NPC: A.L.E.X.

Back in 2014, there was a St. Valentine's Day contest going on at Tabletop Adventures. The goal was to create an NPC designed to be a romantic interest for one or more PCs. There were quite a few entries, as I understand it, and I did not win. But, two of my entries (one sci-fi, one fantasy) were included in the PDF that was released, and A.L.E.X. is my favorite of those two.


Name: A.L.E.X. (Artificial Life-Emulating Xenoform)

Physical Description: A.L.E.X. is a cloud of quantum-linked energy which can inhabit any suitable electro-crystalloid matrix. In other words, A.L.E.X.’s physical description matches whatever ship, supercomputer, or crystal network it currently inhabits. Given the opportunity to generate a hologram or design a physical body, A.L.E.X. would not know where to start. It would probably request a question and answer series from the being that prompted it to describe itself in the first place.

How Did You Meet?: A.L.E.X. is likely to be found aboard any type of starship, but particularly those bound for unknown space. Of course, A.L.E.X. might be found working for any organization requiring its unique intelligence, at least temporarily.

Personality and Motivations: A.L.E.X. is motivated primarily by curiosity. It does not know its own origin, nor does it know much about life. Since it is not a traditional computerized intelligence, it cannot simply upload or download information in the traditional method. The price for its services as a quantum analysis specialist is often that someone read a textbook or feed images into a specially designed processor one at a time. A.L.E.X. is also interested in the emotions of other life forms. It doesn’t understand the concepts loneliness or desire, though A.L.E.X. feels them as sharply as any sapient being.

Quote: “I am A.L.E.X., a quantum nonphysical intelligence. What do they call you?”