When Jaheira’s companion quest takes you deep into the vaults of the Lower City Counting House to aid the head banker, Rakath Glitterbeard, you might find yourself wondering: is it worth giving the money back to Glitterbeard in Baldur’s Gate 3? Or should you keep it?
How to Start the Return Rakath’s Gold Quest
If you’re following Jaheira’s The High Harper questline, you’ll eventually come to the Counting House in Act 3’s southern Lower City and get embroiled in an entrapment attempt upon the Stone Lord concocted by the Guild and the head banker, Rakath Glitterbeard. Naturally things go awry, and the Stone Lord runs off with the Counting House vault’s gold. A lot of it. Like, 10,000 of it.
Despite how intense the Counting House security looks from the outside, it’s honestly not very secure at all. And it’s likely no surprise that an entire city’s worth of gold was stolen by some angsty, murder-obsessed cultists and one ranger. But Glitterbeard is understandably distressed, and he’ll plead for you to find and return the money, starting a new side quest called Return Rakath’s Gold.
Where is Glitterbeard’s Gold?
Glitterbeard’s gold is handed off by the Stone Lord, Minsc, to a Zhentarim trader, Roah Moonglow (or Friol if Roah is dead). You’ll walk in on this exchange when you chase after Minsc to the Abandoned Cistern in the western City Sewers. You’ll have to solve a puzzle involving a sluice gate to get here, but once you do, you’ll witness the hand-off in a cutscene and immediately engage in battle.
At the start of the battle, Roah/Friol will attempt to flee toward the back of the room, but you’ll have a few turns before they leave the room. You’ll likely want to focus on Minsc during this battle so you can recruit him to your party, but if you do manage to take down Roah/Friol here before they escape, you can loot Glitterbeard’s gold off of their body.
If Roah/Friol escape (the likely scenario), they’ll make their way to the Guildhall. When approached at the Guildhall, Roah/Friol will propose an alliance to help the Zhentarim take down the Guild and take their place. Side with the Guild to enter a large fight between the two factions, and you can then loot Glitterbeard’s gold off of Roah/Friol’s body upon their defeat.
We honestly don’t know if you can collect Glitterbeard’s gold if you decide to side with the Zhentarim, but we’d wager a guess that you can probably pickpocket the pouch of money off Roah/Friol if you’re careful.
Baldur’s Gate 3: Should You Keep or Return the Counting House Money – Answered
If you manage to get Glitterbeard’s money back from Minsc and his Absolute-loving company, you might be tempted to keep the gold for yourself. But should you?
The answer, surprisingly, is yes. You should keep Glitterbeard’s gold for yourself.
The grand total of gold in the pouch is 10,000. That’s a whole city’s worth of gold. And nobody’s going to come after you for it, asking for it back—thieves’ honor.
What Happens if You Return the Money to Glitterbeard?
If you give the gold back to Glitterbeard the dwarf (who’s still pacing around the vaults) in full, he’ll give you 2,635 gold for your trouble. Along with the Number Nine Vault Key.
But here’s the thing. Vault 9 can easily be lockpicked by Astarion, though it does require a Lockpick roll of 30 or better. And if you don’t feel like lockpicking, you can pickpocket the vault nine key off Glitterbeard at any time. For your trouble, you’ll get the Elegant Studded Leather.
What Happens if You Persuade Glitterbeard to Cover Half of the Missing Money?
Glitterbeard will scoff, forcing you to pass a high persuasion or intimidation check. But if you pass that, you’ll get to keep 5,000 of the 10,000 gold you found. Glitterbeard will then give you 2,635 and the key to the vault. There are no significant repercussions.
So, as you can see, you’re still losing out. That makes keeping all 10,000 gold a much better idea.
What Happens if You Keep the 10,000 Gold?
Well… you get to keep the gold! All 10,000 of it. That’s pretty nice!
Should You Return Glitterbeard’s Gold, Summarized
In short, here are all your options and their outcomes when handling Glitterbeard’s Gold:
- Keep Glitterbeard’s gold for a grand total of 10,000 gold to do with how you please.
- Return Glitterbeard’s gold for 2,635 gold and the No.9 Vault Key, which will get you an Elegant Studded Leather armor.
- Convince Glitterbeard to cover half of the gold, then return it for 5,000 gold + 2,635 gold and the No.9 Vault Key.
Glitterbeard’s gold isn’t the only valuable item in BG3’s Lower City: while you’re penetrating vaults and gathering fantastic items, don’t forget to visit Sorcerous Sundries! This store has it all, but more importantly it has a secret vault that requires a little exploring and poking around to get into.
