From Nexus to Firelink Shrine to Majula, From Software’s dark fantasy worlds always have a getaway to hang out, resupply, and talk to the many guest NPCs gathered from adventures around the world. Access to the central area of the Elden Ring, known as the Round Table Holder, does not come immediately at the start of the game, although it is possible to speed up access if the player meets the appropriate conditions. Sometimes when you come across a place that’s lost its grace (the checkpoint is similar to a bonfire in the Souls game) and take a break, Melina will appear and offer some interesting guidance or commentary on Lands Between .
During the initial encounter, Melina was the source of Torrents, Horses, and the ability to level up. During my quest, I met up with Melina again at a location that lost grace from Stormveil up the hill, just before entering the “second” area, a submerged biome filled with shallow, deep water, semi-submersible buildings, giant lobsters, turtle warriors. , and more. It’s important to note that you can only walk into this area (and the area east of Limgrave, heralded as a wasteland with blood-red skies) without dealing with any bosses. Potentially, one could go to this checkpoint and initiate this meeting with Melina almost immediately after picking up Torrent, but it is impossible to say what the exact circumstances that led to the meeting were. During the event, Melina takes players to the Roundtable, a place where those tarnished by guiding grace converge. The Roundtable Organization can only be accessed by fast travel and exists outside of the world map.
While many player upgrade functions can be accessed at any lost grace checkpoint site, there are additional services for players to unlock and upgrade here, along with many NPCs. There are a lot of NPCs that usually exist here, but some other NPCs will appear after you meet them in the world. Roderika, the “soul adjuster” I met in a dilapidated shack who appeared after I met her, as well as the mysterious zombie hunter “D” that I met near the battle with the Bonebeckoner Mariner. In fact, D has some new information for me and marks my map with a red X where I can locate someone related to the Beast Clergy. I’ve never had to go test that, but I think it’s worth investigating.
The “collected” characters join an impressive list here in the Round Table Holder, which is a majesty, a sort of darker version of the aesthetically pleasing Arthurian roundtable. Blacksmith Hewg lies here, a prisoner, wielding a finely crafted weapon – this is where players can go to upgrade gear beyond the meager +3 offered at do-it caves -yourself in the underworld. Hewg looks and behaves quite similar to Andre of Souls, which is not unexpected. However, he has quite a few dialogue options beyond the normal “hey, I want to upgrade my sword” style for players to engage with.
Organizing the Round Table contains a curiosity that I never found function in during my expansion, The Two Maiden Husks. This rather sick duo asks players for “bell bearings” which I don’t know how to get – or what the rewards will be if they join. Two Maiden Husks is just one mystery in this mall, another lies beneath a balcony in a spacious gymnasium. Look, in any From Software game, when you jump into or step into a large arena full of blood stains, you know what to expect, even in an area that’s considered safe. Jumping off the balcony, I entered an extremely one-sided battle with Frenzy-Tongue, ostensibly some supervillain not too happy to see me. Using a giant scythe (Yes, I can tell he looks and acts like Gehrman in Bloodborne) and ice magic, this character shatters me in seconds. Obviously, I might have to look deeper into the Roundtable later in the experience.
Many other NPCs and blocked rooms exist in the keep list, but we will only highlight one more of them. Fia, the bed companion, embraces the player in a small bedroom. This bracelet gives the player a special consumable that boosts poise, and it looks like you can come back to collect more if you haven’t already.
Roundtable Hold, even in the early stages of the game I visited, comes alive with characters and gadgets. Extrapolating the hub from the beginning of the game, it’s pretty safe to say that this will be From Software’s biggest hub in terms of characters, interactions, and development.
