Non-player character

A non-player character (NPC) is any character within a game that a player does not control. The term first appeared in traditional tabletop role-playing games, where these characters are run by the gamemaster (or referee) instead of another player. In video games, an NPC typically refers to a computer-controlled character whose behaviors are pre-set and can influence gameplay.

**Role-playing games**

In tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, the gamemaster portrays all NPCs. While player characters (PCs) are the story’s protagonists, NPCs serve as the supporting cast or extras, populating the game’s fictional world. They can fill any role not taken by a player—allies, bystanders, competitors, or traders who exchange currency for equipment. NPCs vary greatly in detail; some are just a quick description (“You see a man in a corner of the tavern”), while others come with full game statistics and backstories.

Gamemasters disagree on how much work to put into an important NPC’s stats. Some prefer every NPC to be fully defined with skills, gear, and numbers, while others define only what is immediately needed and improvise the rest. There is also debate about how important fully detailed NPCs are, but most agree that the more “real” NPCs feel, the more players enjoy interacting with them in character.

**Dependants**

Many game systems include rules for player characters having positive allies in the form of NPC followers, hired hands, or other dependents. Players may sometimes help design, recruit, or develop these NPCs. In the Champions game (and other Hero System games), a character can have a DNPC, or “dependent non-player character.” This is an NPC controlled by the gamemaster, but for whom the player character is responsible and who may be endangered by the PC’s choices.

**Video games**

In video games, “non-player character” describes entities not directly controlled by a player, often with the connotation that they are not hostile. Hostile characters are called enemies, mobs, or creeps. A mob (short for “mobile” or “mobile object”) can include all NPCs in a MMORPG or MUD, but in most modern graphical games, “mob” refers specifically to generic monstrous NPCs meant to be hunted and killed—excluding those that talk, sell items, or cannot be attacked. Most mobs only perform simple behaviors like attacking or moving.