower City location comprising the main bank, subaqual storage, vault complexes and docks. It separates neighbouring locations such as Flymm Cargo, Water Queen’s House, Old Garlow’s Place and the Lustrous Lass.

The available location source documents the numbered key owners and several fixed rewards, but its full expandable loot tables are not all reproduced in the accessible source extract. Consequently, this guide does not claim to provide a complete item-by-item inventory for every safe, Counting House Vault and High Security Vault. The named location, character, security and route directories above are based on the retrieved evidence, while minor unnamed customers, clerks and decorative background objects are not individually enumerated where the sources do not provide canonical names.

Sources

• Aid the Underduke - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• The Counting House - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• The Counting House - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• The Counting House - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki