As I mentioned before (http://d-infinity.net/blog/derek-holland/vats-and-animatter-organisms ) animatter organisms are living creatures made of various materials. Even though I initially thought of them as potential monsters, that doesn’t mean they can’t be used as characters (player or non-player). Here are a few examples:

A canvaslife illusionist who hides herself as paintings or maps. She is a spy for an Xlife crime fighting group and provides distractions as needed. She was brought to life for this purpose and yet to find another of her kind, much less have offspring.

A woodlife druid is the descendant of oaken statues that were brought to life to “educate” woodcutters on which parts of the forest were off limits. The druid has migrated to a desert and sees after a simple animatter ecosystem, one that does not need water. He hopes to breed them to both increase their numbers and introduce the most useful to other arid regions. As he needs wood to survive, the druid uses a portal to go back to the forest where he was born as needed.

An ironlife paladin that fights the good fight against demons (who are vulnerable to iron in some editions). His ancestors include two that were created from iron meteorites and he keeps a sliver of them in his core, just like all of his relatives. The paladin is not humanoid, but rather looks like a combination of dog and bear. His ancestors include carpentry tools and some swords (the latter being the meteorite iron source).

An iron/woodlife composite ranger that travels the seas searching for others of his kind. Her body is boat shaped and the metal core is protected from the corrosive effects seawater by a kelp/driftwood exterior. She is old and near death from age and just wants to find others of her own kind, if they exist. She pays well for information and keeps a Portable Hole with gems and gold if she thinks someone is legitimate. Cross her and find out how well a holed hull does over deep waters.

A glasslife demonologist is descended from crystal goblets used by necromancers several centuries ago. He looks like a glass cauldron with arms and legs, usually with blood spatters. He uses sand not only as food, but as a source for blood glass, a material that can be used as host bodies by possessing demons. These blood glass bodies are weaker than the creatures’ summoned form, which suits the demonologist just fine. What he wants is simple- a very long lifespan- and he has sent many creatures, including other Xlife beings, into the pit to earn it.

A clocklife psion that specializes in kinetic powers is treated as the black gear of the family. As a descendant of pocket watches, she is more complex than the usual animatter creature. She is humanoid, the size of a halfling but has several pairs of arms, each specialized for a task.  An up and coming dungeon explorer, the psion hopes to find others to help her survive in the depths.

A clocklife enchanter, a cousin of the psion, is an even more outcast. He looks like a metallic spider and captures giant arthropods to act as his host bodies. What he wants confuses his family as they usually don’t care that much for biological creatures- peace between humanoids and intelligent terrestrial arthropods. They think he has been influenced by aranea spirits, which could be true. For those wanting to see potential forms for him and his hosts, image search Chris Conte steampunk and Mike Libby insect with the caveat that there are some real spiders in the latter images.