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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 3382670" data-attributes="member: 4937">The commoner basically exists for backwards compatibility.  You can dispense with it completely if you don't like it.I think the best answer given is that you end up with commoner if you don't have the oppurtunity to be anything else.  To a certain extent that is true, and I'd say a good percentage of the commoners I've ever had in a campaign were assumed to be commoners for that reason.  It's also probably the only in game explanation you can have with the rules as written.  But, I'm not entirely satisfied with that explanation.So, in backgrounding my world and feeding the little simulationist in me, I've brain stormed a little to come up with advantages that would make the commoner class attractive to a commoner.  The heart of what I came up with is this: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.This is an amazingly useful ability for a non-hero who plans to lead a quiet, simple life.  Instead of going out and risking your neck, you can do your chores or employment and learn from that experience.  By the time you are middleaged, its not at all unusual to be 4th level or more.  If you are fit and healthy, you are probably a match for a first level fighter in a bar fight.  The other thing about the commoner class which is interesting is that its pretty much strictly inferior to any other class.  You've got bad saves, poorest HD, weakest BAB progression, and very limited access to skills, feats, or proficiencies.In short, you are completely adaptable.  You haven't yet committed yourself to anything.  Which brings us to this: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.And you always wondered how Luke managed to gain so many levels in Jedi Knight?  Lots of hard work on the farm - that's how.</blockquote>

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