A player character or playable character (PC) is a fictional character in a game who is controlled or controllable by a player, typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. Player characters are often also metonymically called players. By contrast, a non-player character (often shortened to NPC) is a character in a game whose actions are not under the player's control. Non-playable characters may be bystanders, competitors, bosses, or may exist to aid the player's progress in the game.
