Every HoYoverse game is rich with NPCs who are more than placeholders for quests. Genshin Impact has the unforgettable, lore-relevant Ruu and the unlucky, time-sensitive Liben. Susannah from Honkai 3rd Impact jumped out of the pages of a side manga to become an in-game NPC and even a playable character.
It's no surprise that Honkai Star Rail follows this tradition. Trailblazers can encounter environmental NPCs like A Man Who Wishes Not To Be Named, and quest-heavy NPCs like Oleg in their travels. They can also encounter NPCs, both human and not, with intriguing backstories and personalities throughout Honkai Star Rail's galaxy.
Spoiler Alert! This list will discuss certain quest-critical plot points and will partly or completely spoil NPC quests.
10 Wen Tianweng
The ornery Wen Tianweng can be found in the corner of the supply zone on Herta Space Station. Trailblazers are more than likely to first encounter him stuck in the middle of the supply zone's bridge maze. Once they rescue him and start the quest Out Of Reach, they'll learn there's more to the old mechanic than meets the eye.
Wen, as it turns out, was the partner of inventor and Kapo-Kali creator Hosea Lazaro. Then known as Wen Huairen, Wen and Hosea had a friendly rivalry until Lazaro blew a hole in the space station and escaped. Wen would remain melancholic over Lazaro not disclosing his plans for decades, but Trailblazers can potentially help the mechanic find closure and the truth.
9 Immortal In A Vase
Immortal In A Vase is, as Trailblazers can guess, not entirely human. Even completing their hidden questline doesn't reveal what they really are. Breaking the vase does nothing to solve the mystery either, though doing so will play out guilt-inducing dialogue.
Trailblazers encounter the Immortal at Exalting Sanctum in the Xianzhou Luofu. The Immortal complains when Trailblazers try to break their home. Once Trailblazers get them chatting, they spin their philosophy on freedom, time, and mortal worries. They then praise the Trailblazer's ability to notice it despite odds, and even jokingly offer space in the vase for them.
The Immortal also offers a two-day questline. Successfully completing the questline can net Trailblazers one of two possible achievements: Far From The Maddening Crowd or Let The Wind Blow Where It May.
8 Celine
Meeting Celine is nearly unavoidable unless Trailblazers deliberately avoid unlocking daily missions. Celine sings for the Golden Theater's lead actress, Tamila, whose singing voice the director believes is too deep for her role. The backstage singer admires Tamila's acting and voice, and this admiration leads to her daily questline.
In this questline, Celine tasks Trailblazers to investigate Tamila's habits. Some players on social media believe this is stalking, while others think Celine is simply trying to emulate Tamila as she claims to. In any case, Tamila seems unaware that Celine looks up to her, and practices every day to one day reclaim her voice. Both women also appear to respect each other, and talking to both paint a picture of missed connections and misunderstandings.
7 Cyrille
Honkai Star Rail did not escape HoYoVerse's penchant for horror and children meeting tragic ends. Trailblazers meet echoes of Cyrille, the 8th Supreme Guardian of Belobog, as part of the two-day quest Vessel of Mediocrity. Cyrille was the unremarkable sister of child prodigy Cyrilla, who was initially selected as the 7th Supreme Guardian.
Trailblazers discover that Minister of Internal Affairs Stefan Marquez, the mastermind, manipulated Cyrille into believing she could only trust him. Marquez was then implied to orchestrate Cyrilla's assassination and Cyrille's installation as his puppet heir. For 14 years, Cyrille became the scapegoat for the people's ire over Marquez and his ministry's draconian rule.
Sadly, Cyrille remained a scapegoat until death. Marquez escaped, and Cyrille was slain in a coup. Morbidly, the boxes Trailblazers move in puzzles for Vessel of Mediocrity are the same type of box Cyrille had died in.
6 Bernard
Bernard, a contemporary of Wen Tianweng, is also a grumpy old researcher, but for a sympathetic cause. At the end of the quest The Faint Star, it's revealed that Bernard had tampered with his apprentice Rocky's communications. Bernard interfered after learning that Rocky had confessed his love to his crush Lesley, whose quadrant in space was struck by a starquake.
As Bernard explains, a starquake changes the flow of time in the quadrant it strikes. What seems like days for Lesley can be a decade or more in Rocky's quadrant. Bernard wanted to spare Rocky the pain of being unable to be with Lesley. But whether or not Rocky learns the truth about Lesley is up to the Trailblazer, who can earn an achievement either way.
5 Chengjie
Trailblazers encounter Chengjie in a quest with Qingque that unlocks at Level 36. Chengjie is the easily discouraged, doubtful apprentice of renowned artisan Master Ryan. Through the adventure quest A Teacher And A Friend, Trailblazers help the apprentice as he tries to turn his deceased master's dream design into reality.
Throughout A Teacher And A Friend, Trailblazers see Chengjie lose confidence in himself and even his passion for artisanship. Eventually, his master gives him advice beyond the grave that releases Chengjie from his guilt over his failures. While it gives Chengjie a push in the right direction, it's clear it will take time for him to find a vocation he can truly be passionate about.
4 The Back Alley Man
A mysterious man will talk to the Trailblazer if they interact with the Locked Gate in Belobog. He claims, through three conversations, shape-shifting entities are body-snatching "innocent people" in "the back alley". By the third conversation, he claims he would soon be a victim himself.
Creepily enough, the man disappears until the Trailblaze Mission Young Guard. The mysterious man, now identified as the Smiling Man, unnervingly asks the Trailblazer to open the gate to the back alley. But if Trailblazers message Gepard to open the gate, the Silvermane Guard captain denies the existence of said alley.
Afterward, the Trailblazer's memories of the alley and the man disappear but gain the achievement The Mandela Effect.
3 Adler
Adler is one of many child researchers aboard Herta Space Station. Dialogue suggests he harbors resentment towards adults, which is probably why his specialty is rare species adults may overlook. This specialty has allowed him to communicate with Wubbaboo, the ghost creatures that the Security Department investigates in the quest Requiem Mass.
By himself, Adler is a fascinating look into how the station's research wing works. Though a child, he gained a unique ability adults in his department can't replicate . But Trailblazers are reminded that, for all his bluster, he's still a young child who doesn't want to get in trouble with his Aunt Hinkel, the director of the Department of Ecology.
2 "Ms. Daiqing"
Another unique quest Trailblazers complete in Xianzhou, aside from a multiple-ending eating contest, is From Xianzhou With Love. In it, Trailblazers untangle a sprawling mystery surrounding the alluring Foxian Beauty Chat that has men, and their wallets, in a spell.
After an involved questline, Trailblazers uncover the truth behind "Ms. Daiqing", the magnetic Foxian behind the chat. "Ms. Daiqing" is outed as a scam designed to pilfer credits from infatuated fans. The "manager" Trailblazers encounter is "Ms. Daiqing" themself. While they give their reasons for the scam, Trailblazers can decide what fate befalls them once they learn the truth.
1 Shiela
At first glance, Sheila appears to be a regular researcher with memory problems. But as the quest Guide Paradox reveals, she is the 157th iteration of an android resembling the wife of researcher Gunn Konolev. Gunn did not expect Sheila, whose autonomy was revoked when she realized her state, to gain a humanlike sentience.
While Trailblazers can resolve her problem any way they see fit, achievement fans may want to be careful with their choice. Encountering Shiela, north of Herta's office, after completing Guide Paradox unlocks the Does She Walk Alone? Achievement.
Honkai Star Rail is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Android, and iOS.