Exploring the Thought Process Behind Designing a Unique NPC With a Minimal Brief

Creating compelling characters for a Dungeons & Dragons campaign is an art form that blends imagination, storytelling, and thoughtful design. When tasked with bringing to life a half-orc rat catcher from the Elfsong Tavern in the Descent into Avernus campaign, I wanted to craft a character whose visual design and narrative resonated with the grit and atmosphere of Baldur's Gate. Here’s the journey behind the design choices that shaped this intriguing NPC.

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The Foundation: Race and Class

The prompt for this character was clear: a neutral half-orc thug, strong-jawed rat catcher. This led to two initial questions that guided my design: “What is a thug in D&D?” and “What does a half-orc look like?”

Drawing from the D&D Monster Manual, thugs are straightforward bruisers equipped with a mace, heavy crossbow, and leather armour. They embody strength and raw intimidation, but also possess an edge of utility, which made this class perfect for a rat catcher prowling the underbelly of Baldur’s Gate. Meanwhile, half-orcs are described as tall, grey-skinned, muscular humanoids with distinctive features. This blend of strength and ruggedness served as the cornerstone for the character's physical and narrative profile.

Pro Tip: When sculpting digitally, always keep an asset library with all of the weapons, armour, boots, bags, pouches etc you make in there for you to use to speed up your sculpting.  If you don't have your own, head over to my Patreon and sign up so you can use my fully loaded component library in your own sculpts!  

Visualising the Rat Catcher

As the character's profession is deeply entwined with the grimy alleys and sewers of Baldur’s Gate, I wanted to ensure the design told the story of their role. Rat catching is a dirty, scrappy job, and I envisioned this NPC hunting vermin as both sport and livelihood.

The “thug” archetype influenced elements like weapons and armour. While the manual listed a mace, I couldn’t shake the image of a wooden club—a callback to “whack a rat” games I played at school fairs. A club felt more personal and low-tech, perfectly suited to a rat catcher. Layers of clothing added texture to the design: baggy trousers and a long shirt form the base, with a leather apron tied around the waist and one strap over the shoulder for practicality. Over this ensemble, I added a tattered leather trench coat, patched and worn, with damage around the hem to hint at years of use. Gloves, boots wrapped in scraps, and a slung bag completed the outfit, offering additional details for storytelling and the miniature's readability.

Rats and Their Place in the Design

No rat catcher is complete without their quarry. Initially, I considered a stick with a cage full of live rats, but this proved impractical in miniature terms—it would be tough to sculpt, fragile to produce, and difficult to paint effectively. Instead, I opted for a crude yet effective solution: a brace of dead rats hanging from the belt. This detail not only visually reinforces the character's profession but avoids the pitfalls of complex sculpting while maintaining clarity and impact.

Looking at the image above showing the mid region of the model, you can clearly see all of the distinct layers and small details

Pro Tip: Detail - The 70:30 rule

When sculpting miniatures, it's important to stylise the sculpts a little to make them a pleasure to paint - nice smooth surfaces, sharp angular features and precise folds and creases applied with precision and deliberation.  Looking at the image above, there is clearly a lot going on in this area of the model, but if you take a look below at the full figure, you'll notice that most of the detail of the model is in this area.  This is following the 70:30 rule - 70% of the model should be fairly plain, simple space where you can rest your eyes and then 30% of the model should be detail components to give you something interesting to look at.  if you skew away from this rule, you'll find your sculpt is either too plain and boring, or so busy you can't easily tell what is going on.  You can see I kept the coat which covers the majority of the model as simple as possible.  The main detail areas on him are his face and his belt region.

Half-Orc Aesthetics

The half-orc aspect of the character required careful balancing. Orcs are traditionally depicted as brutish and bestial, but as a half-orc, this NPC needed to occupy a middle ground between human and orc. I leaned into certain orcish features to make the character recognisably non-human: a stubby, flat nose, broad lower jaw, pronounced lower lip wrapping around tusks, and pointed ears angled slightly downward to enhance their rugged appearance. The beady eyes added a sinister edge, hinting at the character’s neutral disposition.

Whilst the skin tone was not relevant in terms of the sculpt, it still entered the ring for consideration. While green is iconic for orcs in general fantasy (and grey in the current edition of D&D) , I tend to lean in to warmer tones like browns and oranges, or even outlandish hues like blue or white—these choices feel richer and more grounded, while still embracing the fantasy element.

Posture and Expression

The character’s physique combines the powerful stance of an orc with a more human posture, creating a figure that is imposing yet relatable. Facial hair added texture and personality, with an Amish-style beard complementing the tusks without cluttering the face. The absence of a moustache ensured the tusks remain a focal point, keeping the design clean and easily readable.

Final Thoughts

Designing the half-orc rat catcher allowed me to combine narrative and visual elements into a cohesive whole. Every detail was chosen to tell a story—from the patched trench coat to the brace of rats—and to ensure the character felt grounded in their environment while standing out on the tabletop. By blending the grit of Baldur’s Gate with the ruggedness of a half-orc and the practicality of a rat catcher, this NPC became a tangible part of the Descent into Avernus campaign.

Whether you’re creating characters for D&D or designing miniatures, the key is balance: finding harmony between storytelling and functionality. The half-orc rat catcher is not just an NPC; it’s a story brought to life through thoughtful design.

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