I've never been happy with 3e's ultra-crappy Commoner class. I've decided to replace it with a Tradesman class that also subsumes the Expert class. It's based on the 1e DMG's division of 0-level NPCs into sedentary, active & labouring, with inspiration from Masque of the Red Death's Tradesman class and d20 Call of Cthulu's Offensive/Defensive character split.
TRADESMAN & EXPERT
The Tradesman class replaces the Commoner for most purposes. The Expert is a subset of Tradesman.
TRADESMAN
Hit Die: d4 (sedentary), d6 (active), or d8 (labouring).
Skill Points at 1st Level: x4 standard per-level.
Skill Points at Each Level:
d4 hit die (Sedentary): 8 + Int modifier. The Tradesman can choose any twelve skills to be class skills.
d6 hit die (Active): 6 + Int modifier. The Tradesman can choose any ten skills to be class skills.
d8 hit die (Labouring): 4 + Int modifier. The Tradesman can choose any eight skills to be class skills.
Saving Throws & Base Attack Bonus
The Tradesman can choose any one Save to be his good save, based on his profession - eg Fortitude for a miner, Reflex for a thief, Will for a priest. In this case they use the good (3/4) Base Attack Bonus.
The Tradesman may alternatively opt to have two good saves, in which case they use the poor Base Attack Bonus (1/2).
Table: The Tradesman
(mucked-up-by c/p table):
NPC Level Base Attack
Bonus Good/Poor Poor
Save Poor
Save Good
Save
1st +0/+0 +0 +0 +2
2nd +1/+1 +0 +0 +3
3rd +2/+1 +1 +1 +3
4th +3/+2 +1 +1 +4
5th +3/+2 +1 +1 +4
6th +4/+3 +2 +2 +5
7th +5/+3 +2 +2 +5
8th +6/+4 +2 +2 +6
9th +6/+4 +3 +3 +6
10th +7/+5 +3 +3 +7
11th +8/+5 +3 +3 +7
12th +9/+6 +4 +4 +8
13th +9/+6 +4 +4 +8
14th +10/+7 +4 +4 +9
15th +11/+7 +5 +5 +9
16th +12/+8 +5 +5 +10
17th +12/+8 +5 +5 +10
18th +13/+9 +6 +6 +11
19th +14/+9 +6 +6 +11
20th +15/+10 +6 +6 +12
Class Features
The following is a class feature of the Tradesman NPC class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Tradesman is proficient in the use of all simple weapons and with light armor but not shields.
TRADESMAN & EXPERT
The Tradesman class replaces the Commoner for most purposes. The Expert is a subset of Tradesman.
TRADESMAN
Hit Die: d4 (sedentary), d6 (active), or d8 (labouring).
Skill Points at 1st Level: x4 standard per-level.
Skill Points at Each Level:
d4 hit die (Sedentary): 8 + Int modifier. The Tradesman can choose any twelve skills to be class skills.
d6 hit die (Active): 6 + Int modifier. The Tradesman can choose any ten skills to be class skills.
d8 hit die (Labouring): 4 + Int modifier. The Tradesman can choose any eight skills to be class skills.
Saving Throws & Base Attack Bonus
The Tradesman can choose any one Save to be his good save, based on his profession - eg Fortitude for a miner, Reflex for a thief, Will for a priest. In this case they use the good (3/4) Base Attack Bonus.
The Tradesman may alternatively opt to have two good saves, in which case they use the poor Base Attack Bonus (1/2).
Table: The Tradesman
(mucked-up-by c/p table):
NPC Level Base Attack
Bonus Good/Poor Poor
Save Poor
Save Good
Save
1st +0/+0 +0 +0 +2
2nd +1/+1 +0 +0 +3
3rd +2/+1 +1 +1 +3
4th +3/+2 +1 +1 +4
5th +3/+2 +1 +1 +4
6th +4/+3 +2 +2 +5
7th +5/+3 +2 +2 +5
8th +6/+4 +2 +2 +6
9th +6/+4 +3 +3 +6
10th +7/+5 +3 +3 +7
11th +8/+5 +3 +3 +7
12th +9/+6 +4 +4 +8
13th +9/+6 +4 +4 +8
14th +10/+7 +4 +4 +9
15th +11/+7 +5 +5 +9
16th +12/+8 +5 +5 +10
17th +12/+8 +5 +5 +10
18th +13/+9 +6 +6 +11
19th +14/+9 +6 +6 +11
20th +15/+10 +6 +6 +12
Class Features
The following is a class feature of the Tradesman NPC class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Tradesman is proficient in the use of all simple weapons and with light armor but not shields.