10 Video Game NPCs You Should NEVER Kill

8. Faendal - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

skyrim faendal
Bethesda

Skyrim, like many games, marks a lot of key characters as "essential". This mostly means that mainline quest figures are indestructible. However, it doesn't mean that regular townsfolk who held questlines couldn't be killed. One of the first memorable NPCs players interact with in Skyrim is Faendal, a wood elf with a code of honour.

Faendal has a plethora of worthwhile interactions beginning with a quest about his love triangle with Sven and Camilla. He can become a follower for the Dragonborn and, in the Hearthfire DLC, a steward at one of their homes. He can even join the Blades. On top of this, he's able to train the player in archery.

Also, if the player likes taking advantage of the system, since he's a follower he'll be more than happy to trade with you. So you can pay for archery lessons and then just take your money back and poor Faendel will just stand there, shut up and like it.

So not only is Faendel worth keeping around for the exploits, he's also a really good character on a roleplaying level. A man of morals and devoted to his love interest Camilla, he can be randomly found visiting her wherever the player may be in the world. It's a real testament to the Skyrim's world which you can ruin by casually killing Faendel off without a second thought. Fiendish.

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Coming from a content creation background that now spans over two decades, Psy cut her teeth on personal video production and community radio. Originally joining the team as a writer and presenter, she added video editing duties to her responsibilities over time and became the longest-standing editor of the irreverent gaming show Tues Your Own Adventure. Psy has worked on many previews and reviews, long-form editorials (either her own, or supporting as an editor), as a frequent quizmaster and more. Praised for the two-pronged attack of her hard work ethic and light-hearted editing style, Psy is otherwise known as a font of retro video game knowledge which has caused her to rack up many quiz wins. Outside of WhatCulture, Psy runs First Aid Spray Podcast - a long-running channel that focuses on Resident Evil in all of it's forms. You can follow her on BlueSky at http://psywhite.bsky.social and Instagram at http://instagram.com/therealpsywhite