Should you side with The Zhentarim or Nine-Fingers Keene in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)?

Upon returning to the Guildhall at the very end of the Aid the Underduke quest in Act Three of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’re presented with a choice. A fight is about to break out, and you must pick a side: the Zhentarim or Nine-Fingers Keene and the Guild.

It isn’t immediately clear which one you should side with at this crucial moment, so we’re going to lay your options out on the table. Should you side with the Zhentarim or Nine-Fingers Keene in Baldur’s Gate 3? Let’s find out.

Siding with the Zhentarim

If you’re roleplaying an evil character in Baldur’s Gate 3, then you should definitely consider siding with the Zhentarim. They’re involved in a coup of the Guild, only wanting control for their own selfish reasons.

If you’ve sided with the Zhentarim, its leader, Roah Moonglow, claims you’ll have a “private army at your beck and call” when the time comes to fight the Absolute. This is useful during the conclusion of Baldur’s Gate 3, where you’ll be able to summon two assassin mercenaries during the final battle.

Siding with Nine-Fingers Keene and the Guild

Nine-Fingers Keene and the Guild are essentially Robin Hood-esque figures in BG3. Their actions aren’t completely justifiable, but they aren’t mustache-twirling villains like the Zhentarim, either. For good-aligned playthroughs, the choice should be clear.

In terms of rewards, Nine-Fingers Keene pledges the Guild’s support against the Absolute. Functionally, this is exactly the same as the Zhentarim reward, with two summonable warriors to aid in the fight.

However, there’s one big reward that gives Nine-Fingers Keene the edge here. Upon looting the Zhentarim corpses, Roah Moonglow will have a pouch with 10,000 gold inside. This starts the Return Rakath’s Gold quest. You can choose to return the gold to complete the quest, which has its own rewards, or you can simply keep the 10,000 for yourself. You’re under no obligation to return it, after all.

Should you side with The Zhentarim or Nine-Fingers Keene?

Now that you know what happens when you choose both sides, which one should you actually decide to fight alongside?

Ultimately, I’m going to suggest you side with Nine-Fingers Keene during the Aid the Underduke quest. Morally, it’s the more upstanding option, and given both sides will fight alongside you against the Absolute, there are no differences there. Siding with Nine-Fingers also nets you that 10,000 gold, which should always be considered.

There is a third option which I haven’t discussed yet: killing everyone. When push comes to shove, you can simply decide that no one is worthy of your support, instead choosing to murder both the Zhentarim and Nine-Fingers Keene/the Guild.

Besides the mountain of loot, there’s no benefit of doing this. You lose the support against the Absolute, although you do gain the moral high ground of destroying two large criminal groups, turning yourself into a Baldur’s Gate 3 vigilante.