SegmentNextNpcs
The Lands Between has no towns and almost no crowds. What it has instead is a few dozen people scattered across the map, each of whom does exactly one thing for you: sharpens a weapon, sells a spell, alters a cloak, opens a door, or asks for help and pays for it later. Knowing who does what saves hours, because the game never tells you that a giant troll in Liurnia is your other blacksmith or that a talking turtle sells the best support incantations.
This page groups the characters on our wiki by function rather than by location. Services first, since you will use the blacksmiths and spell teachers every session, then the two companions who walk the whole journey with you, then the people whose stories you can follow. Characters whose page is primarily a questline walkthrough live in the quests guide; the ones here are described by who they are and what they offer.
Blacksmiths, merchants and services
| Character | Where | What they do for you |
|---|---|---|
| Smithing Master Hewg | Roundtable Hold | Upgrades weapons, applies Ashes of War and affinities, copies Ashes with Lost Ashes of War |
| War Counselor Iji | Road north of Caria Manor, Liurnia | The second blacksmith; sells Somber Smithing Stones and the Carian Filigreed Crest, and has a questline tied to Ranni |
| Miriel, Pastor of Vows | Church of Vows, Liurnia | Teaches sorceries and incantations from every scroll and prayerbook you bring; the only teacher who accepts both |
| Sorcerer Rogier | Stormveil Castle, then the Roundtable Hold | Sells sorceries and Rogier's Rapier, and his investigation into the Black Knives ties into Fia's story |
| Pidia, Carian Servant | Caria Manor, reached from the Moonlight Altar side | Sells the Ripple Blade, Black Leather Shield, a cookbook and an Ash of War; connected to Seluvis |
| Boc the Seamster | A talking bush near Agheel Lake North, later the Roundtable Hold | Alters armor for free once you return his Sewing Needle from Coastal Cave |
| Master Lusat | Sellia Hideaway, Caelid | Grants Stars of Ruin during Sellen's questline; his armor set can be claimed later |
Two blacksmiths, two very different roles. Hewg handles everything at the Roundtable Hold and never moves; Iji can be reached earlier for players who skip the hold and is the one who sells Somber stones before you own the Bell Bearings. The Blacksmith page compares them and explains how Ranni's questline eventually ends Iji's story. For what the spell teachers sell and what unlocks it, see the spells guide, and for the roving Nomadic and Hermit merchants, Merchant Locations.
Companions
Melina appears at your third Site of Grace and offers an accord: accept it and you can level up and summon Torrent, refuse it and the game quietly denies you both until you relent. She takes you to the Roundtable Hold, comments on the churches of Marika, and ultimately asks to be the kindling that burns the Erdtree, a choice the Frenzied Flame path takes out of her hands. Our page covers what changes if you refuse her and whether the game can be finished without her.
Renna is the four-armed witch who appears at the Church of Elleh at night once you have Torrent and hands you the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes. She is Ranni under another name, and the page explains how to make her appear when she refuses to, and how the meeting leads to Ranni's Rise. Blaidd, the half-wolf, is the third companion figure: he waits in the Mistwood Ruins for a finger snap, fights beside you against Darriwil and Radahn, and follows Ranni's story to its bitter end across eight encounters that our page lists in order.
Characters with stories to follow
| Character | Where you meet them | Their story | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millicent | Church of the Plague, Caelid, after Gowry | A rot-afflicted warrior whose recovery runs through Caelid, the Altus Plateau, Windmill Village and the Haligtree | Rotten Winged Sword Insignia or Millicent's Prosthesis, depending on the final choice |
| Irina | Bridge of Sacrifice, Weeping Peninsula | A blind girl who asks you to carry a letter to her father at Castle Morne | Edgar's gratitude, and his sad epilogue |
| Edgar | Castle Morne | The castellan who will not abandon his post; the story ends with Edgar the Revenger | The Banished Knight's Halberd and Shabriri Grape at the Revenger's Shack |
| Kenneth Haight | A ruin north of the Third Church of Marika | A noble who wants his fort back, then a lord for Stormveil | Erdsteel Dagger, an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone once Nepheli takes the throne |
| D's Brother | Nokron, Eternal City | Wakes only when handed his brother's Twinned Armor, and finishes D's vendetta | The Inseparable Sword |
| Juno Hoslow | Shack of the Lofty, Mountaintops | The last Volcano Manor contract, a Knight of Blood with a petal whip | Hoslow's Petal Whip and full Hoslow set |
| Preceptor Seluvis | Seluvis's Rise, Three Sisters | Ranni's untrustworthy adviser, whose potion turns people into puppets | Puppets, the Magic Scorpion Charm, Carian Phalanx; a choice that can ruin Nepheli's quest |
The Seluvis potion is the single most consequential NPC choice in the game outside the endings. Give it to Nepheli Loux and her questline dies; give it to Gideon or drink it yourself and other consequences follow; refuse it and Seluvis grows impatient. Our Seluvis' Potion page lays out every outcome and the recommended choice. Millicent's story is the longest here and splits at the end into helping her or her sisters, with a different talisman for each, as the Millicent guide explains.
Where the rest of the cast lives
Characters whose page is really a questline are in the quests guide: Ranni, Fia, D, Sellen, Alexander, Yura, Patches, Varre, Roderika, Nepheli, Gostoc, Enia, Gurranq, Gowry, Rya, Tanith, Bernahl, Diallos, Latenna, Hyetta, Corhyn and Goldmask, Dung Eater and Jerren. Hostile visitors, the thirty-seven NPC invaders, are mapped in All NPC Invader Locations, and the two who attack inside the Roundtable Hold have their own pages: Ensha and Mad Tongue Alberich.
Elden Ring NPCs FAQ
Who are the friendly NPCs in Elden Ring?
The residents of the Roundtable Hold, the merchants, the two blacksmiths, Miriel at the Church of Vows, and the questline characters listed above. Almost everyone who speaks to you is friendly until a story turns them hostile.
Is it worth killing NPCs?
Rarely. Killing a merchant drops a Bell Bearing that moves their stock to the Twin Maiden Husks, so nothing is lost permanently, but killing a questline character ends their story and its rewards. Celestial Dew at the Church of Vows can undo hostility you caused by accident.
Where is the second blacksmith?
Iji sits beside the road that climbs toward Caria Manor in northwest Liurnia. He upgrades weapons like Hewg and sells Somber Smithing Stones.
Who teaches spells?
Sellen, Seluvis and Thops for sorceries; Brother Corhyn and Miriel for incantations. Miriel accepts both kinds of book, which makes the Church of Vows the safest place to hand in anything you find.