Game guide:Which NPCs are safe to play as?

You may know some of the townies and non-playable characters (NPCs) available in the Sims 2, but playing with some of them is considered to be dangerous and a threat to the game (the neighborhood itself and the game as a whole, including installation files), though, some are just considered to be annoying and others are actually safe to play and add to households.

The dangers of certain NPCs
Dangerous NPCs are objects or characters that, if played with and have anything changed about them, may threaten the safety of your entire game. They should never be played with and/or added to a household. The following list consists of NPCs that are considered to be dangerous. Each NPC is listed below with the reason to why they are NOT safe and are dangerous when interacted with in any other way than what the game intends to. You may also want to consult the article on avoiding corruption first, for more details about how interactions with certain NPCs will affect your neighborhood and your Sims 2 game installation files. Interacting with these NPCs:
 * 1. By using the options allowed by the game in normal game play without cheating, AND
 * 2. By setting your objects.package files to read-only status,

Are considered safer and should not affect the integrity of your game.

A general rule of thumb to know whether an NPC is dangerous or not, is by not playing with those without a "proper name" i.e., Wise Old Man is not a proper name, whereas Brandi LeTourneau is a proper name. There are some exceptions, such as Rod Humble, who has a "proper" name yet is not a "safe" NPC. Read the following list carefully to make sure which NPCs are safe and which aren't.

Another rule of thumb; if cheats are the only way to make a certain NPC selectable, you're best leaving them alone. There are a few types of NPCs that can't be made playable without cheats but are safe to do so, as listed below.

NPCs who are considered dangerous
NPCs that are not safe to play as and/or to add to your household because they are objects in your game's objects.package file: Messing with these may result in having to reinstall the entire game to get rid of stubborn glitches caused by objects.package file being modified.


 * Bigfoot Bigfoot (NPC)


 * This does not apply to the bigfoot character from Exotic Destinations, as they are cloned from this object template. The clone is an active Sim with playable character data.


 * Bird
 * Father Time
 * Food Table Judge
 * Genie
 * Good Witch Cat
 * Grim Reaper
 * Hula Zombie
 * ideal plantsim


 * This is not a normal PlantSim but a "hidden" one with the genetics used when a safe PlantSim, such as Rose Greenman, spawns a toddler.


 * Mrs. CrumpleBottom
 * Penguin
 * The penguin appears in Seasons and above when multiple snowmen are built on the lot.


 * Pollination Technician


 * Not to be confused with Pollination Technician #9 Smith from Strangetown. Pollination Technician #9 Smith is an active Sim with playable character data.


 * Remote Control Car
 * Robot


 * This does not apply to the Servo robot created from the Robot Crafting Station. When activated, the Servo will act like a regular Sim with playable character data. This refers to the ones such as the SentryBot.


 * Rod Humble
 * Not to be confused with any townie or anyone with a normal name that is safe. Rod Humble is a FreeTime NPC that brings you a computer on the household's first day. Like the Social Worker, you should not attempt to interact with him or set any flags with SimBlender (or similar) when he comes on the lot.


 * Santa Klaus
 * Stinky Skunk
 * Skunk Skin
 * Spectral Assistant
 * TemplateDog
 * Therapist (Shrink)
 * Toddler New Year
 * Witch Doctor (Shaman)

NPCs that are not safe to play as and/or to add to your household because they have incomplete user data: This will eventually corrupt your neighborhood and make it unplayable.
 * Big Boss (NPC)
 * ​The Big Boss was a scenario similar to the Headmaster Scenario that EA abandoned before the game's release.
 * This does not apply to the Big Boss NPCs that the game generates to respond to phone calls when a Sim calls in sick. The Big Bosses listed below have playable character data and names like regular Sims. They may also occasionally show up on community lots. This refers to the Big Boss NPC that was originally going to be used in the Big Boss scenario.


 * Break Dancers
 * Carpool Drivers
 * Such as for a Taxi, School Bus, Carpool, Ambulance, Pilot, etc. These people have real names such as David Thompson, but they are identifiable by their brown uniform.


 * Fire Dancers
 * Food Stand Chefs
 * Human Statues
 * Neutral Witches
 * Ninjas
 * Repo-men
 * Social Bunnies
 * Social Workers
 * In the event she's spawned through the Gypsy Matchmaker as a blind date, delete her with the move-objects cheat, just in case. Do not interact with the Social Worker or attempt to set any flags on her using SimBlender (or similar), for example, Crush or Married/Joined. This applies to all of the unsafe NPCs that visit lots.


 * Tour Guides
 * Unsavory Charlatan
 * Wise Old Man

NPCs that are believed not safe to play as and/or add to your household:
 * Bellhops
 * Ghost Captain
 * Hair Stylist

NPCs who are considered safe
NPCs that possess annoying hard-coded behavior but are safe to play as and/or add to your household. These glitches may be fixed using Cyjon's Debugger.

These NPCs usually have normal names (i.e. Gordon King, BJ Ryan, Marie Mazza, etc.) - and the rule of thumb at the beginning of the page notes that characters with normal names are considered safe. Be aware that not all NPCs with "normal" names are safe to play as.


 * Bartender
 * Safe, but their plumb-bobs may be in the wrong place.


 * Big Bosses
 * Safe, but their plumb-bobs may be in the wrong place.
 * Not to be confused with Big Boss (NPC), which is an object as listed above. These Sims are generated to respond to phone calls when a Sim calls in sick. They have Big Boss character data stored in their files, but they have normal names and playable character data, and can be interacted with like regular Sims. In addition to responding to phone calls, they may occasionally show up on community lots, but may be difficult to distinguish from regular townies as they do not have a fixed uniform.


 * Burglar
 * Safe, but may continue with sneaking behavior.


 * Evil Mascot (Cow)


 * Safe, but may sometimes wear the cow costume even after being given different clothing.
 * Cheerleader
 * Safe but will continue cheering frequently.
 * Mr. Big / The Diva
 * Safe, but will continue to primp frequently.


 * Exterminator
 * Safe, but their plumb-bobs may be in the wrong place.


 * Grand Vampire/Vampiress
 * Gypsy Matchmaker
 * Safe but will continue with spit-polish behavior.


 * Headmaster
 * Safe, but their plumb-bobs may be in the wrong place.


 * Mascot (Llama)
 * Safe, but may continue to wear the llama costume in certain circumstances even when changed out of it.


 * Nanny
 * Safe but will continue with insane behavior.


 * Professor
 * Believed safe but Drama Professors will continue with flirty behavior.


 * Repairman
 * Safe, but their plumb-bobs may be in the wrong place.


 * Slob
 * Safe, but will continue to burp and fart frequently.


 * Streaker

NPCs that are safe to play as and/or add to your household:

These NPCs will also have a "normal name".


 * Barista
 * Bigfoot
 * This is for the Bigfoot character seen from your forest vacation's secret lot. Not to be confused with Bigfoot Bigfoot (NPC), which is an object as listed above. Safe Bigfoots will have a real name as their first name, followed by the "Bigfoot" surname.


 * Butler
 * Cash Register Clerk
 * Cafeteria Chef


 * The one which is spawned with ShinyTyme Cooktop in University subhoods.


 * Chef/Cook
 * Not to be confused with a Food Stand Chef, who is an NPC.


 * Chinese/Pizza/Grocery Delivery Person


 * Do not confuse with the carpool/taxi drivers who are not safe. These are the ones who get out of the vehicle to deliver stuff.
 * Coach
 * Dining Podium Host
 * DJ
 * Dormie
 * Downtownie
 * Firefighter
 * Gardener
 * High Witches/Warlocks
 * Hobby Instructor
 * Housekeeper


 * This is for the housekeeper that spawns at hotels.
 * Landlord
 * Maid
 * Mail Carrier
 * Masseuse
 * Newspaper Delivery Person
 * Obedience/Pet Trainer
 * Police Officer
 * Reporter


 * These are NPCs that may come to owned business lots, browse the shop, and review it. They can't be distinguished from townies, unless they are seen taking notes. Otherwise known in real life as "Secret/Mystery Shoppers".
 * Server/Waiter
 * Social class townies
 * These are townies that will move in to apartments and are dressed in clothes relative to their social class.
 * Townie
 * This includes townies that are employed in an owned business.
 * Tourists
 * These are townies that you will see/meet at a Vacation Destination dressed in tourism clothes. Any children coming with them will not wear tourism clothes, such as Pong King.


 * Vacation Destinations Locals
 * These are townies you would normally see/meet during a vacation in a Vacation Destination and will be dressed according to the theme of the vacation. They will be wearing clothes that represent the area, such as Jace Fuchs wears lumberjack clothes.

What happens if you add them
Most unplayable NPCs cannot be added even through the use of the testing cheats, although it is possible to use mods and hacked objects to add them. When added to a family, these NPCs can be invited over by other families and may even appear on community lots.

The following is a list of NPCs and their behaviors when they are made playable. It should be noted that adding an unplayable NPC will cause corruption and should not be attempted. The following results were obtained when playing the game with the game files set as read-only.


 * Grim Reaper, Therapist, ideal plantsim, Genie, Spectral Assistant
 * Disappears immediately upon spawning and/or reloading the lot, although they will appear in the family portrait.
 * Remote Control Car, Bird, Robot.
 * Disappears immediately unless they are currently in use, in which case they still cannot be controlled and will throw errors. They do not have thumbnails or profile pictures and will appear in the family portrait as a faceless woman with long black hair in a brown shirt and grey jeans.
 * Hula Zombie
 * Performs a hula dance and slowly fades away. Cannot be controlled, but will appear in the family portrait like normal.
 * Social Bunny
 * Disappears immediately unless it has been spawned for a Sim, in which case it can be controlled like a normal Sim. When selected, it will become invisible, and will reappear when the Sim that it belongs to is selected again.
 * Ninja
 * Will continuously teleport around.
 * Leader of the pack
 * Will eventually forcefully leave the lot, but will reappear upon reloading and stay on the lot for some time. Their eyes will only glow when they are on the lot where they are made playable.
 * Stinky Skunk
 * Pets and Sims can only perform the usual skunk-related interactions. Skunks can perform cat interactions on Sims and pets (e.g. ask a Sim for a hug).
 * Penguin
 * Hard to control. When told to move to a location, its animation will freeze and it will "slide" to its destination. Most actions cannot be cancelled and the penguin will disappear after a period of time. Penguins do not have a thumbnail and will use the faceless female Sim body in the family portrait. When visiting another lot or when invited to another house, it will behave like normal.
 * Rod Humble
 * Rod Humble will leave his present near the front door of the lot and then leave, even when invited over. He will still leave the present even if the household had already received it.
 * Mrs. CrumpleBottom
 * Cannot be controlled and will continue to behave like normal Mrs. CrumpleBottom.
 * Good Witch Cat
 * Will be deformed to resemble a Sim. Sim and pets can only perform cat-related interactions on it, while the cat can perform normal Sim interactions. Any interactions made on the cat will result in an error, and any interactions performed by the cat will randomly throw errors. Any items the cat picks up will become permanently stuck on it. The Sim's thumbnail appears normally, but the cat will appear deformed in the family portrait.