The Counting House

The Counting House and its docks on the map.

The Counting House is a heavily guarded banking and storage facility located in the Lower City of Baldur's Gate in Act Three. It is found along the southern coast of the Lower City, between Flymm Cargo and Old Garlow's Place, and encompasses the counting house, it's underground storage facilities, and the docks to the south-west.

Overview

Obtaining a Bank Pass

To enter further into the bank, you must show a Bank Pass to Cashguard Captain Faril. The Bank Pass will get you access to the lower levels of the bank, including the safes and vaults.

You can purchase the pass from Head Clerk Meadhoney for a large sum of gold. Alternatively, if you succeed in a  Detect Thoughts or Insight check during the dialogue, you can persuade him into giving you a "temporary" pass which is, in fact, just a normal pass. Or you can steal the pass from the Head Clerk's office upstairs, on a cabinet at X: -102 Y: -180. If progressing through the Aid the Underduke quest, you can also make a Persuasion, Intimidation, or Deception check to convince Meadhoney to give you the pass.

The Counting House - Vaults

The Counting House Safes are found immediately after proceeding down the stairs and through the Vault Door at X: -91 Y: -158. Each safe is tucked behind an ornate iron door that cannot be interacted with; bypassing each requires teleportation like  Misty Step, Arrow of Transposition, or intangibility effects like  Gaseous Form. Keep in mind that locks cannot be picked while in Gaseous Form. These safes each have a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check lock. The keys for these safes follow the naming convention "Counting House Safe n°X Key".

Through the door directly opposite the safes, on the left-hand side from the entry corridor, are the Counting House Vaults. Sigil circles protect each vault, teleporting trespassers back to the entryway should they walk, fly, or jump over them. These circles can be bypassed with effects like Misty Step, careful jumping around their edges, or by disabling them by pressing the button located at X: -963 Y: 797. These vaults each have a DC 25 Sleight of Hand check lock. The keys for these vaults follow the naming convention "Counting House Vault n°X Key".

The Counting House - High Security Vaults

At the deepest part of the Counting House, beyond a vault door requiring a DC 99 Sleight of Hand check, are the High Security Vaults. This "impossible" lock can be bypassed in numerous ways:

• Entering the passcode to open the door by walking over four of the nine pressure plates in a correct order. Reading Flintdigger's Abridged Dwarven History (in the Head Banker's office on the top floor, at X: -93 Y: -181) hints at the password being 1-3-5-6.
  • Unlimited attempts are allowed, so it's possible to brute force the passcode until all four symbols are entered in the correct order.
• As hinted in Cleaning Staff Note at X: -947 Y: 789 and Counting House Vault Rules in the stack of scrolls at X: -958 Y: 772, by creating an electrified surface and short-circuiting the lock.
• Brute forcing Thieves' Tools on the door until a critical success is rolled.

Venturing into the High Security Vaults for the first time will trigger a battle between Bhaal Cultists and Counting House workers, with the cultists always hostile. The Reaper of Bhaal enemies start the fight invisible which, as a quirk, means they will occasionally not join the fight and be discovered when passing by them later on with  See Invisibility, or not at all. Winning the fight and speaking to head banker Rakath Glitterbeard will initiate the quest Return Rakath's Gold.

These high security vaults each have a DC 30 Sleight of Hand check lock that has  Enchanted Security which prevents Knock spells from opening it. The keys for these vaults follow the naming convention "High Security Vault n°X Key". Lockpicking and looting these vaults will not trigger any security response.

Counting House docks

Docks line the southwestern perimeter of the Counting House. They can be reached through the door at X: -114 Y: -193 connecting to the antechamber descending into the vaults, or from the southern end of Flymm Cargo and the eastern end of Water Queen's House. Being spotted by any of the dock patrols, which include two Steel Watchers, will at best result in ejection, and at worst a fight.

Cargo boats and locked treasure chests are strewn about the docks. Each chest requires either a DC 10 or 15 Sleight of Hand check to unlock. Though none of chests contain unique loot, claiming them all will garner a windfall of valuables, scrolls, potions, and raw gold. Two Smokepowder Barrels and an excellent vista of the city's port can be reached by climbing to the top of the locked tower at X: -161 Y: -219. Travelling west from there leads to the Lustrous Lass, a ship steeped in disease and carrying a deadly Cursed Imp stowaway.

Notable characters

• The Stone Lord
• Rakath Glitterbeard
• 'Jaheira'

Counting House staff

• Head Clerk Meadhoney
• Cashguard Captain Faril
• Twelve Cashguard Artillerists
• Nine Cashguard Bashers

Cultists of Bhaal

• Two Death's Head of Bhaal
• One Invoker of Bhaal
• Four Reapers of Bhaal

Related quests

• Aid the Underduke
• The High Harper
• Return Rakath's Gold

Notable loot

Loot not found in a vault:

• Amulet of Restoration - In a chest titled 'Private Stash' X: -85 Y: -185 in the eastern room down the very first flight of stairs.
• 2x Smokepowder Barrel - At the top of the locked tower at the Counting House docks X: -161 Y: -219.

Safes

Safe No.	Key and its location	Loot
1	Counting House Safe n°1 Key - Found in an Opulent Chest X: -1308 Y: 1020 in the Szarr Palace, in the room left of the main ballroom. A button in the room to the right needs to be pressed, which will open the left door and close the right door	Ruby Bronze Goblet  108 gp
2	Counting House Safe n°2 Key - Sold by Skittle at Heapside Prison in the Basilisk Gate Barracks in the Lower City. Since the key costs nothing, it must be gained through Trade instead of Barter[Needs Verification]	Greataxe +2 Shortsword +2 Triumphal Helm
3	Counting House Safe n°3 Key - Found in a DC10 locked Heavy Chest X: 1459 Y: 841 in Bonecloak's Basement underneath Bonecloak's Apothecary in the Lower City	Pouch containing: 2x Alchemy ingredients 2x Elixirs Around  100 gp Potion of Universal Resistance Elixir of Battlemage's Power Superior Elixir of Arcane Cultivation
4	Counting House Safe n°4 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Head Clerk Meadhoney in The Counting House main lobby	None
5	Counting House Safe n°5 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Harvard Willoughby at the Elfsong Tavern in the Lower City	467 gp
6	Counting House Safe n°6 Key - Found in a Backpack X: 978 Y: 1203 in a hidden base through a DC15 locked Hatch X: 61 Y: -123 by the eastern docks in the Lower City	Backpack containing: Rope Mug 1-2 Potion of Healing 2x Elixirs Around  13 gp Another backpack containing: 1 Potion 1-2 Coatings Disguise Kit Thieves' Tools Around  22 gp
7	Counting House Safe n°7 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Oliver Tefoco at Beehive General Goods in the Lower City	Angelic Scion Outfit Celestial Sandals Black Flare Leather Outfit Solemnity Outfit in Green Wizard Hat Raffish Garb
8	Counting House Safe n°8 Key - Found in a mailbox X: 65 Y: -95 above the entrance to the Guildhall in the Lower City	4x Gold Ingot 2x Silver Ingot  560 gp

Vaults

Vault No.	Key and its location	Loot
1	Counting House Vault n°1 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Captain Grisly in The Blushing Mermaid in the Lower City	Opulent chest containing: Diamond Onyx  107 gp  250 gp  580 gp
2	Counting House Vault n°2 Key - Unknown location	Traveler's chest containing: Scroll of Expeditious Retreat Scroll of Speak with Dead Scroll of Web Scroll of Sleep Scroll of Feather Fall Scroll of Mage Armour Scroll of Protection from Evil and Good  114 gp Scroll of Disintegrate Scroll of Otto's Irresistible Dance
3	Counting House Vault n°3 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Alan Alyth, the barkeeper of Elfsong Tavern in the Lower City	Wine rack containing: File:Balor Ale Unfaded Icon.pngBalor Ale 2x Gulthmeran Reserve Arabellan Dry Wooden crate containing: 2x Highsun Liqueur Marsember Ice Wine Barrel-Aged Callidyrran
4	Counting House Vault n°4 Key - Unknown location	Beach at Dusk Struck Match Full Body Depiction of a Tiefling  495 gp
5	Counting House Vault n°5 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Avery Sonshal in Felogyr's Fireworks in the Lower City	Pouch containing: Jacinth Silver Band Agate  55 gp Scroll of Revivify  1220 gp
6	Counting House Vault n°6 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Omotola at The Glitter Gala in the Lower City	Gilded chest containing: Diamond Sapphire Ruby Plate Fork 2x Gold Ingot 2x Silver Ingot 202 Gold Silver Tray Bronze Goblet Silver Goblet Polished Necklace Silver Glass

High security vaults

Vault No.	Key and its location	Loot
1	High Security Vault n°1 Key - Found in a Display Case X: 4972 Y: 704 in Ramazith's Tower (accessed via a portal in Sorcerous Sundries in the Lower City), underneath the invisible barrier. Unlike the other keys, this one is labeled as simply "Heavy Iron Key" and the vault number is written within the item's tooltip	Nymph Cloak Spell Savant Amulet  251 gp
2	High Security Vault n°2 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Lady Jannath in Lady Jannath's Estate in the Lower City	Jannath's Hat Perfumed Days, Passionate Nights Gold Pendant Gold Necklace Verdelite Ring Gold Ring  512 gp
3	High Security Vault n°3 Key - Found in Cazador's Sarcophagus X: -1926 Y: 947 in Cazador's Dungeon underneath the Szarr Palace in the Lower City	The Long Arm of the Gur Gold Pendant Gold Necklace Verdelite Ring Gold Ring Peridot Ring Silver Amulet  551 gp
4	High Security Vault n°4 Key - Found in an Opulent Chest X: -246 Y: -249 on the second floor of the Water Queen's House in the Lower City	Trident of the Waves 4x Pearl Necklace  234 gp
5	High Security Vault n°5 Key - Found in a Safe X: -34 Y: 203 hidden behind a painting on the top floor of Wyrm's Rock Fortress in Wyrm's Crossing	Ravengard's Scourger A Father's Diary  517 gp
6	High Security Vault n°6 Key - Found in an Opulent Chest X: -48 Y: 98 in the northwestern section of the Iron Throne	Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen The Astral Prism Heist To Take Control Shield Steward Interrogation Log 2x Gold Ingot Silver Ingot  112 gp
7	High Security Vault n°7 Key - Can be looted or pickpocketed from Nine-Fingers Keene in the Guildhall in the Lower City Sewers	Heavy chest containing: 4x Toy Block Stuffed Bear Practice Sword Training Shield Ball Knock Knuckle Gloves  528 gp
8	High Security Vault n°8 Key - Found in a Jewellery Box X: -398 Y: -1591 in the Cloister of Sombre Embrace underneath the House of Grief in the Lower City	The Patriar Blackmail Files Skeletons in Patriar Closets Silver Necklace Ruby Ring Peridot Ring Polished Ring Black Diamond Ruby Pearl  261-268 gp
9	High Security Vault n°9 Key - Reward for completing Return Rakath's Gold or can be looted or pickpocketed from Rakath Glitterbeard in The Counting House	Elegant Studded Leather

Gallery

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  Interior of The Counting House.

External links

• Counting House on the Forgotten Realms Wiki