Of all the recruitable companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, the final character you can find during Jaheira’s High Harper quest is Minsc. He is a fun character with high strength and dexterity. He also has a hamster, which he claims to have a Giant Space hamster version in it.
You can recruit Minsc when you complete the quest of Jaheira, The High Harper, in BG3. This will be available in Act 3, but before you go and find this quest in Act 3, you will need to find Jaheira.
She is an old friend of Minsc and an integral part of finding him. You cannot start the quest and complete it without her. She will be available in Act 2, and you will need to complete her companion quest, make her recruitable, and keep her alive to have The High Harper quest available.
The High Harper companion quest will start when you talk to Jaheira. As she is a harper herself, she will tell about the extensive network of Harpers. She is hopeful that they might know about her long-lost friend, Minsc. A group of the harpers will be waiting for her in the Danthelon’s Dancing Axe’s basement. This will be in Wrym’s Crossing.
How to complete The High Harper in BG3
When you arrive in the basement and converse with the Harpers, you will be ambushed by the Doppelgangers. They will kill off all the Harpers, leaving only one called Geraldus. You will then need to talk to Geraldus. He can’t tell you about Minsc, and you must go.
Now, talk to Jaheira, and she will tell you that we need to go and speak to the Nine-Fingers. They are the undercover guild that knows much about the happenings in the city. They might also know where Minsc is in BG3, the High Harper.
Locate the Nine-Fingers Hideout
Now, you will need to go and speak to the Nine-Fingers Keene. She is the criminal Guild leader, and she is located in the Guildhall office. You can use BG3’s first fast-travel to the Heapside Strand, Baldur’s Gate to find her.
Moving along the eastern path would be best until you find a Half-Orc. The circle shows his location. Talk to him and persuade him to let you in. When successful, you can move in. Here, make your way to the Guildhall bar and enter the Guildhall – Nine Fingers Office.
You can also reach her by first traveling to the Basilisk gate and down the lower city sewers. The location of the manhole is indicated by the arrow in the image above. In the sewers, break open the weak wall and make your way to the locked door atop some stairs. Open it using Sleight of Hand, and you will arrive at the Guildhall bar.
Talk to Night-Finger Keene
When you interact with Jaheira during the High Harper quest in Baldur’s Gate 3, she will tell you that Minsc has a new name called Stone lord. He has joined the Absolute and is killing her people. She has gathered intel on where Minsc will attack next and does not call off the ambush either. Finally, she tells you to rest and stay out of it, or you will die.
Talk to the people about the ambush on Stone lord
She does not tell you where the ambush will occur during the conversation. Jaheira tells you we should talk to the locals to find out where the ambush occurred. To find out the location of Minsc, you will need to move out of the office and up a raised platform where two drunk Halflings will be talking to one another.
One of the two will tell about the ambush, and the other will stop him. Jaheira will stop the other by saying that he is drunk, too. You must run a persuasion check and convince him to explain further. He will tell you that the ambush will be in the Counting House in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Head into the Vault of the Counting House
To move further in the High Harper quest in Baldur’s Gate 3, you must travel to the Counting House indicated by the circle. You must talk to the Head Clerk Meadhoney and tell him about Minsc. Jaheira will speak to him, and in the end, you will need to run a persuasion, intimidation, or deception check to let him give you the pass.
You can show the guard near you this pass, and she will let you go. Move into the vault corridor and take the right path. Inside, take the arch path and show your pass to the cashguard. Now, move through and open the vault. Open the double doors in the back of the desk, and inside, you will find a hall with buttons on the ground.
Solve the Counting House Vault’s puzzle
To solve the counting house vault puzzle, You can use the Water + Lightening spell to break the lock and open the vault door in Baldur’s Gate 3. Alternatively, you can pick the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th buttons in numpad order to open the door. For this, you have to choose only one character.
You will also find four bulbs on top of the door, telling you which button you chose is correct. It will light up blue when you are correct.
Fight the ambush and save the manager
Now, in the next step of BG3, the High Harper quest, move through the passageway. You will land on the stairs of a big hall, and in front of you on the ground will be the manager who will be talking to the man the cashier mentioned.
During the conversation, the chest behind them will start to move. It will then have teeth on it; Minsc will come out of the chest. He will talk to the manager about his lies. During this conversation, a Doppelganger of Jaheira will show up and tell Minsc to leave the place. You must fight the Absolute’s ambush in Baldur’s Gate 3 and finish them here.
Talk to the manager and find clues about Minsc’s whereabouts
After the fight, talk to the manager. He says Stone Lord has taken a lot of gold from the vault. You will need to recover it and be handsomely rewarded for your efforts. Now, you will need to find where Minsc has gone. You can find a clue by entering the vault, where you will find footprints and the sewer smell.
Move towards and through the sewers
Now, you will need to go to the sewers. You will fast-travel to the point indicated by the straight arrow. Make your way along the stream and towards a set of double doors. Through the doors, move along until you find two bellows functioning and a locked door.
The circle indicates them. There will be two wheels that will alter the water and the temperature of the water. You must reach the perfect level and temperature to open the door during the Jaheira High Harper quest in BG3.
Complete the water puzzle
This can be done by interacting with the water level valve and hovering your cursor to see the stats; you will find a Low Water Level and Water Level Rising. When it reaches the perfect water level, interact with the valve again.
Now, interact with the temperature valve. The temperature will rise, and when it is perfect, the door will open. You can close the valve or move away to let it explode because both will not shut off the door.
Defeat Minsc and his lackeys
Move along the path, and you will find Minsc and the Doppelganger in BG3 talking to a third person in the High Harper. They will be in the location marked by the curved arrow. Minsc will notice you during the conversation, and the fight will start.
During the fight, deal as many attacks as you like, but make sure that the final attack is non-lethal because if Minsc dies, Jaheira will be very upset.
Choose the correct dialogue options to save Minsc
After the fight, Minsc will be down, and Jaheira will urge you to tell your illithid to remove the influence of the elder brain. Here, you will have to choose the following dialogue choice.
- “Try to Protect him. I Must Defy my urge.”
- “He’s Jaheira’s friend. Do it.”
- “I don’t think you want to find out,” or “It doesn’t matter—help him.”
After choosing these responses, he will stand up and be confused seeing Jaheira. After that, he will ask why you helped him.
Follow him to find Boo and end the quest
Finally, he will tell you he is happy to help, but when he checks on his hamster, Boo, he will start looking for him. By breaking walls, and when he finds him, he will tell you about Boo and that it has a Giant space hamster in it. This is where the Jaheira quest, The High Harper, ends in Baldur’s Gate 3. You can now recruit Minsc by going to the camp.
