Traditional narrative terms -- such as plot, theme, and story -- are often used to describe role-playing game (RPG) play. However, RPGs are also fundamentally different from narrative forms like books and film. The result is that trying to discuss story in RPGs leads to a quagmire of jumbled assumptions.
Word Origin & History. mob 1680s, disorderly part of the population, rabble, slang shortening of mobile, mobility common people, populace, rabble (1670s), from L. mobile vulgus fickle common people (c.1600 in English), from mobile, neut. of mobilis fickle, movable, mobile, from movere to move (see move).
Mob (video gaming) A mob, mobile, or monster is a computer-controlled non-player character (NPC) in a computer game such as an MMORPG or MUD. Depending on context, every and any such characters in a game may be considered to be a mob, or usage of the term may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack. Common usage refers to either a single character or a multitude of characters in a group as a mob. In most modern graphical games, mob may be used to specifically refer to generic monstrous NPCs that the player is expected to hunt and kill, excluding NPCs that engage in dialog or sell items or who cannot be attacked.