Why be a Commoner?

[hong]

You never know how many hit points you have until someone hits you.

The invisible pink unicorn/flying spaghetti monster who DMs the campaign rolled a 1 for our hit points. Happy now?

 

[SlagMortar]

You never know how many hit points you have until someone hits you.

Isn't that a line from Fight Club?

 

[Mighty Halfling]

Ordinary Challenges: A commoner does not need to overcome heroic challenges in order to gain experience. A commoner classed individual gains 1 bonus XP for every day that he is engaged in at least eight hours of ordinary manual labor. This bonus XP may only be applied toward gaining levels as a commoner.

Untapped Potential: Even though you may only be a farm boy or the miller's son or a simple street urchin, you have the potential to be so much more if only the oppurtunity arises. If ever you gain XP for heroic deeds sufficient to place you halfway to a level in any other class, you may switch your trade one level of commoner for a level in any other class provided you have recieved some form of mentoring by a higher level member of this class.

Cool ideas, Celebrim. I have been thinking about the NPC classes a lot lately too. My biggest beef is that they can't get better at skills unless they kill a bugbear or something.
With that in mind, I came up with these two NPC Class-specific supplemental rules, originally posted at my Web site:

SKILL GROWTH: As the character transitions from one stage on the Aging Effects Table (Table 6-5, Player's Handbook), the character earns skill points as if he had advanced a level.
Notes: Now if you look at the Player's Handbook, there are only four listed stages on the Aging Effects Table — Middle Age, Old, Venerable and Maximum Age. These categories provide a natural point for skill growth. Originally, I was thinking that this could be for every 10 years a character ages. That would be fine for most races, but elves mess that plan up. The Aging Effects chart helps even that. Are these skill boosts too much? That's really doubtful. It might even be too little, considering how overskilled Player Characters get over time.
FUNDAMENTAL SKILL: Pick three skills. Each of these skills is a Fundamental Skill for this character. Fundamental skills are not subject to character level dependency.
Notes: This benefit allows the Non-Player Character classes an opportunity to dump all their skill points into three key skills, and not be stuck wallowing at a low skill level because of their relatively low class level. It also helps make my other change work to its maximum benefit.

(And, of course, I urge you to visit my Web site often for other D&D musings.)

 

[nute]

Exactly. There is no reason at all for the stupid commoner class to exist

If I want a NPC with amazing skills but really low str and BAb then I don't need to stat out a character with a class - all I need is a personality and a skill rank. If the PCs attack himhe will either die instantly or suddenly become a uber minor god of asskicking ...

Precisely. IMC, non-player characters either use the existing classes just as guidelines or have ad hoc stats. If none of the PCs have the ability to affect an opponent's stats, there's no reason for me to fully stat out the characteristics of a henchman. If he's a big guy with some experience in fighting, it's just as well to say "Okay, he's got a +6 to hit and a +4 to damage, 15 hit points, and an AC of 14. All his saves are +2 and he's got a longsword." instead of trying to figure out how many skill points he has being a 3rd level warrior.