D&D (2024) Should a general Adventurer class be created to represent the Everyman?

[Celebrim]

An everyman who doesn't adventure is a Commoner.

Once you start adventuring you typically become something else, but an everyman adventurer is a Paragon.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

The GEC is a survivor and dabbler. Rather than intense training or advanced study, a GEC's adventuring skill is formed by its learned experience added by its fortitude to live through those experiences A GEC might be born lucky under a fortunate star, the subject of a prophecy, the inheritor of a strong bloodline, or even the diamond plucked from a hot tragedy. Due to their hard push into adventure, a GEC's style is simple and not flashy but due to the little tools they have they have more time to hone those few skills and learn some of the aptitudes of those around them.

It sounds like you're talking about an Background, NPC hireling, or level 0 or 1 character. What does a level 5, 10, 15, 20 GEC character look like? I'm curious what this looks like to you.

• Do you want a character that instead of identifying with an existing class identity with specialized class abilities just gets way more of the generic benefits like more skills, tools, feats, and the like, which they can choose a la carte, and those just become their class abilities?
• Do you want an alternative character creation/progression method where the PC gets to pick and choose other class abilities a la carte, so they aren't pigeon-holed into an existing class identity?
• Is it a fully-fledge class with its own unique class abilities that all GECs are assumed to have?
• What do subclasses look like, or are there no subclasses, and they just get more a la carte option slots?

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

What about the factotum class from 3.5 Dungeonscape? The special class feature is you could change the subclass and this is like multiclassing.

 

[Minigiant]

It sounds like you're talking about an Background, NPC hireling, or level 0 or 1 character. What does a level 5, 10, 15, 20 GEC character look like? I'm curious what this looks like to you.

• Do you want a character that instead of identifying with an existing class identity with specialized class abilities just gets way more of the generic benefits like more skills, tools, feats, and the like, which they can choose a la carte, and those just become their class abilities?
• Do you want an alternative character creation/progression method where the PC gets to pick and choose other class abilities a la carte, so they aren't pigeon-holed into an existing class identity?
• Is it a fully-fledge class with its own unique class abilities that all GECs are assumed to have?
• What do subclasses look like, or are there no subclasses, and they just get more a la carte option slots?

It's a full class.

It's John the Bakers Boy who follows behind Sir Gary, Reverend Sally, and Harzad the Great. Then later Johnny learns he is a descendant of Samuel Strong, Hero of the Second Empire and his incredible luck is the residual luck is a mixture of blessing of the gods and his strong bloodline causing near misses against him and heart strikes from him. Then when the 4th Empire is crown a new ruler, they all realize Johnny is one of the destined heroes of a prophecy anytimr the Empire is in danger

No months of special swordsmanship training.
No decades of arcane study
No hours of stealth missions

Just learning on the field and lucky hits.

 

[Aurel Guthrie]

The closest thing to an everyman class I've seen that actually pulls their weight is Laserllama's Savant class, who uses their knowledge and intellect to rise above. It's not exactly an everyman, becoming pretty much a genius at some point, but it's still much less fantastical than the PHB classes, and you can really see it on the subclasses: Archeologist, Physician, Culinarian, Engineer, etc

Edit: Oops, didn't see @TwoSix's post on the previous page that links a commoner class by Laserllama as well, I'm gonna have to take a look at it as well!

 

[Scribe]

Shadowdark has the Roustabout.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Let's face it

The fighter is no longer the Everyman. The fighter class has represented a well trained hardened warrior for 25 years now. 2024 went even further by giving them Weapon Masteries that enforce that focus and training.

The baker or farmhand who follows the ragtag group of professional looters into a dungeon and survives to return back to town isn't a suddenly proficient with every weapon on the planet and has a internal well of stamina to enact incredible acts of martial skill.

The baker is a lucky survivor.

As the fighter gets more warrior, the rogue gets more tricksy and underhanded, the barbarian gets more primal, the margin for the everyman pushed into adventure and learning on the way is shrinking.

In the older days, you could run these PCs as fighters with alternatives stat spreads as Ability score mattered less and diving deep into martial specialization was optional. Heck you could even give them an XP bonus as they are more emptyheaded in adventuring and would absorb more than the outright trained.

But in a world where the desire is that characters mostly progress in the same speeds and power, this doesn't fit.

So I wondered, should this base concept be pulled out of the fighter and solidified as its own class. Focusing on the characters unique aspect of learning from allies and experience. With each subclass explaining why they survived or progressed be it luck, destiny, prodigy, fortitude, or the sponsoring of a higher or lower power. Such a class could also be a vehicle for some much desired class structures like a simple warrior, a Constitution based PC, or full healer.

What is your thoughts?

Yeah, I think it would be fun. But, using Pathfinder (1e) as a reference, I don't want to see anymore level 6 Commoners as Non-Player Characters.

I do think the 5e Champion Fighter and Thief Rogue work well for these purposes. I think an Everyman is not going to be specialized in magiks--arcane or divine.

Here's an idea, we make a class that focuses on a Character's Creature Type (human, elf, etc.) so that the Class fades into the background, so to speak. Class Features could revolve around turning the character into a Paragon of their Type. So, a Dwarf would grow to become more dwarfy as they progress in level, or an elf more elfy, and a halfling more hobbity.

It might get complicated, but I actually like the idea.

 

[Yaarel]

That's kinda how I would do it.

1. Some kind of "when you die" feature like @Yaarel said
2. Give them some kind of point system that they can spend in the middle of adventures or combat to temporarily give them a bonus to damage, skills, AC
3. Some kind of innate multiclassing that allows the class to learn from party members (and monsters as subclass).

Maybe something like, the Everyone attempts to flee, and hostiles take damage when trying to chase and capture.

 

[Yaarel]

Essentially, D&D is a combat-centric game, and a "class" is a kind of fighting style. Some characters combat with spells, and some combat with swords.

When thinking about an Everyone, think about how the character is not fighting (competently), thus identify from where the combat on behalf of the Everyone is happening.

 

[CreamCloud0]

It's John the Bakers Boy who follows behind Sir Gary, Reverend Sally, and Harzad the Great. Then later Johnny learns he is a descendant of Samuel Strong, Hero of the Second Empire and his incredible luck is the residual luck is a mixture of blessing of the gods and his strong bloodline causing near misses against him and heart strikes from him. Then when the 4th Empire is crown a new ruler, they all realize Johnny is one of the destined heroes of a prophecy anytimr the Empire is in danger

doesn't this latter part kind of retroactively undermine the idea of the character being an everyman? in most of the prior discussions where the fighter is used as the everyman this angle usually got brought up and subsequently pointed out that no, being blessed by gods, being the prophesied hero or part of a special lineage isn't something the everyman archetype has in their back pocket to reveal.