Commoners - thorns in arrogant PC's sides

[Umbra]

they are the lowest ranking members of society and they know it. ... If you want to punish the players do it in a plausible way that is consistent with the setting, otherwise it will just breed resentment.

One of the surprising things for me as I do more research of the middle ages is that today's common knowledge of the life of peasants and commoners is quite inaccurate, especially in regard to the power of the common folk even under a feudal system. Indeed, the feudal system failed in part because of commoners exerting their influence.

eg. Villeins were not mindless and helpless, but actually ran the country. The barons who were their masters had to respect their traditions and ways of doing things... Terry Jones' Medieval Lives

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

I simply use logic...

OK, so you have this crappy little insignificant town, East Bumspank....just a collection of farmers, shepherds and miners. A bunch of 1st level commoners. Enter the swaggering pack of arrogant PCs, who look around and notice this, and think to themselves "Hah...we can walk all over these people."

Then the logic comes in. If East Bumspank is so helpless, then how the heck can it survive in a setting where WANDERING MONSTERS are part of the landscape, for Pete's sake? Well, if the town can't defend themselves, then maybe their salvation comes from without... Picture a wandering high-level Ranger who checks on the town every few days during her travels. Or how about a high-level Wizard recreating the ol' Gandalf/Shire relationship? Perhaps a wandering high-level Paladin has quietly decided to take it upon himself to protect the town. Hell, perhaps a huge old copper dragon has "adopted" the town without anyone being the wiser, and he enjoys observing their little lives and dramas, and keeps trouble at bay. Or maybe the town is the birthplace of a few souls who left to earn their fortune, became high-level powerful adventurers, and now keep one eye on their old home?

Just a few coffee-fuelled observations!

I just wanted to observe that everything you said here is awesome. THe copper dragon idea alone gives me food for thought. Well said!

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

Whisper72 mentioned that they have to sleep sometime - but maybe they can't. The locals could constantly do things to keep them from getting sleep: frantic knocking on the door looking for help - over and over again, loud parties, vermin in the beds etc. A party of constantly fatigued members will not be very effective.

LOL!! Honestly, this is something I've never thought of, but it rocks.

This thread is awesome.

 

[Alratan]

One of the ways of dealing with it i to raise the average level of "commoners". A 1st level commoner will be 14-16 years old, and by the time they are 30-35 they will be 5th level. In areas with wandering monsters, a couple of these levels are liable to be warrior as well - to account for the weekly/daily weapons practice hunting/ survival requires.

A bar full of 20 Warrior 2/commoner 3 s can seriously beat your average low-level party if they get upity - and the mere fact that your average peasant could beat you at 1st level breeds long term respect.

In general - the feudal idea is good as well. The wholse point of feudal style division of labour is to have a small class of people who don't have to work in the fields so they can dedicate their lives to other more useful tasks - such as the preservation of knowledge or to protect the community. Most of the time the local lord and his knights+clerics+wizards should be able to overwhelm a mid level adventuring party when attacking from ambush. If they successfully resist arrest - and even worse if they kill those sent to do it - they will be outlawed - if they kill clergy they may be declared anathema. At this point if they flee the kingdom/disappear and stop making trouble they may survive - if not they'll shortly be learning about how nasty being on the receiving end of the scry/teleport/swat attack is. The continued existance of organised states in worlds with super-powered monsters and with powerful bandits/adventureres running around means they have to have such capabilities.

 

[Presto2112]

Ah, yes. The bureaucracy at work. Nothing like petty bureaucrats who wield their power like a great sword.

Yes! This reminds me of a game I played back in 92. My thief bought a manor in a large city, and we essentially spent an entire session dealing with the tax man.

One session later, we found out that the manor was h-h-h-HAUNTED! ZOINKS!

 

[Andor]

One session later, we found out that the manor was h-h-h-HAUNTED! ZOINKS!

Heh. That seems to hasppen a lot. Ours was too. Fortunately it turned out to just be a programmed illusion. Unfortunately the illusion turned out to be a red herring. Is it bad when a ghostly fighter with a flaming ghost touch great sword materializes behind your cleric?

 

[Andor]

You've got some good points, but this one just reeks of deus ex machina.

Of course it is. Utterly utterly Deus ex machina. I'm just pointing out that it can be mythologically appropriate. And even justifiable in game. Maybe that traveling potion salesman your party slapped silly last wednsday was Elminsters great-grand nephew.

 

[Numion]

Yes! This reminds me of a game I played back in 92. My thief bought a manor in a large city, and we essentially spent an entire session dealing with the tax man.

In real life or in fantasy the IRS is not to be messed with

But as for the more fantastic solutions, like dragons and wizards coming to aid commoners who're bitch-slapped by adventuring types .. ehm, that gets old pretty fast. Part of the allure of D&D leveling mechanism is that the PCs rise above the masses. That would seem pointless if the DM presses home that there's always a bigger fish too often, even as protection for lowly commoners. Mind you, there always is a bigger fish, but remind the PCs of it sparingly.

From the players side, I've taken some mild crap from commoners at lower levels (I was friggin punked to paying the barkeeper extra to keep my stuff safe in the inn!), but knowing I couldn't start a riot then, I just put his name in a list. As in a list for people to humiliate in, say, 10 levels

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I once vividly remember the commoners forming a mob and nearly stoning to death the PCs for beating up the local priest. The PCs barely managed to push their way out of the mob before being killed.

 

[StupidSmurf]

I just wanted to observe that everything you said here is awesome. THe copper dragon idea alone gives me food for thought. Well said!

::bows:: Thanks so much! Behold the results of Mighty Java!!! (extra light, 3 sweet-n-lows).