Elden Ring: Why you should not kill Pope Turtle Pastor Miriel

After killing Pastor Miriel, called the 'Pope Turtle,' an Elden Ring player expressed regret. They've now pleaded with other players not to follow suit. Elden Ring, like other FromSoftware games, is chock-full of bizarre and perplexing NPCs, each with its own backstory and role to play in your adventure. Pastor Miriel, sometimes known as 'Pope Turtle' on the internet, is perhaps the strangest of Elden Ring's NPCs. He's also quite nice and considerably more useful to players who are still alive.

Killing non-hostile NPCs is usually a bad idea, as any seasoned Souls player will tell you. It can not only lock you out of material, but it also means you'll have to live with the penalties for the remainder of your game. After killing Pastor Miriel, one Elden Ring player has learned this the hard way.

What happens if you kill Turtle Pope in Elden Ring?

When Reddit user VG Crimson went to the Church of Vows in Elden Ring, he planned to murder the gorgeous Turtle Pope. They were astonished to see Miriel's health meter was higher than expected, indicating that killing him would not be a simple feat. Instead, it was a torturous and horrific event from beginning to end.

Miriel urged the character to cease after being attacked. Turtle Pope requested the player to leave even after he was half-dead, pledging to pardon the attack. VG Crimson, on the other hand, persisted in his onslaught, eventually killing Miriel. Miriel let out a high-pitched, plaintive "sad scream" as she was killed, which chilled VG Crimson to the bone and filled them with guilt. Following the assassination of the NPC, they stated:

“I have to live with this on my soul now, don’t do this. There is nothing to gain, and you lose not only the convenience of him, but you lose a part of yourself too.”

Pastor Miriel's assassination does not provide the player with any interesting rewards. When he dies, all he leaves behind is some turtle neck meat (which may be found elsewhere) and his Bell Bearing. Players can still visit his shop in the Round Table Hold's Twin Maidens, but they won't be able to offer him prayer books to enlarge it. As a result, killing Miriel is not only heinous, but also futile.