The characters of Dark Souls games are often a core part of the experience. They are secondary to the gameplay, but often give some much needed context to the world that might otherwise be missed. They're typically an eclectic bunch, filled with all manner of idealists, cynics, and outright criminals. What's especially interesting is how interactions with them can unfold, as repeatedly talking to some can trigger quest lines that span large stretches of the game and potentially lead to multiple deaths. Even back in Demon's Souls, there is no telling what will happen when the player stumbles across a new NPC.
Elden Ring is certainly no stranger to this. While the cast is spread out wider than ever in Elden Ring's huge world, characters will still behave similarly, traveling vast distances once their dialogue is exhausted. One major difference is that Elden Ring takes writing inspiration from Sekiro, as its dialogue is peppered with more exposition to ensure that the player is keeping up. The community is still unwrapping the various game-spanning quests, but as of patch 1.03, it turns out that there are a couple more that were previously impossible to complete. These quests have been finished, and to play off one of them, a new NPC named Jar-Bairn has been introduced.
Discussing Jar-Bairn will involve bringing up Elden Ring quest spoilers.
Characters Related to Jar-Bairn's Quest
Jar-Bairn is meant to fill in a couple of holes in the game, as his quest can only reach its conclusion if two other quests are finished first. The first of these quests concerns Iron Fist Alexander, the warrior jar, who serves as the Siegmeyer of Elden Ring. Warrior jars are golems animated by the corpses and souls of warriors, though not all of them are antagonistic. After either rescuing him or encountering him in a certain cave, Alexander will participate in the Redmane Festival.
There, he is shattered both physically and emotionally, believing himself to be too weak to accomplish anything. After strenuous training that allows him to be summoned for a late-game progression boss, Alexander challenges the player to a duel in one final attempt to prove his strength. After his loss, he admits his folly and dies, leaving the player to collect some of the remains he had been filling himself with.
The other quest feeding into Jar-Bairn belongs to Diallos Hoslow. This Tarnished knight is one of the NPCs who greets the player when they first step into the Roundtable Hold. Diallos is a friendly man and the heir to a noble family, but is concerned with the disappearance of his childhood friend Lanya. Unfortunately, he and the player discover her corpse, and Diallos is left to wander into the Volcano Manor, where he is recruited as a mercenary.
He just wants to become a champion and live up to his family name, but that makes him easy to manipulate. Once he realizes what he's been doing, and that his older brother has been killed by the Manor, he leaves once again. In the unpatched version of Elden Ring, this is where Diallos’ quest ends, but version 1.03 adds a proper conclusion.
Jar-Bairn's Role in Elden Ring
Returning to the matter of Jar-Bairn, this little warrior pot was added to Elden Ring in patch 1.03. He is one of the inhabitants of Jarburg, a mostly peaceful village of warrior pots who do not wish to fight. Jar-Bairn is Alexander's nephew, though it's not detailed how this came to be. In the base game, Alexander's quest takes players to the cliff overlooking it, but there is no reason to go inside.
The place offered various flowers and several cracked and ritual pots for use in crafting, and that was all. Jar-Bairn adds a friendly voice to the quirky setting but does not do anything by himself. However, as of the patch, Diallos will appear in a hut, having renounced the Volcano Manor. After exhausting both Jar-Bairn and Diallos' dialogue, the village is attacked by poachers. Diallos is finally able to become a champion by repelling them, but he dies in the process.
While he is saddened by the loss, Jar-Bairn does the most respectful thing a warrior jar can and places some of Diallos’ remains within himself. He also takes up the Hoslow creed, "The tale of House Hoslow is told in blood." The player can then give Jar-Bairn some of Alexander's remains, which he will also recycle. Out of respect for Jarburg's new hero and his uncle, Jar-Bairn resolves to set out on a quest of his own.
While this, unfortunately, marks the end of the player's interactions with this remarkably chipper NPC, he will leave the Companion Jar talisman where he once stood. For the time being, that marks the end for one of Elden Ring's most upbeat characters. Even if the talisman's consumable-enhancing effect won't be useful for most players, they should still feel accomplished helping a young man follow in his heroes’ footsteps.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.