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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 4588587" data-attributes="member: 7635">1.) I'd have to say those who play adventuring commoners (or any NPC class) is a significant minority of the D&D population, and one with the sheer amount of energy necessary to devote to 4e class construction wasn't worth the time. I'd have REALLY been ticked to see a commoner class in the DMG without seeing a druid class in the PHB first!2.) Secondly, Playing a heroic commoner should be easy in 4e. Assign the PC 22 points (or less, depending on your taste) to scores, give him wizard hp (10+con, 4/lvl) and no defense bonuses, one simple weapon proficiency, any two trained skills, and zero at-will, encounter, and daily power. As he rises in levels, he can take feats and gain ability score bumps as normal, but doesn't gain powers unless he multi-classes (take an MC feat) to gain another classes powers (max of one daily, one encounter, one utility). He gets no paragon path (unless its an MC path) and may/may not gain a epic destiny (DM choice). There, a perfectly "usable" commoner-adventurer3.) The "normals" (Joe the Potato Farmer and his family) don't need stats. A best they're going to be asked some questions or perform a skill check (at a bonus I can fake quickly). Anyone with a name (such as above) has stats for one reason, the PCs are going to ally with him or fight him. At that point, he's a special snowflake.  4.) There are plenty of powers in the course of D&D characters cannot learn. No whip-master, no matter his skill, can entangle like a balor can, for example. Luke was CERTAINLY more than a farmer. He was the scion of the Chosen One, strong in the Force (magic) and even before leaving Tattooine he was a good mechanic, a crack shot, and the best brush pilot in the Rebellion. If that's not a 1st level PC class, I don't know what is!(And for the record, in every edition of d20 Star Wars, Luke never started with an NPC class level; he was a first level fringer (scout in saga) before taking Jedi levels.)4e and 3.5 had different design goals. 3.5 focused on simulating everything via the rules, 4e only concerns itself with the stuff it thinks matters (aka combat, adventurers, skill challenges, etc). The result is a system that is more streamlined (due to its narrower focus) at the expense of "completeness" (having a rule to handle nearly any concievable situation). And as for food metaphors, consider this one. You get the same nutrition from bologna as you can from most other meats. If you could never eat bologna again, you'd survive perfectly fine on any other meat product, only those who like it would miss it and those who don't wouldn't care less.</blockquote>

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