I accidentally killed my favorite NPC in Elden Ringand my life as I know it is over. This way you can avoid making the same mistake.
(Ed. remark: This article contains spoilers for Moore’s storyline Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.)
Early in Shadow of the ErdtreeIf you drive to the Old Dungeon of Belurat, you will encounter two NPCs at the Main Gate Cross. One of these is Ansbach, a retired ancient warrior. And the other is Moore, a rotund and mild-mannered merchant knight, who will sell you useful consumables, as well as a note on unlocking sealed spirit springs.
Who is Moore in Shadow of the Erdtree?
Moore is cute, squatting over his little pot, and hesitantly telling you that he likes to find things for the rest of Miquella’s followers. I fell in love with him immediately. We have so much in common: I also love things, and finding things. And he’s so cute and round. Wow, a beacon of light and hope in the darkness of the Shadow Realm!
You can ask Ansbach what Moore’s deal is, and he will warn you that Moore has been working with the foraging brood, and he doesn’t want to harm the brood if you encounter them.
What this dialogue doesn’t tell you, but I will, is that the foraging brood are the Kindred of Rot, centipede-like creatures you may recognize from the base. Elden Ring game like really annoying enemies that shoot strings at you.
You see where this is going.
Why is Moore fighting you?
It was late at night. I was tired, on autopilot, and I saw some kind of Rot lying on the ground outside the Church of the Crusade, and I thought: What is that! and struck him with my sword. The poor man died, and immediately I was invaded by Moore. He told me to stop hurting breeding birds. Before I knew it, we were dueling to the death.
Moore is a muscular but honestly quite tame foe. He throws large pots that cause scarlet rot, but they are easy to avoid. He also crouches behind his shield and charges at you. He has a lot of health, but, well, I do a lot of damage. I traveled back to the Main Gate Cross after killing him, hoping it was all just a bad dream, and found his bell where it used to sit.
I’m devastated!
Based on a quick survey of my colleagues who are also playing the DLC, we’re not sure if killing this particular Kindred is the only trigger to make Moore hostile. I heard from some colleagues that they killed the Kindred and didn’t invade – so it’s possible that triggering Moore’s invasion is more complex than destroying one bug. Time will tell.
Why you shouldn’t kill the Kindred of Rot
But there’s no point in killing the Kindred of Rot anyway! If you see one in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, know that they are apparently friendly and you can talk to them and they will give you bred items. If you heal the Kindred at the Church of the Crusade, you’ll even get a Forager Brood cookbook that isn’t available anywhere else in the game.
More importantly, you don’t have to kill sweet, round baby boy Moore and get his really good American armor. (But at what cost?!?!?!)
What if I’m sick and I want to kill Moore?
If you are indeed a sick bastard and want Moore dead for some reason, make sure you do so after meeting Thiollier at the Pillar Path Cross Grace. If you talk to Moore after meeting Thiollier, you will be given the opportunity to get Black Syrup from Moore. Giving this to Thiollier will unlock Thiollier’s Concoction, a critical and powerful poison that you can use later in the game.
After this, I think you’re free to kill Moore if you want. But please, let my son live!