Means Non-player Characters, or characters that don't join the party in the games. There are a lot of them. In MMORPG terminology, it means a sprite that isn't controlled by a player and fulfills a certain role. Shop Keepers are typically NPCs. Lios uses a shop NPC as his avatar.
In the games, there are a total of 56 characters that can be seen running around town, but they never join your party.
NPCs
Wing
Macky
NOVA
Sachiko
- WaveMaster
- She has extremely bad luck.
Neja
- Twin Blade
Heavy
- WaveMaster
- Constantly suffers from lag due to a bad connection.
Benkei
- Heavy Axeman
Hayate
- Twin Blade
- She has a hero complex.
Task
Hinata
A-Kichi
Cleama
- Long Arm
Grid
Quess
- WaveMaster
- Likes to ask questions about everything.
Nekoski
- Heavy Axeman
- A boy that likes cats very, very much (Neko means cat).
Gyokuro
Osugi
Acerola
Borscht
M-78
- BladeMaster
- Compulsive liar and rumor spreader. His infamous rumor that going to Theta: Embarassing Forbidden Virgin would completely remove all female party members' clothes actaully managed to confuse most actual players of the .hack games.
Yuckey
Nijukata
Hirami
- Heavy Blade
Henako
- WaveMaster
- Henako always talks like she's hot for something. This means that in real life, she's either a very flirtatious girl, or a 40-year old man.
BIG
Yuji
Cima
Koji
Crest
- Heavy Axeman
Mayunosuke
- Heavy Blade
Mutsuki
Oborozukiyo
Bell
- Twin Blade
- Is apparently an actress in real life.
Cossack Leader
- WaveMaster
- Apparently a kind of cop, maybe a former crimson knight.
Alue
Alpha Ichigoro
- Heavy Blade
- Apparently is french in the real world.
Alicia
- Her name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Tail Concerto.
Stare
- Her name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Tail Concerto.
Flare
- Her name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Tail Concerto.
Fool
- WaveMaster
- His name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Tail Concerto.
Teria
- Long Arm
- Her name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Tail Concerto.
Waffle
- Twin Blade
- His name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Tail Concerto.
Cyan
- His name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Tail Concerto.
Panta
- WaveMaster
- His name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Tail Concerto.
Jutah
- His name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Silent Bomber.
Annri
- Wavemaster
- Her name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Silent Bomber.
Benoit
- His name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Silent Bomber.
John
- His name is a homage to the CyberConnect2 game Silent Bomber.
Micino
Tim
- WaveMaster
Bear
- Plays a major role in .hack//SIGN. See his page for full details.
Mimiru
- Plays a major role in .hack//SIGN. See her page for full details.
Crim
- Plays a major role in .hack//SIGN. See his page for full details.
A-20
- Plays a minor role in .hack//SIGN. See her page for full details.
Kazu
- Plays a minor role in the .hack games, .hack//Another Birth, and .hack//LotT. See his page for full details.
Sieg
- Plays a minor role in .hack//Liminality. See his page for full details.