An NPC (Non-Player Character) is any character you encounter and interact with in World of Warcraft that is not controlled by other human players — they are generated and controlled by the game server. NPCs are either neutral or affiliated with a particular faction ( Alliance or Horde).^[1] You cannot attack NPCs of your faction and you must be "at war" (set in Reputation tab of your character sheet) with a neutral NPC's faction to attack them.^[1]

Typical examples of NPCs include flight masters, innkeepers, quest givers, vendors, trainers, and guards.

Neutral or Friendly NPCs may have a bag (, if a vendor) or talk bubble (, if you can talk to them) cursor when you mouse-over them. Some vendors require you to talk to them first.

Pointers for buying or selling:

in range to buy/sell out of range

Pointers for talking:

in range to talk out of range

Other types of NPCs (flight masters, innkeepers, quest givers, trainers, etc.) may have different pointer icons when you mouse over them.

Hostile NPCs are sometimes categorized with other creatures or monsters (aka "mobs").

Pointers for fighting:

in range out of range

They can be contrasted with Player Characters (PCs, or sometimes just "Players").

References

External links

Info

Web.Archive.org NPCs F.A.Q. archive page on old official site

Lore

WoW Insider Know Your Lore: NPC evolution from Wrath to Cataclysm and beyond by Anne Stickney Oct 2nd 2011 at 4:00PM

WoW Insider Know Your Lore: NPC evolution from TBC to Wrath of the Lich King by Anne Stickney Sep 25th 2011 at 6:00PM

WoW Insider Know Your Lore: NPC evolution from classic WoW to The Burning Crusade by Anne Stickney Sep 18th 2011 at 4:00PM

News

WoW Insider Have you ever found bored NPCs? by Stephanie Drury Jul 6th 2011 at 8:00PM