ALL NPCs are present and safe, 12 of them are in Firelink Shrine (possibly 15) - by/at the end of the game :) (no glitches)

I have just finished getting 100% achievements in this amazing game which means I'm on NG++ and I wanted to leave the game in a state that I could come back to years later and be proud and happy of.
So I decided to collect every item the game has to offer and have as many NPC friends as possible by the end, with the preference being in Firelink.
Collecting all items (Weapons, armor pieces, other) was easy enough but for the NPCs I had to do a little bit of research and hoping. But I was successful and am very happy with it :)

There was not that much I could find online for this (especially in one place), so this will just be a little guide for how to do what I did if anyone is also interested in leaving the game in this state.

* If I'm wrong with any information or have missed out things please do tell me I'm no Dark Souls expert *

Introduction

The first thing I'm going to say is the 12 NPCs at Firelink include the “The giant crow” and Domhnall of Zena under the very close bridge, if you don't count them then it’s only 10 NPCs in Firelink which is still very nice.
Also 3 NPCs that don't count/didn't make it are only Vince of Thorolund, Nico of Thorolund and Knight Lautrec of Carim since they just need to die for better people to live (will be saying how you can keep them alive in the guide if you wish) oh and Darkstalker Kaathe since you can only have 1 serpent but you can trade him for Frampt.

Like I said in the description (which is also copied below this paragraph) I'm doing this as a send-off, a place to leave the game in a nice state of stasis. so please do what you need to do before this new game or it might interfere with the NPCs (farming, collecting all items, and other achievements).
Also, this guide will be mainly for people who have already played the game before and want to end it like this because I won't be going into full detail on every little bit, there are going to be assumptions that you know how to do things because you've already played and beaten the game.

If you haven't read the guide description here it is since its also part of the introduction

I have just finished getting 100% achievements in this amazing game which means I'm on NG++ and I wanted to leave the game in a state that I could come back to years later and be proud and happy of.
So I decided to collect every item the game has to offer and have as many NPC friends as possible by the end, with the preference being in Firelink.
Collecting all items (Weapons, armor pieces, other) was easy enough but for the NPCs I had to do a little bit of research and hoping. But I was successful and am very happy with it :)

There was not that much I could find online for this (especially in one place), so this will just be a little guide for how to do what I did if anyone is also interested in leaving the game in this state.

* If I'm wrong with any information or have missed out things please do tell me I'm no Dark Souls expert *

Praise The Sun!

Resources

This is the guide I used to do my 100% achievements run. He and his videos were super straightforward, easy, and fun. Thank you so much DadBod for the wonderful videos and commentary :D

For collecting all Weapons, armor pieces, and other items in the game I just used the Dark Souls remastered wiki (once again do this before this new game otherwise it might mess things up). Thank you to everyone who made the wiki as well.
https://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Dark+Souls+Wiki

and this is the page with all the NPC information
https://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Characters

List of all the NPCs and the general state of my world at its end

So I have killed every boss besides Gwyn Lord of Cinder (obviously), Crossbreed Priscilla (because I count her as a nice friendly NPC I can go and talk to and look at, also the game doesn't make me kill her) and Dark Sun Gwyndolin (so that Darkmoon Knightess the firekeeper does not become hostile, also she can count as an NPC).

So as shown in this image the Kiln of The First Flame is open and every area of the game is free to walk back around and explore for fun in the future.

NPC List, where they are at at the end of the game:

(I will tell what I did for each NPC later in the guide)
in the firelink area
- Anastacia of Astora
- Crestfallen Warrior
- Siegmeyer of Catarina
- Griggs of Vinheim
- Big Hat Logan
- Laurentius of the Great Swamp
- Petrus of Thorolund
- Ingward
- Kingseeker Frampt
- Patches the Hyena
- and The giant crow (which I included because he is a character, he is cool to look at and he is there in Firelink to keep us company)
and then off to the aqueduct still in firelink
- Domhnall of Zena

(those are the 12 in firelink, it's 10 if you don't think the aqueduct is close enough and that The giant crow isn't an NPC.
will also be giving a possible way to keep Reah, Vince, and Nico in Firelink making it 15 but I don't know if it works )

in Undead Burg
- Solaire of Astora
- Undead Merchant (Male)
- Undead Merchant (Female)

in Undead Parish
- Andre of Astora
- Oswald of Carim
- Reah of Thorolund

in New Londo Ruins
- Blacksmith Rickert of Vinheim

in Sen's Fortress
- Crestfallen Merchant

in Anor Londo
- Darkmoon Knightess
- Princess Gwynevere
- Giant Blacksmith
- Dark Sun Gwyndolin ( if you count her since you can talk through the fog gate, also the wiki lists her as an NPC)

Painted World of Ariamis
- Crossbreed Priscilla

in The Catacombs
- Blacksmith Vamos

in Quelaag's Domain
- The Fair Lady
- Eingyi of the Great Swamp

in Blighttown
- Quelana of Izalith

Darkroot Garden
- Alvina of the Darkroot Wood
- Shiva of the East (will move to blighttown if you go there after joining cat covenant)
- Shiva's ninja bodyguard (will move to blighttown if you go there after joining cat covenant)

Darkroot Basin
- Dusk of Oolacile (must use the summon sign first to talk)

Ash Lake
- Everlasting Dragon

in the Oolacile DLC area
- Elizabeth
- Marvelous Chester
- Lord's Blade Ciaran
- Hawkeye Gough

What to do with each NPC in order of meeting them. Starting with the Giant Crow (+ Oscar)

Congratulations you have either gotten all achievements and are now starting a new game by beating Gwyn Lord of Cinder or are on NG++ and just need to finish up the last few achievements which if you're following the guide I linked up until now won't interfere with boss soul collecting for making every weapon.

NOW do not exactly follow his guide, especially for NG++ if you're also on NG++ since he is not trying to do the same things as I have done. just follow his outcomes, forging all the boss weapons and what is needed for full achievements. If you want an extra copy of all boss souls you will have to do extra stuff in previous playthroughs or do an extra one to NG+++

You wake up in a cell

- Oscar of Astora frees you
- you play through Northern Undead Asylum normally
- don't kill Oscar when you see him again if you want to keep his hostile hollow NPC form alive at the end
- You kill the Asylum Demon, open the door, and go to the ledge where you are picked up by the Giant Crow.
- He will take you to Firelink Shrine and perch on one of the buildings. He will stay there if not bothered for the rest of the game.

Crestfallen Warrior

First real NPC you meet in Firelink.
- To keep him there until the end of the game just don't attack him and DO NOT TALK TO HIM EVER.
Talking to him will progress his questline which leads to him becoming hostile in New Londo Ruins

Anastacia of Astora ( + mentioning Knight Lautrec of Carim )

You should know this quest line if you've beaten the game before
You can do 2 things here

1.

What I did was:
- Free Knight Lautrec of Carim
- He kills Anastacia
- I kill Lautrec in Anor Londo
- Give Anastacia her soul back and Voilà
I did this because she actually speaks after this happens which is nicer to hear her voice than for her to be mute in my opinion.

2.

- Kill Knight Lautrec of Carim before you ring both bells, this will save the firekeeper

I don't think you can have both of these NPCs alive at the end of the game. if you know how to please tell me

Petrus of Thorolund

- Talk to him and exhaust his dialogue (you do not have to join his covenant)
- His friends will come after you kill the Capra Demon
- He will disappear with his friends after you talk to him or kill Pinwheel
- Then he will come back later but without Reah of Thorolund since she’s stuck in the Tomb of Giants
- Don't attack or kill him and he will stay there in Firelink

Undead Merchant (Male)

- Progress up the normal route to Undead Burg. You should know where this guy is, if not search it up.
- To keep him till the end game just don't attack or kill him

Solaire of Astora

Best boi sun knight. XD
- Progress killing Taurus Demon (if you want to keep the Demon alive you can take the alternate route down through The Valley of the Drakes)
you shall meet him basking in the sun on his balcony before the bridge. Now Solaire will go all over the place, disappearing or dying in the end, and I think you can keep him held up at other places but this one is the nicest and the sunniest, so I chose to keep him here.

- to keep him here with the sun till the end game DO NOT TALK TO HIM EVER
- I've heard people online saying they had problems with him disappearing from this spot but I have not run into any problems. it might be because they took the alternate route and did not kill the Taurus Demon. if you're having problems just close and open the game a few times or try coming to him from the normal way, might be some trigger points.

* Bonus * The Bridge Wyvern

- Stand behind the wall in the middle of the bridge to stay safe from its flames
- After waiting the dragon will come down onto the bridge
- Run past it now to the Sunlight Altar bonfire and you can continue the game normally without killing the dragon.

I did this because I like dragons and this one is really cool :)
yes I know it is technically not a dragon but I'm calling it that anyways because I want to



Here is another reason you should let this dragon live, you can go back to the Sunlight Altar bonfire and sometimes see him flying around, and it's magnificent.

Andre of Astora

- He is a main blacksmith, just don't attack or kill him and he will be there forever

Siegmeyer of Catarina ( + Sieglinde of Catarina)

- Find him at the gates to Sen's Fortress before you open them talk to him and exhaust his dialogue
- Find him inside Sen's Fortress below the first ramp with rolling boulders, talk to him, and exhaust his dialogue
- When you get to the boulder mechanism inside Sen's Fortress change the direction to something that would allow Siegmeyer to pass to progress his questline
- Find him in Anor Londo and exhaust his dialogue
- Kill the 3 silver knights that are giving him trouble and then talk to him again after doing so and exhaust his dialogue
- He will now be in Firelink, to keep him there forever DO NOT TALK TO HIM EVER AGAIN
- You should also be finished with Blighttown prior to this, now I'm 99% certain not talking to him will keep him from moving to Blighttown since I've been back there a few times but I haven't gone specifically to his next spawn location. If you want to be safe don't go back to the area of Blighttown where his next quest location is. It should be fine tho.

What I think you could also do to have both Siegmeyer and Sieglinde

- Progress Siegmeyers quest line so that you can save Sieglinde
- When Sieglinde arrives in Firelink and Siegmeyer is in that pit in Lost Izalith just don't talk to either of them and both should stay stagnant and alive in their respective places for you to look at.

Oswald of Carim

After killing the Bell Gargoyles and ringing the bell he will be at the bottom of the bell tower
- Just don't attack or kill him he will stay there forever

Griggs of Vinheim

Progress to Lower Undead Burg
- free him from his room in Lower Undead Burg using the Residence Key that you can buy from the Undead Merchant.
- you can speak to him but to keep him there forever DO NOT BUY ALL THIS ITEMS
(since we are keeping big hat Logan in Firelink I don't think it matters if you buy everything or not)

Undead Merchant (Female)

You should know where to find her, the unlockable shortcut back to Firelink through the aqueduct, if not search it up.
- Don't attack or kill her and she will stay there forever

Reah of Thorolund (+ bonus way to maby keep her and 2 extra NPCs in Firelink which would bring the total to 15)

- kill the Capra Demon
- her, Vince, and Nico will appear in Firelink
- they will disappear when you kill Pinwheel or talk to Petrus

Very important

- wait until you have killed every boss in the game that you are planning on defeating before rescuing her ( I killed Nito after rescuing her, but it should be fine if you kill him beforehand)
- once she is in the Undead Parish Church Do not buy all her stuff or she will leave and go hollow

now how she works is once you save her if you kill 2 bosses after that, Petrus will kill her, and buying all her stuff will make her leave and become hollow.
here is the paragraph from the DarkSouls Wiki :

" After freeing Rhea from the Tomb of the Giants, killing 2 of any of the following bosses results in her death. Note that they must be killed after rescuing her, it doesn't count if you killed them beforehand: The Gaping Dragon, Bell Gargoyles, Priscilla, Sif, Nito, Quelaag, The Bed of Chaos, Iron Golem, Ornstein and Smough, The Four Kings and Seath. (Source: The trigger for Reah being murdered in the Parish Church. By illusorywall) "

+ bonus way to maybe keep her and 2 extra NPCs in Firelink

I didn't realise this till after and I don't know if it works.
But it might be possible to keep Reah and her two guards Vince and Nico in Firelink if you kill Pinwheel and Nito first (or just killing all bosses) before killing the Capra Demon. I think killing the Capra Demon is the only trigger to bring her to Firelink. Then as long as you don't talk to Petrus of Thorolund or any of them once they come to Firelink I'm pretty sure they will stay there.

Laurentius of the Great Swamp

- Kill the Butcher and find him in a barrel in the Depths
- Free him without hurting him (the best way is to just roll into his barrel)
- He will go back to Firelink (when he asks if you find pyromancy unsavory say no to become his friend, I don't know if this is necessary to keep him but I did it, and it’s nicer this way)
- Later he will ask you to tell him about your spectacular pyromancy, SAY NO and he shall stay there in Firelink forever (the wiki says the trigger for this question is possessing one of the Chaos pyromancies or talking to the Daughter of Chaos)

Domhnall of Zena

- Find him in the Depths (you can talk to him here but I don't think it affects him moving)
- After ringing the second bell he will relocate to Firelink below the aqueduct that leads to the Undead Burg.
- To keep him here forever just don't attack or kill him

Quelana of Izalith

- She will appear at the bottom of Blighttown if you have a +10 Pyromancy Flame or more
- Talk to her before you kill the Bed of Chaos
- You can also talk to her after you kill the Bed of Chaos I don't think it changes anything she will stay there forever regardless

The Fair Lady and Eingyi of the Great Swamp

- Kill Quelaag and ring the second bell
- Go downstairs from there and through the illusory wall (if you don't know how to find her search it up)
- DO NOT ATTACK THE EGG CARRIER behind the illusory wall he is the NPC Eingyi of the Great Swamp
- Talk to him and say yes to becoming a servant, he will now let you pass
- There is your bonfire and The Fair Lady which you can talk to properly with the Old Witch's Ring
- To keep both of them there forever just don't attack or kill them

pretty

Big Hat Logan

- When you first encounter him in Sen's Fortress DO NOT TALK TO HIM OR FREE HIM, in fact just to be safe do not go into his room at all.
- Go to The Duke's Archives and get killed by Seath the Scaleless
- Progress normally and kill Seath the Scaleless
- Go to the room where you were first killed Seath the Scaleless to get the ember and the soul of a hero (so you won't ever have to go back there again in case it triggers something)
- Now go back to Sen's Fortress, get the cage key if you haven't already, talk, and free him. He will now go back to Firelink
- Now that he is in Firelink DO NOT EVER TALK TO HIM or else he will move away
(If you want to be able to talk to him just do his questline normally except the last part and he will be stuck in The Duke's Archives)

Crestfallen Merchant

- You need to jump that big gap in the bridges at the top of Sen's Fortress to find him
- As long as you don't attack or kill him he will stay here forever

Darkmoon Knightess

- She’s the firekeeper of Anor Londo bonfire and is always there
- Do not attack or kill her
- Do not go through the fog gate of Dark Sun Gwyndolin or kill her
- Do not attack or kill Princess Gwynevere

Giant Blacksmith

- He is a main blacksmith, just don't attack or kill him and he will be there forever
- Also be careful of the Bat Wing Demons outside they can follow you in and hurt the Blacksmith

Princess Gwynevere

- After killing Ornstein and Smough you progress to her room
- She will stay there forever so just don't attack or kill her

Dark Sun Gwyndolin

- Use the Darkmoon Seance Ring on the statue to unlock the path to the Dark Sun Gwyndolin boss fight.
- You can talk to her just in front of the fog gate
- Do not go through the fog gate ever and don't kill her

Crossbreed Priscilla

- Go back to Northern Undead Asylum via the giant crow
- Get the Peculiar Doll
- Go back to the big painting in Anor Londo
- Observe the painting and get teleported
- Now progress through this area normally until you get to the final boss at the end
- Enter through the fog wall, she will not attack, in fact you can talk with her
- Don't attack or kill her. ( I think you can go to Oswald to request absolution so that Pricilla becomes non-hostile again, but I'm not sure)
- To move on either homeward bone out of there or step off the cliff to go back to Anor Londo

(was considering hiding her feet but oh well, I don't want to see any comments about it like i have seen online ok)

Kingseeker Frampt ( + Darkstalker Kaathe )

- Frampt will appear in Firelink after you obtain the LordVessel
- Kaathe will appear in the abyss you fight the Four Kings in after you obtain the LordVessle
- From what I can tell by searching you can only have one of them after placing the LordVessel
- So since Frampt is in Firelink I chose to side with him, warping with him to the entrance of the Kiln of the first flame and placing the Lordvessel.
- (If you like Kaathe better just warp with him to the Kiln of the first flame and place the LordVessel)

Blacksmith Rickert of Vinheim

- find him shortly after the lift to New Londo Ruins in his cell
- He is a main blacksmith, just don't attack or kill him and he will be there forever

Ingward

- Progressing through New Londo Ruins you will need to talk to him to get the Key to the Seal
- Kill the Four Kings
- After killing the Four Kings go back to him on his rooftop and speak to him again, exhaust his dialogue
- He will now be in Firelink forever
- DO NOT attack or kill him at any point

Blacksmith Vamos

- You will need to safely drop down from the spiral staircase in The Catacombs to drop down into his domain. (search it up if you don't know how to get to him)
- He is a main blacksmith, just don't attack or kill him and he will stay there forever
- Also be careful of the Wheel Skeletons outside that can come in and hurt him

Patches the Hyena

- You can encounter him in The Catacombs first but I didn't. When he asks if you're a cleric say no
(remember that he will betray you on the bridge here)
- You will either meet him again or for the first time like me in the Tomb of Giants.
- Talk to him, when he asks if you’re a cleric SAY NO
- Look off the ledge he's talking about, where he will push you down
- Escape the pit and talk to him again (you can say yes or no to forgiving him it does not matter)
- After killing Nito, Patches will relocate to Firelink and stay there forever as a merchant
- DO NOT attack or kill him at any point

Dusk of Oolacile

- After killing the Hydra in Darkroot Basin go to the cave behind it in the lake. (you will need to quit out of the game and come back in to spawn the Golden Crystal Golem
- Kill the Golden Crystal Golem CAREFULLY. She will spawn where it died so if you do an extra swing you will accidentally kill her
- Talk to her and she will ask if her sorceries could be an assistance, say yes
- You can go back to where you killed the Hydra and touch her summon sign to talk to her.
- After defeating the crystal golem in the Duke's Archives and getting the Broken Pendant go back to where you fought the Golden Crystal Golem, there should be a portal there now (if not quit out and reload)
- All of this is just the normal DLC acquisition and progression so if you've done the DLC you should know how to do all this
- Talk to Elizabeth the mushroom to accept going off to rescue her
- Defeat Manus and rescue her, once again be careful that you don't do extra swings and kill her when she spawns after Manus dies.
- Talk to Elizabeth the mushroom again to finish up the quest line
- She will now be back in Darkroot Basin where you killed the Hydra, touch her summon sign to interact with her. She will be here forever
- Dont attack or kill her at any point

Elizabeth

- Found in Oolacile Sanctuary in the DLC area
- You can talk to her where she will ask you to save Dusk (say yes) and then after you save Dusk as well where she will reward you
- She will be there forever just don't attack or kill her

Marvelous Chester

- Can be found inside the DLC areal before the Artorias the Abysswalker boss fight
- He will be here forever just don't attack or kill him

Lord's Blade Ciaran

- After killing Artorias the Abysswalker and resting at the bonfire quit and reopen the game, she will have spawned in the arena where you fought Artorias, having made a grave with flowers for him.
- You must still have Soul of Artorias for her to spawn, so leave the extra Soul of Artorias in your inventory forever
- DO NOT talk to her ever I'm pretty sure saying yes or no to her question will both lead to her leaving forever.

Hawkeye Gough

- Get the Crest Key by killing the mimic in lower Oolacile Township (DLC area)
- Open his door with the Crest Key and speak to him (none of his questlines matter to making him stay there. However I completed his questlines leading to him shooting down Black Dragon Kalameet and giving me another copy of his bow, I will say how to do the questline, if you don't know how to, in the next section about Kalameet)
- He will be here forever so don't attack or kill him

* Bonus * Black Dragon Kalameet

Again not an NPC. but once again I love dragons and he is really cool so I have left him alive so I may play with him as much as I would like to in the future while admiring him. :D

- Go to his boss area while he is still flying, he will fly over and fire breath you, try not to die and get out of there (this is a trigger for later)
- Go to Hawkeye Gough and exhaust his dialogue. leave and talk to him again he will ask if the dragon is bothering you, say yes. He will then ask if you're going to pursue the dragon to the bitter end, say yes again. he will shoot down Kalameet so you can fight him properly
- Go back to the boss area, Kalameet will now be on the ground and won't insta kill you anymore
- Don't kill him, when you've had enough admiring him homeward bone out or homeward spell out to preserve his and your life.

(if you really like him this would be better to do on a new save with a new character just dedicated to playing with this dragon... which is also what I did ;) , so that its damage is a lot lower on the first NG, you can also soul item dupe glitch in that new save to have max health and defense for a more optimal experience if you are not good at dodging his attacks)

ᕙ( ᗒᗣᗕ )ᕗ

Everlasting Dragon

- This is another dragon (although not as good-looking as the other 2) that can be found at the end of Ash Lake.
- He does not aggro when attacked but don't try to kill him anyway

Alvina of the Darkroot Wood

Once you've finished everything up in the game or you no longer need any other Covenants besides the Forest Hunter you can now go over and JOIN THE CAT
- when going through the Darkroot Garden in any part of this play-through make sure you don't kill any of the NPC people in it (there are quite a bit)
- talk to Alvina of the Darkroot Wood and join her Covenant
- do not attack or kill her at any point
- do not attack or kill Shiva at any point
- do not attack or kill any of the other NPCs in the Covenant that are walking around

( if you mess up I think you can go to Oswald to fix it up and rejoin the Covenant but I don't know for certain, if you don't KILL them of course)

Shiva of the East ( + his ninja bodyguard)

once you've finished everything up in the game or you no longer need any other Covenants besides the Forest Hunter you can now spawn in this NPC
- when going through the Darkroot Garden in any part of this play-through make sure you don't kill any of the NPC people in it (there are quite a bit)
- talk to Alvina of the Darkroot Wood and join her Covenant
- Shiva and his ninja buddy will spawn nearby just outside the building
- do not attack or kill him at any point
- do not attack or kill Alvina the cat at any point
- do not attack or kill any of the other NPCs in the Covenant that are walking around
- Shiva is still in Darkroot Garden for me but once you go to Blighttown they will move there permanently as a merchant.

( if you mess up I think you can go to Oswald to fix it up and rejoin the Covenant but I don't know for certain, if you don't KILL them of course)


I see you

Extras

Oscar of Astora

The first person you see in the game, helps you escape your cell. he will die in the room where the giant ball crashes through to open up (unmissable).
he will then come back as a hostile hollow when you go back to Northern Undead Asylum. if you want to keep him alive in your game just simply don't kill him. you can visit him as much as you want but he will attack you.

Havel The Rock

Meet him at the bottom of the spiral watchtower in Undead Burg. he is hostile but you do not have to kill him. just let him be, he's a great guy, as you can see from my screenshots I am loving his armor set. :)

The NPCs walking around Darkroot Garden

As long as you are a part of the Forest Hunter Covenant they will not be aggressive towards you, Some of them re-spawn if killed.

any other invader NPCs when you are human

They will invade your world to kill you, if you want them alive just don't kill them. Don't know if you can trigger them infinite times forever but if so then you can visit them whenever you want.

Any other hostile NPCs that are really just non-re-spawning enemies

If you want to keep them alive like I have just avoid them and don't kill them
(examples: Prince Ricard, Crystalline Knight)