NPC (non-player character)

An NPC is any character run by the game's crew rather than a player, from tavern keepers to monsters, used to drive story and create challenges.

An NPC, short for non-player character, is any character in the game played by an organiser, crew member or volunteer rather than a player. One might be a merchant with a rumour, the next a guard blocking the road, the next a monster sent to test the players. One crew member often plays several NPCs in an event. NPCs serve the story, so they follow the plot team's direction rather than goals of their own. You treat them like any other character, and they follow the same game rules and safety brief as everyone else.