NPC

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 or affiliated with a particular faction ( Alliance or  Horde). 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.

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

or 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:
 * [[File:pointer bag on 32x32.png]] in range to buy/sell [[File:pointer bag off 32x32.png]] out of range
 * Pointers for talking:
 * [[File:pointer talk on 32x32.png]] in range to talk [[File:pointer talk off 32x32.png]] out of range
 * Other types of NPCs (flight masters, innkeepers, quest givers, trainers, etc.) may have different pointer icons when you mouse over them.

NPCs are sometimes categorized with other creatures or monsters (aka "mobs").
 * Pointers for fighting:
 * [[File:pointer sword on 32x32.png]] in range [[File:pointer sword off 32x32.png]] out of range

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