Underneath my yellow skin

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Elden Ring, NPC questlines, part five

Apparently, this is my current obsession. NPC questlines in Elden Ring, I mean. It’s in part because I’m rewatching the first series of the boys playing Elden Ring and all the accempanying Roundtable Holds. They talk quite a bit about the NPCs in the game, and Rory and Gav are quite invested in the stories.It helps to have a Krupa painstakingly explaining things and piecing things together for them. Here was the last post, which was part four.

I have never had the same favorites in any of the From games whom everyone else loves. In the OG Dark Souls, it was Solaire and the Onion Knight (Siegmeyer). I will never say this in any From forum, but Soliare is not in my top five in the game, let alone the series. In an episode of Krupa’s plat (for the original I think?), he asked me which NPC was my favorite because I said something casually about my favorite, and why was it Solaire?

It’s not. It’s Laurentius of the Great Swamp, and it’s because he’s my pyro teacher. I do really like Siegmeyer (Onion Knight), but I like his daughter, Sieglinde, even better. I would put Quelana before Solaire as well. Also a pyro teacher.

And, of course, Patches. He is always in my top five in every game he’s in. Weirdly, his replacement in two, Pate, is not on my list. I always side with Creighton in that battle.

Since we’re on the sceond game, let me rattle off a few of my faves in that game. Lucatiel, of course. She’s the best–the absolute best. Um. Ah. I had to Google. It’s been some time since I played this game. But also, the NPCs aren’t as interesting for the most part. I like Straid of Olaphis quite a bit–and, yes, he’s another pyro teacher. Not just pyros, though. Also hexes and boss soul items. Ornifex is pretty cool, too. She does more important boss soul items. Manscorpion Tark and the Head of Vengarl are pretty cool, too, but not to the level of ‘they’re the best!’. I like the second game better than most people do, but I will admit that the NPC questlines are lacking.

Dark Souls III. My favorite game before Elden Ring. Now tied. My recent returrn to Lothric was incredible and reminded me of how much I loved the game. I found ways to cheese that I had not known before. Dorhy’s Gnawing is so damn good. It’s like Swarm of Flies from Elden Ring.

In the third game, Yuria is BAE. Then there’s Sirris and Karla. Karla can teach pyros, just to keep that consistent. The fact that I love pyro teachers, I mean. Anri is the best as well, and his/her questline and Yuria’s are entwined.

It’s funny because there are a few NPCs who turn into bosses in this game. And there are a few in Elden Ring as well. Oh. I forgot Bloodborne–my secnd-least favorite From game.

Eileen the Crow. The end. She is by far the best NPC of the game. Like, can I even think of any other? And, yes, you can fight her as an enemy/boss at some point if you go down a certain path. Her armor is awesome and her weapon is great if you’re a dex character. She is the hunter of hunters, and she’s just the best. She is a black British woman in real life, which I appreciate as well. Look. Diversity matters, even if you can’t see the person. And her voice is just lovely.


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Elden Ring NPC questlines, part four

Well, I stil have more to say about Elden Ring NPC questlines, apparently. Here was part three and this is, by logical deduction, part four. It’s mind-blowing to think of how many NPCs and characters are in this game. It’s also fun to watch Gav and Rory of RKG react to the people they meet/hear of. Gav is Welsh, so he is happy as a clam that there are so many Welsh voice actors in this game. They have an official Welsh counter, too.

Gav was so excited when they hit the bit with Ranni and her three advisors. They called it becoming a part of the Welsh Avengers. Gav was trying so hard to find a way to make Seluvis acceptable (when they first met), but even he had to admit that Seluvis was a dickhead when Seluvis’s underground chamber was revealed. To be clear, Seluvis is a Grade A jerk. There is no redeeming quality to him, and I’m interested to see if Krupa can glean a rationale for Ranni having him as an advisor.

Have they met all the NPCs yet? No. There are several I can think of that they have yet to meet. They have talked in RTH about how many NPCs they’ve met so far. Krupa has pointed out that within ten or so episodes, they had probably met more NPCs than in any other game.

Gav said that he liked it because it gave them something focused to do for a litlle bit. It’s funny who they get attached to. Rory really liked Edgar and thought he was going to be a big part of the game. His quest is very short and self-contained.

Then there’s Kenneth Haight. Most of his questline is done within a few scenes, but there is a late-game addendum to his questline–as long as you do Nepheli Loux’s questline as well. I totally missed it on my first playthrough because I messed up a step of Nepheli Loux’s questline. I’m sure Krupa will guide them through it so they will get the triumphant ending for Nepheli Loux. I will admit I was surprised that they didn’t even think twice before doing what Seluvis wants you to do–which is give Nepheli Loux a potion.

It’s one of a very few things I have refused to do in the game because it’s so against my principles. I know she’s not real, but I just cannot. I did give it to Dung Eater twice, but even then, it made me feel not great.

And, yes, I know that he is not real, either, but it is simply not something I feel comfortable with. At all. I have a hard enough time buying the puppets that Seluvis puts on offer.


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Elden Ring questlines, part three

I’m going to write more about the NPC questlines in Elden Ring because I can. Here is part two. One thing I have to say is that I’m rewatching Retry Elden Ring and am on Ep. 19 (out of 30. That’s how long series one is). The lads do an accompanying show called Roundtable Hold in which they shoot the shit about the last two episodes. It’s a half hour to an hour, and a lot of it is dissecting what has happened, but there is plenty of Gav and Rory speculating about what will happen as well. I mentioned in the last post about how they hit the nail on the head often, and one case is Jarburg. Or as Rory keeps calling it, “JARBUG.” Never change, Rory.

Background info: I Jars are characters in this game. Or rather, pots. Jars, too, but that’s something different. Anyway, there’s a pot, Iron Fist Alexander, who is a notable NPC. Rory and Gav immediately fell for him (as most players do), and Rory was so worried that he would have to fight “Alex” as they call him in the Festival of Champions. He thought it was like running the gauntlet before getting to Radahn.

It’s not. It’s all the champions fighting Radahn at the same time. Except Patches, because he peaces out and returns to his world. Which is fucking hilarious. And so on brand for him. Well, kinda. What I mean is that he will continuously fuck you over. It’s one constant in all the games*

I love his questline in Elden Ring so much. At least until the very end where they bring him back to life. I mean, I know you have to because he can’t permanently die, but it robs his death of some poignancy. But still. You find out more about Patches than you’ve ever known before. In this game, he loves and shows his tender side. Which makes him more endearing to me. But I’ve always been #TeamLetPatchesLiveHisBestLife, and I will defend him to the death.

I do wonder why he doesn’t like clerics, and I hope that gets explored more in the future. Honestly. i would play a whole game on Patches’ origins. In one episode after being fooled by Patches (can’t remember which series), Rory shouts out in exasperation, “What happened to you Patches that made you this way?!” which is what I want to know, but sincerely.

It’s hilarious to watch Rory get pissed off at Patches and how quickly he realizes it’s Patches who screwed him over. It’s so ingrained in him that when he gets locked into a room in Stormveil Castle, he automatically assumes it’s Patches (it’s not).

When he first met Patches in Elden Ring, Patches is a boss in a cave. Rory was intent on killing him, which, of course, you can do. FromSoft will let you kill almost anyone in their games. Except in areas that are combat-free like the Roundtable Hold. I think thats’ the only place that is like that, actually. I can’t think of another off the top of my head.


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