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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →An NPC, or non-player character, is any character in a game that a player does not control. Shopkeepers, quest-givers, guards, and enemies are all NPCs. The term is the same whether the game runs on a console, a PC, or a tabletop, but who handles the character changes with the format.
What NPC stands for
NPC stands for non-player character. Epic Games’ Fortnite Documentation gives a concise version of the definition: “Short for a non-player character, this is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player.”
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The key word is controlled. Whether a character is an NPC depends on whether a player can direct its actions, not on whether it looks human, has dialogue, or appears in the story. A character a player steers is a player character. Everything else in the game world that acts on its own is an NPC.
Who controls an NPC depends on the game format
The definition stays the same across formats, but the mechanism that runs the character changes.
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- In a video game, the game’s software controls NPCs. Scripts, behavior logic, and dialogue systems decide how a guard patrols or what a merchant says when a player walks up.
- In a tabletop role-playing game, the game master usually portrays NPCs. D&D Beyond describes an NPC as a character controlled by the Dungeon Master, and the game master decides their voice, motives, and reactions during play.
In both cases the player does not control the character, which is what makes it an NPC.
NPC versus PC
A player character (PC) is the character a player directly controls. An NPC is everything else. The two terms are a pair, and the comparison below shows where they differ.
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| Aspect | Player character (PC) | Non-player character (NPC) |
|---|---|---|
| Who controls it | A player | Not a player |
| Video game handling | Player input drives movement and choices | Game software drives behavior |
| Tabletop RPG handling | The player declares actions for their character | Usually the game master portrays the character |
| Typical roles | The character the player is playing as | Guides, merchants, allies, enemies, and background characters |
NPC examples
Video game NPCs
Common video game NPCs fall into a few functional roles:
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- Guides that point a player toward a quest objective or explain a mechanic.
- Merchants that sell items, equipment, or services.
- Enemies that the player must fight or avoid.
These are examples of roles rather than a complete list. Many games also use NPCs as allies, bystanders, or simply characters who make the world feel inhabited.
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Tabletop RPG NPCs
In a tabletop game, the game master creates and voices every character the players do not run. Typical examples include:
- A town guard who questions the party at the city gate.
- A shopkeeper who sets prices and haggles over them.
- An ally who joins the group for part of the adventure.
- An antagonist who opposes the players’ goals.
NPCs in online slang
Outside games, people sometimes use “NPC” figuratively about a person. The usage draws on the game meaning and suggests someone who seems predictable, scripted, or lacking independent thought. Plarium’s glossary notes that the term has been used as a meme, and Dictionary.com records a figurative example from published media.
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This is slang, not the literal game definition. Its meaning depends on context, and it is often used as an insult, so the same word can be neutral in a discussion about game design and hostile in a social media argument.
How to tell whether a character is an NPC
Use these checks when you are not sure how a term applies:
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- Ask whether a player can directly control the character’s actions. If not, it is an NPC.
- In a video game, check whether the character’s behavior is set by the game’s systems rather than the player’s input.
- In a tabletop game, check whether the character is one the game master portrays rather than one a player runs.
- For online usage, check the surrounding conversation to see whether the word refers to a game character or is being used as an insult.
The NPC definition is the same across games and tabletop sessions. Only the mechanism that drives the character changes.
Sources: Epic Games, Fortnite Documentation (definition quoted above); D&D Beyond (tabletop description of NPCs as Dungeon Master-controlled characters); Plarium glossary (meme usage); Dictionary.com (figurative usage example from published media).
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