A
Sub Trope of
Canon Defilement.
In
Derivative Works (especially
Fan Fiction), this term means that somebody is acting largely against his or her established personality. How and why this occurs has a pretty wide range:
Generally viewed as a very negative trait (if a fanfic gets
tagged as "OOC", it's usually not a good sign, though writers will often be honest enough to slap the tag on themselves up front).
Compare
Character Derailment, which is this applied to canon. See also
Out-of-Character Moment.
Draco in Leather Pants,
Ron the Death Eater and
Wimpification can be considered subtropes.
Not to be confused with
In and Out of Character. In
Role Playing Games, it is sometimes necessary to make a distinction between when a player is
In Character and
Out Of Character, to know if the person is speaking as the character or as the player. A player who uses Out of Character information (such as the presence of goblins in a room ahead) to make an in-character choice is said to be
MetaGaming, which most dungeon-masters severely frown upon.
