# Player character

- Term: Tabletop term
- Date: 1974
- Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/player-character/

> A character controlled by one of the players rather than by the [Game Master](https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/game-master/). The shift from commanding armies to embodying a single persistent hero, who remembers, grows and can die, is what separated the roleplaying game from the wargame.

A character controlled by one of the players rather than by the [Game Master](https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/game-master/). The shift from commanding armies to embodying a single persistent hero, who remembers, grows and can die, is what separated the roleplaying game from the wargame.

**Origin:** The persistent individual character emerged in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign (1971) and was published in Dungeons & Dragons (1974).

## Quick answers

**What does "Player character" mean?**
A character controlled by one of the players rather than by the Game Master. The shift from commanding armies to embodying a single persistent hero, who remembers, grows and can die, is what separated the roleplaying game from the wargame.

**Where does the term "Player character" come from?**
The persistent individual character emerged in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign (1971) and was published in Dungeons & Dragons (1974).

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From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.