Level 0

[Glade Riven]

Something that a freind and former DM of mine tried successfully under 3.5 was having characters start with a level from an NPC class as part of the background of the character. It worked rather well in actual play. Granted, the Pathfinder traits system handles this rather well, but I think the concept of one level of an NPC class could work well in Pathfinder as an optional rule.

The most obvious issue would be that it would deny players their core class's capstone. The other issue is that an NPC class is not as powerful as a PC class.

So here is how I would set it up: The NPC class is a bonus, like character traits. It does not count towards the total character levels. The question is, just how many traits should an NPC class be worth? I am thinking that an NPC class is worth 4 traits (except Commoner, which would be worth 2).

 

[paradox42]

Ask the question this way: how many feats is an NPC class worth? Thanks to Additional Traits, we know 1 feat == 2 traits.

So, is Aristocrat 1 or Adept 1 worth 2 feats? Is Commoner 1 worth even 1 feat? I'm not sure they are, myself- but I agree it's an interesting idea worthy of study.

 

[Volaran]

Well, if you're breaking them down. They each give you the following

Level 1 Adept:
+2 Bonus to Base Will saves
Caster Level 1
Access to 0th and 1st level divine spells from the adept list
1d6 Hit Die
2+Int Skill points
7 Class skills including all Knowledges
Proficiency with Simple Weapons

Level 1 Aristocrat
+2 Bonus to Base Will saves
1d8 Hit Die
4+Int Skill Points
16 class skills including all Knowledges
Proficiency in simple and martial weapons, and with all armour and shields

Level 1 Commoner
1d6 Hit Die
2+Int Skill Points
7 class skills
Proficiency with one simple weapon

Level 1 Expert
+2 Bonus to Base Will Saves
1d8 Hit Die
6+Int Skill Points
10 class skills of their choice
Proficiency in Simple Weapons and light armour

Level 1 Warrior
+2 Bonus to Base Fort Saves
+1 to Base Attack Bonus
1d10 Hit Die
2+Int Skill Points
7 Class Skills
Proficiency with all simple and martial weapons, and all shields and armour

Naturally, these classes are not equal, particularly the commoner. However, all add bonuses that stack with anything, because they are class bonuses. In addition, some things may be difficult to track. For example, someone playing a cleric or druid with a free level of adept may find it frustrating to track 2 spell lists.

I've had GMs do this before, and it didn't cause much impact to the game later on, as most people chose NPC classes that blended well with their PC class. I might suggest the following instead:

Let each PC have 5 hit points, 5 skill points related to their background (scale this up if you want particularly skilled PCs), and +2 to a base save of their choice.

 

[Glade Riven]

[MENTION=592]Volaran[/MENTION] - Hrm, I can see that.

[MENTION=2875]Paradox[/MENTION] - Good point, established further by some limitations that would end up imposed. Adept spellcasting not stacking with normal PC casting, since level 0 doesn't count as a character level a player still can't put more than 1 rank in a skill at first level. It does neuter a lot of the bonuses for choosing this method.

I suppose while it is something that can work as a way to get players thinking about their characters a bit more in depth, Pathfinder's current trait and archtype systems handle it better. Trait lists for occupations or a "Day Job" system like in D20 modern would probably work better.

 

[HalfordAskold]

Actually thought about doing something like that; and I saw it written about in an old Dragon. But, in my opinion, you need a regular group or a group of experienced role players. I have found that a lot of gamers want high levels to get to the "goodies." I have always felt the journey was the great thing about gaming. Thank you for this!