Should commoners (and everyone else) be a bit more durable?

[Zogg]

I was thinking about this recently...

Say a 9th level evil cleric walks into a bar. For entertainment he casts "mass inflict light wounds" and within 6 seconds, any 9 commoners within 30 ft. that don't roll a natural 20 on their save are most likely DEAD (1d8+5 damage).

Now, what if EVERYONE in the world had been born with a base of 10 HP? This small adjustment (subject to CON adjustments) would make the above scenario impossible...though I expect people to respond that a cleric of 11th level casting inflict moderate wounds could also present a similar problem. But the large issue with the DnD world is that most adventurers can kill commoners with nothing more than a sneeze.

Furthermore, adventuring at 1st level wouldn't become such an aberration with a base of 10HP to fall back on....I mean, does anybody even DO that anymore?

 

[KnowTheToe]

Level all of your commoners. really, how many people would still be first level at age 30?

 

[Utrecht]

I also think that part of the problem here is that is is hard to model "reality" in D & D - with the fairly low hp of 1st level creatures any sort of mishap that deals leathal damage can kill. Thus the housecat vs. the commoner. There are only two ways of solving this - giving more hitpoints or reducing damage dealt. The second option - obviously makes the world less dangerous for PCs so is less desireable.

So, IMO, it is simply easist to accept the fact that D & D damage is at best cinimatic and is a rule mechanic to reflect damage and leave it at that.


Also - your 9th level cleric is a pretty powerful person - so I would expect him to be able to instantly kill multitudes of commoners - this fits the style of the game (and mimics many movies as well)

 

[Henry]

Heck, yes, they're supposed to be weak -- the PC's are supposed to be saving them after all!

(Or killing them en masse, depending on your campaign.)

 

[billd91]

Heck, at least they have the potential to be a lot tougher than in 1st edition where they were limited to something like 6 hp ever, and that was the physically fit ones!
Now, I can level them. I usually think about 1 level for every 3-5 years after coming of age or so. So, a 40 year old farmer ends up being something like 4th to 7th level depending on how interesting I think an area should be.
They still aren't as tough as adventurers, but not complete pushovers either.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

They should be that way IMO. I don't give commoners levels as it is. I'll give them 1-6 HP and some releveant skills and that's it. Taking the time to do a 6th level commoner, or whatever is a waste of time to me. BAB never goes up or do saves. Experts and such I'll do more work with but they still stay at 1-6 HP and their BAB doesn't go up. If they want to be better with a sword they should take a level of warrior.

 

[Nifft]

IMC, there are no commoners. Anyone that weak got eaten by demons at least a thousand years ago.

IMC, every critter starts off with free bonus HP based on size & race:
Half-Orcs, Aasimar, Tieflings: 10 hp
Humans, Half-Elves, Dwarves: 8 hp
Elves: 6 hp
Halflings: 4 hp
Gnomes: 2 hp <-- note that these are Tiny house-ruled Gnomes

Thus, it's entirely possible that a 1st level Human Wizard will have more HP than a 1st level Halfling Fighter. Over time, the higher HP classes will more than catch up, but the low HP classes aren't forced to start in such a ditch.

There are three things that differentiate non-heroic NPCs from heroic NPCs and PCs:
1) levels of the Expert class;
2) sub-optimal combat build;
3) a desire to stay home and a lack of desire to go adventuring.

Finally, I structure the society such that 1st-3rd level characters are basically apprentices. You don't go out on your own until at least 3rd level (if you can help it). Even then, you travel in groups for mutual safety.

-- Nifft, DM of a high-magic, high-power campaign world

 

[Richards]

I think I remember reading that in Hackmaster, everyone (commoners included) gets a free 20 hp at first level.

Johnathan

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I think I remember reading that in Hackmaster, everyone (commoners included) gets a free 20 hp at first level.

Johnathan

Generally true, except that small creatures like pixie-fairies get fewer hit points as a kicker.

 

[seankreynolds]

You might want to check out two artictles by me:

A Theory About Peasants (it's about how often peasants should level up even though they're not adventuring):
http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/theoryaboutpeasants.html

Variant: Slower Dying (a system where characters take longer to die from -1 to -10 hit points, and beyond):
http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/variantdyingrule.html