Gostoc seems friendly at first in Elden Ring, but very sneakily the NPC regularly grabs your runes upon death.
Actually, the non-player character (NPC) Gostoc in Elden Ring seems to mean well with the players at first, even if he stands around somewhat inconspicuously. However, the character can’t keep his fingers to himself and steals your runes on the sly.
The NPC can be found quite early in Elden Ring. After the boss fight against Margit, the Cruel Mark, the players stand in front of the main gate of Storm Veil Castle. Gostoc can be found in a small room to the left of it and even gives helpful tips on how to get through the rooms safely. However, appearances are deceptive, because every time the players die in Storm Veil Castle, Gostoc pockets 30% of your runes.
As gamers make their way through the walls, the unassuming NPC regularly appears behind your character. In addition, Gostoc locks the players in the dark room, which can only be unlocked with the rusty key, and thus lures them into a trap.
It would be possible to simply kill the NPC at the beginning. But this would not be advisable, as Gostoc becomes a merchant at the end of his questline. He then stays at the throne room behind the boss fight of Godrik. Only there the NPC sells the rare and valuable item Ancient Dragon Forge Stone. This item is needed to upgrade a normal weapon to the highest level. Although the players do not get the stolen runes back and still have to spend 20,000 runes on it, they do get a massive boost for the weapon.
