So one of the things introduced in LU is a statblock for the commoner.
I actually really love that this statblock exist, even if its not heavily used by some groups. Because what it does is give us a singular language. When we talk about "better than all the rest", what is the "rest"? What is the common person by which our heroes rise above?
So I think there are two interesting things about the commoner.
1) 4 hp.... this has long been a tradition in dnd but with most classes getting a 1d6 or better hitdice in 5e, I think it was an outstanding question for people. This highlights for us how deadly things are for most people, most weapons are very deadly against them, and basic 1st level magic can be terrifyingly powerful. Many monsters will rip commoners to pieces.
2) One skill at +2 (+1d4). This to me defines the baseline of skilled competency in the core system. A common "decent at their job" effectively rolls at a +4.5. This means taken a large number of people, I should very easily be able to find someone with a +4.5 in a skill.
This means that if you roll a skill less than that, your "weaker" than a commoner might be. A person with less than +4.5 in perception is not going to be a good guard, a person lower than that on craft is not going to make goods like a standard commoner blacksmith could, etc. Vice Versa, anyone rolling a +5 is beating the baseline, and could be considered "talented" at the task in hand. Anyone with a +9 or better is basically "twice" as good as a normal person.....and would probably be considered a "savant" at that task.
Lastly, this defines for us that DC 25 is "the DC of the exceptional". Anything below that is possible to see in that a common pool of people, not all the time but its out there. But DC 25s.....only the exceptional can do those things, the real cream of the crop.
I actually really love that this statblock exist, even if its not heavily used by some groups. Because what it does is give us a singular language. When we talk about "better than all the rest", what is the "rest"? What is the common person by which our heroes rise above?
So I think there are two interesting things about the commoner.
1) 4 hp.... this has long been a tradition in dnd but with most classes getting a 1d6 or better hitdice in 5e, I think it was an outstanding question for people. This highlights for us how deadly things are for most people, most weapons are very deadly against them, and basic 1st level magic can be terrifyingly powerful. Many monsters will rip commoners to pieces.
2) One skill at +2 (+1d4). This to me defines the baseline of skilled competency in the core system. A common "decent at their job" effectively rolls at a +4.5. This means taken a large number of people, I should very easily be able to find someone with a +4.5 in a skill.
This means that if you roll a skill less than that, your "weaker" than a commoner might be. A person with less than +4.5 in perception is not going to be a good guard, a person lower than that on craft is not going to make goods like a standard commoner blacksmith could, etc. Vice Versa, anyone rolling a +5 is beating the baseline, and could be considered "talented" at the task in hand. Anyone with a +9 or better is basically "twice" as good as a normal person.....and would probably be considered a "savant" at that task.
Lastly, this defines for us that DC 25 is "the DC of the exceptional". Anything below that is possible to see in that a common pool of people, not all the time but its out there. But DC 25s.....only the exceptional can do those things, the real cream of the crop.
