Useful trick for DMs designing NPCs: just make 'em look like a famous person. You don't have to tell the players that they look exactly like Meat Loaf, or John Spencer, or Helen Mirren; just put that in your notes, and then when you need to describe them, describe that person from memory. (Or, if you're in a PBP game, check Google image search and describe them then.) This makes it really easy to come up with a description of an NPC and record it in about seven words (human female, veteran, looks like Floella Benjamin), and is fun for you too (and you can make all sorts of fun little character allusions between the NPC you're describing and the celebrity you're borrowing and your players will never know). This has made things loads easier for me. Has everyone else already thought of this?