What happens if you kill friendly NPCs in Starfield?

NPCs play a crucial role in Starfield as you'll interact with them to discover the storyline and unlock a variety of missions. Moreover, these NPCs can join your party and travel with you across the map. However, what are the consequences of killing friendly NPCs in Starfield? Will it impact the story, or will the game crash? Let's find out.

Consequences of killing friendly NPCs in Starfield

Before moving forward, we've classified the NPCs into four different types, as it will help you to easily understand the drawbacks of killing each kind of NPC.

• Plot-Relevant characters
• Regular Passer-By
• Faction members
• Companions or Merchants

Plot-relevant characters

Plot-relevant characters are NPCs essential for the main story or major side quests. If you kill a plot-relevant character in Starfield, they will not die permanently but instead, kneel down and become invulnerable until you leave the area. This is similar to how plot-relevant characters are handled in previous Bethesda games, such as Skyrim and Fallout 4.

Regular passer-by

Regular passers-by are NPCs that are not essential but add life and variety to the world of Starfield. When it comes to the regular NPCs, killing them in a secure area will result in all security and armed civilians turning hostile against you. This action will also put a bounty on you, attracting bounty hunters to chase you in outer space.

Related: Is there a Level Cap in Starfield?

Faction members

If you kill an NPC from a faction in Starfield, they will lower your reputation with that faction and possibly increase it with your enemies. It may also trigger a crime bounty from that faction, making them attack you on sight.

Companions and merchants

Instead of dying for good, a companion or merchant will simply disappear for a short period of time if you try to kill them; chances are they will also lose faith in you and reject your offers to join or trade in the future.

Want to read more about Starfield? If so, check out How do Planet Tiles Work in Starfield? on Pro Game Guides.