Commoners as Adventurers: Possible?

[mmadsen]

While we are on the subject, does anyone else miss 0 level NPCs?

Nope.

I would rather have a template for barkeeps, shop owners, armorers, and such where they get X amount of Y skills, that increase with time, not level, (which essentially can be the same thing, but I don't think they really need an increase in HP or feats, just skills, and 1pt ability increase every so often.

First, use a Hit Point system where characters have a base number of Hit Points (e.g. 10 or Con) and then add Hit Points with levels. The Star Wars Wound/Vitality system does this. Then give noncombatant classes no extra Hit Points (or just a few "plot protection" Hit Points) and no (or poor) Save and BAB progressions.

 

[Terwox]

I've done it, it rocks.

I'm doing this right now -- well, aftermath. We played for a couple of months of backstory as level-0 teenagers, on the run from goblins. Great fun. Advanced the timeline 5 years, and now we're level 2. It's great, definately worth checking out -- it makes having a level 10 character be a bit cooler when you remember how scared they were as a child, and it was played out, and not just backstory. I recommend it!

 

[mmadsen]

Re: I've done it, it rocks.

We played for a couple of months of backstory as level-0 teenagers, on the run from goblins. Great fun.

That does sound like great fun, Terwox. Have any stories? What was a typical adventure like?

 

[Rhialto]

You know, call me a classicist, or a munchkin, or whatever, but there doesn't seem to be a real point to playing this game, except perhaps as some sort of masochistic exercise...

"I'm Percy the Peasant! Watch me flee the hordes of Brilbresh! Crap! They're faster than I am! ARGH!"

This sort of anti-munchkinism is essentially just the same sort of gaming in reverse...

"I'm a 100th lvl fighter-wizard-cleric-god..."

"Oh, yeah! Well I'm a 1st lvl commoner with crippled limbs and bad eyesight!"

Playing characters for their helplessness is essentially as immature as trying to build an invincible Hackmaster...

 

[Rhialto]

Cough--cough...

Sorry about this obvious bump, but the counter didn't notice my last post...

 

[mmadsen]

Playing characters for their helplessness is essentially as immature as trying to build an invincible Hackmaster...

Certainly bragging about how crippled your character is (or how much you roleplay vs. rollplay) is immature, but that doesn't mean playing a weak character isn't fun, challenging, and a great change of pace.

 

[Xaven]

Well, I know just what you are talking about. I once DMed for a game where I had the player (it was a solo game) start at 10 years old.

It was based in dragonlance, so he wanted to become a Knight of Solamnia. So, being the adventurous sort, went into a cave to explore (it was more detailed why he went in there, but this was years ago, so I don't quite remember the details). Well, as he went inside, he was confronted by a goblin. He picked up a rock, through it at the goblin and took off out of the cave. Well, he eventually stopped and saw that the goblin wasn't following him. He cautiously went back into the cave and saw that he had killed the goblin with the stone throw. I had had him make an attack roll, and he had rolled a critical, and he did double damage and did max, so it killed the goblin. Well, he picked up the rock and continued into the cave.

This time, he entered an open area with a silver egg and another goblin. The goblin surprised him and attacked. The goblin missed (poor roll on my part) and the boy swung the rock at the goblin. Another critical, killing the second goblin. He saved the egg (which was a silver dragon egg) and it hatched in front of him. The little girl came home with him and that was his first adventure.

When he became a knight, when we fast forwarded ahead, he still had that rock, and would still use that as his missile weapon of choice. He ended up getting it enchanted by the dragons for saving the baby.

 

[Niccademus]

The Rock Of Power

Yeah, that was my adventurer-turn knight. I really liked that game eventhough it was one of our token one nighters. The rock was always a really nice lead into battle *hurl it and then charge with the sword* I think campaigns in which you start out as some kind of less-than-combat-ready class are only good if the game is going to persist for more than the session in which you blow. I have a friend who likes to DM white wolf games in which the players are pre-change werewolves or havn't been embraced yet or whatever, but they never last more than one session....so they were never really fun.

 

[Storminator]

I want to play a game where the PCs start as Commoners, take one of the better NPC classes at 2nd level, and then take a PC class at third. The "better" NPC class has to logically lead to the PC class; the idea being that they start as nobodies, and after their first adventure, get an idea of what they want to be. And there's a bit of a learning curve between commoner and PC classes.

PS

 

[Dust]

You know, call me a classicist, or a munchkin, or whatever, but there doesn't seem to be a real point to playing this game, except perhaps as some sort of masochistic exercise...

"I'm Percy the Peasant! Watch me flee the hordes of Brilbresh! Crap! They're faster than I am! ARGH!"

This sort of anti-munchkinism is essentially just the same sort of gaming in reverse...

"I'm a 100th lvl fighter-wizard-cleric-god..."

"Oh, yeah! Well I'm a 1st lvl commoner with crippled limbs and bad eyesight!"

Playing characters for their helplessness is essentially as immature as trying to build an invincible Hackmaster...

Not to be rude, but I think you've missed my point entirely. The idea is not to brag or boast about how hard your characters have it, or how quickly they can bend over to have their ass beat. The idea is one that was partially inspired by the CoC method: you start off as a nobody who happens on something much bigger than you are, but you have to deal with it because you're the only one who can. However, instead of the trouble being bigger than you can ever handle, in the course of handling it you become real heroes.

What You Mean:
"I'm Frederic the Farmer," says one player. "I have Craft (Barn-building) +7 and Profession (Farmer) +6. Yesterday, I got my skull beaten in by a crippled dire earthword I happened upon in my field. Kickass, huh?"
"Oh yeah?" says the second player. "Well, I'm playing Braddock the Brewer. I'm fat, ugly, have bad hygiene, and my only two functional skills are Craft (Brewing) +2, and Profession (Drunkard) +3, and I'm not even any good at them. I subract three from the ECL of any situation I'm part of."
"Wow," replies the first, "you are the coolest... ever."

What I Mean:
Evan the youth, a strong lad who's apprenticed with the local fletcher[warrior or expert, archer-to-be], has walked out of town to buy some herbs from the local wise woman [adept or expert, may become a wizard or possibly a druid]. As they exit her cottage, chatting about the weather, they see a horse galloping along the road, with a well-dressed young lady on it's back [aristocrat, may become a rogue or a bard, or possibly even a fighter]. She's in trouble because X, and the timing is just so that they don't have time to go back to town for help because Y.

Cliched, yes. Fun? I think it might be. The heroes are still doing heroic things, they just astart out as everyday folks. Even a first level cleric is a force to be reckoned with, as is a fighter with longsword and chainmail, or a wizard who can cast burning hands, if you're a just an average person.