A proto-character or proto-PC is a player character whose traits have been partially created by someone other than the player (usually the GM or game designer) before the start of play. They are similar to pre-generated characters, with the difference that some parts of the character have been left open to be customised by the player before play begins. They fall in a middle ground between pre-generated characters (fast to use, but with little player-character engagement) and characters created from scratch (potentially time consuming, but with more connection between the players and their characters).
The term proto-PC was used in the Atomic Robo RPG.