Non-player character
A non-player character (or NPC) is any character a player can encounter and interact with in World of Warcraft that is not controlled by another human — they are generated and controlled by the game server. NPCs are either 
Neutral or affiliated with a particular faction (
Alliance or 
Horde).[1] Characters cannot attack NPCs of their own faction, and must be "at war" (as set in the Reputation tab of the character sheet) with a neutral NPC's faction in order to attack them.[1]
Typical examples of NPCs include flight masters, innkeepers, quest givers, vendors, trainers, and guards.
Neutral or Friendly NPCs may display a bag icon (
) if they are vendors, or a talk bubble icon (
) if they can be spoken to, when moused over. Some vendors require interaction through dialogue before their goods become available.
- 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 moused over.
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") and creatures.
Sometimes, the term is used to include all types of game-controlled entities, even non-sentient always-hostile mobs, in order to create a catchall term for non-player-controlled units.
Patch changes
Hotfix (2014-10-20): Resolved an issue where damage-over-time effects applied by an NPC or creature that have despawned can deal an excessive amount of damage.
References
- ^ a b NPCs F.A.Q.. Blizzard Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-06-02. Retrieved on 2016-04-19.
External links
World of Warcraft Community Site NPCs F.A.Q.