How can we improve the description of the [npc] tag?

Question

The current npc tag description says:

A character in an RPG whose decisions and actions are handled by the game-master or a designated assistant. An initialism that stands for "non-player character."

However, this is a description of the NPC term, not the npc tag. It answers a question "what is an NPC", not "what is the npc tag for".

Compare this with the majority of tags, like the new-gm tag:

Questions about becoming or tutoring a game master

Clearly this description is about what is the new-gm tag for.

So, what should we write in the NPC tag description? What is this tag for?

I was browsing through highest voted 'npc' questions and saw a few examples when the tag is used presumably excessively:

• A player always wants to recruit NPCs into the party. How do I handle this?

• What is a good way to become a better NPC/monster actor?

• Risk of a TPK vs realistic NPCs

• How to deal with a DM who controls us with powerful NPCs?

"Any questions about any situations where NPC are significantly involved" seems too broad.

Answer 1

The tag description isn’t great, but that’s a side effect of the tag being mostly self-explanatory: it hasn’t needed to be great to get used.

Like any tag, regardless whether the tag description is any good, it’s for describing the subject of a question — so when NPCs are the main thing. It’s not just for when NPCs are involved at all. That would be overtagging.

So these would use it:

• “Do NPCs gain XP?”
• “Players hate my NPCs, what am I doing wrong?”
• “How can I RP two NPCs arguing without boring the players?”

But these probably wouldn’t:

• “The PCs are murdering everyone they meet”
• “How can my rogue start a thieves guild?”
• “What skill is used for haggling?”

The description might lack guidance, but general tagging guidance applies (and mostly makes it not a problem): tag for the subject of the problem rather than incidental details, and the tags will mostly turn out right.

That doesn’t mean the description can’t be improved, but it does mean it’s not going to cause problems with every question mentioning NPCs being “technically” taggable with it.

Answer 2

I've very slightly edited the tag usage guidance to focus on its intended usage rather than just on the definition of "NPC":

For questions about NPCs (non-player characters). NPC refers to any character in an RPG whose decisions and actions are handled by the game master (or a designated assistant) rather than by a player.

Answer 3

It’s for questions about NPCs? I think you are way overthinking this, we don’t need drool poof wording in our tags that always starts with “questions about...”, that’s obvious. For a tag about an abbreviation, defining the actual term is useful. We don’t need to be prescriptive about the tags use unless it’s become a problem.

Frankly, dopple’s turn of phrase “tag curation intricacies” turns me off. Tags are meant to be obvious and simple, added by anyone, applies to questions by anyone, tag wikis and edits to them submitted by most. Fretting over tags on meta should be restricted to when there’s an actual functional problem that has arisen, and I fail to see where anyone has trouble with tagging their questions about NPCs with npc. They may overtag sometimes, but that is an issue with every generously scoped tag.