Non-player Characters
From t2twiki
Arda is populated not only by player characters, but also by non-player characters (abbrev. "NPC", pl. "NPCs"). These are game objects that help fill in the landscape and make the setting more detailed and interesting. NPCs can be divided into two general categories, creatures and people.
[edit] Creatures
For the simplicity's sake, creatures in Arda do not belong to any sentient racial group, do not have a developed culture, and do not speak a language. They are not only called "animals" because within their ranks are the magical and the fantastic: fell beasts, wargs, and giant spiders, to name a few. However, animals would be listed within the ranks of Creatures.
[edit] People
In contradistinction to Creatures, the peoples of Arda are sentient, have a social structure and some sort of (at least internally) accepted culture, and speak a language. For the purpose of classification, individual NPCs might be called "citizens", while general groupings will be known as "races".
Many citizens offer services to characters. There are also many characters from the books with which a player's character can interact.
