Build Your Campaign's NPCs with Imagination Mode
Around your table, every player eventually got a figurine for their character. The barbarian has an axe, the ranger has a bow, everyone is happy. Then comes the tavern scene, and you drop a spare die on the map to stand in for the innkeeper. The contrast is brutal. Yet your NPCs carry half your story: they hand out the quests, they betray the party, they come back in chapter 12. Imagination Mode exists for exactly this.
The GM's problem: nobody makes your characters
For a player character, you can always find something close enough on a shelf. For an NPC, you cannot. Your one-eyed goblin smuggler with a red scarf and a clockwork parrot exists in no store, because he only exists in your notes.
That is the real gap between equipping a table and equipping a campaign. Players need one figurine each. You need one per memorable face, and none of those faces has an off-the-shelf model.
Imagination Mode: describe instead of hunting
Imagination Mode lets you create a figurine with no photo at all. You write your character in plain text and the AI handles the rest. You can add a reference photo if you happen to have one, but nothing forces you to: the description alone is enough.
In practice, you open the creator, describe your NPC the way you would describe them at the table, and get a 2D preview in under three minutes. If the result is not quite your character, you tweak the wording and go again. It is the fastest loop there is between a scenario idea and an object standing on the map.
If your NPC belongs to a world that is not in the style library, Custom Mode takes over: you freely describe the outfit, the profession or the mood you have in mind.
Three NPCs to create for your next session
- The quest giver. The innkeeper, the librarian, the guard captain. This is the NPC your players will see most often, so it is also the figurine that pays for itself fastest.
- The rival. A Thief, Elf or Barbarian style with one detail that makes them recognizable from the far end of the table. Your players should identify them the second you put them down.
- The arc boss. Death Knight, Orc, Mage. Pulling out that figurine at the right moment beats any dramatic announcement. Keep it hidden until then.
One useful detail: one figurine equals one character. For a scene with several people, you create one figurine per character, which leaves you free to rearrange them on the map however the scene calls for.
54mm, the scale that fits your table
For play, 54mm at 18€ is the reference format. It sits on a gridded map without swallowing the squares, it lives alongside the ranges you already own, and it stays consistent with the scales used in Warhammer, Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder style settings.
The 110mm at 31€ plays a different role. Too big to move between terrain pieces, it is perfect for the NPC you want on a shelf, or in the middle of the table as a set piece.
Which render to pick for an NPC
Human figurines come in three renders. To populate a campaign, Simplified is often the smartest call: bright flat colors, five maximum, so you can paint NPCs in batches between sessions. Complex, richer in texture, is worth saving for the characters that matter. Chibi, with its big round head and smooth surfaces, works beautifully for lighter campaigns or comic relief NPCs.
Keep in mind that the AI simplifies or removes very small accessories such as thin glasses or cords, to guarantee a clean print. So describe your NPC through silhouette and volumes rather than micro details.
Budget and lead times to equip your campaign
Every figurine is printed on demand in SLA resin in our French workshop, then delivered in raw resin, ready to paint. Count 18€ for 54mm and 31€ for 110mm, shipping not included and calculated at checkout.
On timing: a 2D preview in under three minutes, the 3D model prepared within 24 business hours after your validation, then shipping within 10 business days. In other words, an NPC ordered today can be on your table for next month's session. The sound method is to create your NPCs arc by arc rather than trying to populate the whole world at once.
Your turn
Your best characters are already written down somewhere in your campaign notes. Create your NPC by simply describing what you have in mind, take a look at our custom figurine page for the full range of options, and if you are unsure about the format, our article on 54mm covers it in detail.