Some of my Barker’s of Ruin artwork focuses on individual characters, cards, or moments from the game. Litter Lords gave me an opportunity to do something a little different: create an illustration centered around one of the actual games players can encounter while battling Catrick the Cheat.

Created digitally in Procreate, Litter Lords brings together Catrick, playing cards, dice, Elimino pieces, gems, garbage, and his litter-box arena into one colorful and intentionally chaotic scene.

And that chaos fits Catrick perfectly.

What Is Litter Lords?

Litter Lords is one of nine games associated with Catrick the Cheat in Barker’s of Ruin. Eight of those games make up the first phase of his boss battle, with Litter Lords being one of the challenges heroes can face.

At its core, Litter Lords takes inspiration from the playing-card game Garbage, but adds several mechanics specifically designed for Barker’s of Ruin.

The heroes use standard playing cards and work toward completing their layouts. However, cards higher than an 8 have an additional purpose: a hero can discard one of these cards to draw a card from Catrick’s Elimino deck or take the top card from his Elimino discard pile.

Every hero also has an individual discard pile.

Instead of being limited to their own discarded cards, heroes can choose the top card from either their own discard pile or an ally’s discard pile. This introduces another layer of cooperation because one hero’s unwanted card could become exactly what another hero needs.

Catrick Doesn't Play by the Same Rules

While the heroes are working with playing cards and the custom rules of Barker’s of Ruin, Catrick has his own approach to combat.

He attacks with dice rolls.

A d8 is rolled during Catrick’s attack step, but the real danger comes from how his attacks change as he progresses toward winning Litter Lords.

Catrick begins relatively weak:

• 8: His attacks deal 0.5× damage.
• 6: His attacks deal normal damage, and damaged heroes randomly discard 1 card.
• 4: His attacks deal 1.5× damage, and damaged heroes randomly discard 2 cards.
• 2: His attacks deal 2× damage, and damaged heroes randomly discard 3 cards.
• 1: His attacks deal 3× damage, and damaged heroes randomly discard 4 cards.

This means the heroes aren't simply racing to win a card game.

They're racing against a boss who becomes increasingly dangerous the closer he gets to winning.

A Boss Battle That Escalates

One of the ideas I like about Litter Lords is the way Catrick’s progress also functions as a kind of difficulty meter.

At the beginning, taking half damage gives the heroes some breathing room. But allowing Catrick to continue progressing makes every attack considerably more dangerous.

Eventually, getting hit doesn't just mean losing health. Heroes can also begin losing several cards at random, potentially disrupting whatever strategy they were building.

By the time Catrick reaches 1, an attack can deal triple damage while forcing the affected hero to discard four cards.

The closer the heroes get to losing Litter Lords, the harder it becomes to recover.

Visualizing Litter Lords in Procreate

When I created this artwork in Procreate, I wanted the illustration to communicate the strange mixture of mechanics behind the game rather than simply drawing Catrick by himself.

That's why the finished artwork surrounds him with so many different objects.

Playing cards represent the heroes and the Garbage-inspired portion of Litter Lords. Dice represent Catrick’s attacks. The colorful Elimino pieces represent his separate deck and the additional choices available to heroes.

Then there are the gems, trash, scattered objects, litter, and Catrick himself sitting comfortably in the middle of everything.

The result is deliberately cluttered and chaotic.

Catrick looks right at home.

Catrick the Cheat's Larger Boss Battle

Litter Lords is only part of what the heroes have to survive.

It is one of eight games that can be encountered during Phase 1 of Catrick’s boss battle. Together, these different games are designed to make fighting Catrick feel less like facing a conventional enemy and more like being forced to play by the rules of someone who is constantly changing the game.

And then comes Phase 2.

From Litter Lords to Undead Tabbies

Heroes who die during the first phase can return in a much different form.

Phase 2 introduces a mini-game called Undead Tabbies, where heroes who died during Phase 1 are transformed into zombies.

Even worse, Catrick can clone them.

That means losing a hero during one of the earlier games can have consequences later in the boss battle. A fallen ally can eventually become part of the threat facing the surviving heroes.

It's another way I want Catrick’s battle to feel unpredictable and progressively more chaotic as it continues.

Building the World of Barker’s of Ruin

Litter Lords is ultimately more than an illustration of a cat sitting in a litter box surrounded by cards and dice.

It's a visual representation of one piece of the larger Barker’s of Ruin game system I'm developing.

Barker’s of Ruin combines playing cards, dice, custom rules, characters, special abilities, mini-games, and boss battles. Creating artwork like Litter Lords gives me a chance to visualize these mechanics while continuing to develop the world surrounding them.

Catrick the Cheat is especially fun to work with because his games allow me to experiment with mechanics that are deliberately strange, unpredictable, and unfair.

After all, he's called Catrick the Cheat for a reason.

Watch Litter Lords on YouTube

I also created a YouTube Short showcasing the Litter Lords artwork.

Watch the Litter Lords YouTube Short:
https://youtube.com/shorts/isH_YtZIdO4?si=S1vKU7yOcENpScTf

The video offers another look at the finished artwork and the visual world I'm continuing to build for Barker’s of Ruin.

Litter Lords Prints Are Now Available

If you'd like to add Litter Lords to your collection, the artwork is now available through The Artistic Shepherd.

View Litter Lords – Catrick the Cheat | Barker’s of Ruin Artwork:
https://www.theartisticshepherdart.com/warehouse-open-edition-prints/art_print_products/Litter-Lords?product_gallery=406955&product_id=8893577

The artwork is available with multiple display and product options, making it possible to bring a piece of Catrick's chaotic game into your own collection.

More Barker’s of Ruin Is Coming

There is still much more of Catrick’s boss battle—and the larger world of Barker’s of Ruin—that I want to visualize.

With nine Catrick games, the eight-game first phase, Undead Tabbies, different heroes, custom cards, dice mechanics, and other parts of the game still to explore, Litter Lords represents just one piece of a much bigger project.

As I continue developing Barker’s of Ruin, I'll be sharing more artwork and more of the mechanics behind the characters and games that make up its world.

For now, welcome to Litter Lords.

Just don't let Catrick get down to 1.