Characters (Oblivion)

Non-player characters, or NPC's, are any characters in the game world that are not controlled by the human player. NPCs are controlled by Radiant AI, a complex system in which NPCs move about the world in a non-scripted, lifelike manner and perform daily tasks including, shopping or hunting for food, going to church, painting, or even going on a mission of assassination.An NPC can come in many shapes and sizes and be any playable race. Also, An NPC under influence of mods (Gameplay Changes) Will act like a PC.

In general, the term "NPC" refers specifically to humanoid NPCs (i.e. the main races).

Types of non-player characters

 * Bestiary
 * Merchants
 * Spell Merchants
 * Unique NPCs
 * Trainers

General humanoid NPCs
In general, these types of humanoid NPCs are enemies and will fight with you as you approach. There are always a few exceptions, however.
 * Bandit
 * Conjurer
 * Highwayman
 * Marauder
 * Necromancer
 * Pirate
 * Vampire
 * Assassin

The following are not hostile towards you:
 * Adventurer
 * Camonna Tong Thug
 * Courier

In the Shivering Isles, additional NPCs include:
 * Golden Saint
 * Dark Seducer
 * Heretic
 * Zealot
 * Knight of Order
 * Priest of Order

Healing

 * NPCs can be heal using a spell or a scroll that does Restore Health on Target, or cured of poison or paralysis for example.

Commanding NPCs

 * Currently, unless you are running a mod which affects NPC AI, you don't have control over an NPC whether they follow you or not.

Fighting NPCs

 * When hovering your cursor over certain NPCs, a crown cursor indicates that that character is a quest-related NPC and usually cannot be killed. They can still be fought and knocked unconscious (and you can still get a bounty from assaulting), but will rise up again. This can be used to gain experience as the characters will rise up again with no memory of the attack.(Better done when NPCs are not in populated areas)


 * When fighting an NPC, they will chase the player as they run through rooms or outside of buildings or caves. They can also flee from the player if they're about to defeat them, or if they've been demoralized. Good ways to counter them running is using a bow or spells.