Out of character (OOC)

Out of character (OOC) means you are speaking or acting as yourself, not as your persona, so other players know to set the fiction aside briefly.

Out of character, often shortened to OOC, describes any moment when you step outside your role and communicate as the real person attending the event. You might go OOC to ask a safety question, check that another player is comfortable, clarify a rule, or deal with a real-world need. Most games treat OOC speech as invisible to the fiction, meaning nothing said OOC counts as something your character heard or knows. Games usually pair it with a hand signal so it is clear even in a noisy scene, such as a hand or fist on top of the head, or raised crossed fingers. The signal varies between games, so check your game's safety brief.