The Commoner

[seth6]

Hello Playground

So a friend of mine is starting up a new game (because hes upset about my other friend power gaming) Either way I decided to take the opportunity to play a Class no one in my group has played before. The Commoner.

His back story is that he is a subsistence farmer who's crop failed this year. His lord was very understanding and told him he had 3 months to get him his 3 acre cut of the harvest or 500GP. There is no way my pore Commoner can grow his plants to harvest in 3 months in good weather but with winter on its way its completely out of the question. So his only choice is to go adventuring. Being the lowly NPC he is he has very little hope but for the sake of his wife and 2 daughters hes going to throw his lot in with a group of adventures and hope for the best.

Now knowing this DM XP is gonna be handed out like candy so Was thinking wouldn't it be hysterical if he took a prestige class. So my question is tho what prestige classes are open to my lowly commoner. (oh and I made sure to tell the other PC's my name that will help his life expectancy)

[Dusk Eclipse]

Survivor (SS) can be entered at commoner 2 IIRC; but for hilarity try this build: "Bubs the Commoner" (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7097263&postcount=38)



Bubs, Venerable Strongheart Halfling Commoner3/Marshal1

Traits and Flaws
Uncivilized
Murky-eyed


Feats
Flaw - Flexible Mind = +1
Human - Animal Affinity
1 - Skill Focus: Handle Animal
3 - Dinosaur Wrangler


Cha can be as high as 22 (18 base, +3 age, +1 ap)

Buy an Animal Trainer's Kit

Beg the DM for a custom item of Handle Animal (we can technically afford up to a +7 item, depending on your cheese tolerance).

Activate a Marshal Aura of Motivate Charisma.

Become an affiliate of the "Animal Domain" organization (Complete Champion page 30); you only need a +4 affiliate score, and taking full ranks in Handle Animal and Know:Nature gets you there.



Total Handle Animal score: 37 (7ranks +6cha, +6aura, +7 item, +2kit, +2affinity, +3focus, +2affiliate, +1trait, +1flexible), with an additional +4 against Dinosaurs.



Now, the DC to rear a wild animal is 15 + the animal's HD, and doing so gets you up to three of that kind of animal. The DCs to train it afterwards are constant, so that's good. Assuming take 10 is allowed, or we get merely average rolls, we can reliably rear wild animals of up to 32 HD. This includes such fun ones as the Dire Rhinoceros (CR 9) and Dire Elephant (CR 10). However, we also get a +4 with Dinosaurs, raising the limit up to 36.

If you guessed that I was going to roll out a 36 HD dinosaur, you're on the money. Meet the Battletitan. At the low end of CR 16, it's not going to be soloing the Tarrasque any time soon. But with AC 35, four natural attacks that are not going to miss, legendary hp, impressive saves, a Str score better than a Storm Giant, Improved Grab, and a buttload of feats to customize with... yeah, you'll be travelling in style. And for all your effort, you get three of these.

At level four.

(edit - You can also raise Magical Beasts of up to 17 HD. I'm sure there's all sorts of fun there, too, but I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader.)

(edit2 - Couldn't resist. Here's a partial list of possibilities: Chronotyryn (CR 19), Disenchanter (CR 17), 12-Headed Cryohydra (CR 13), Nightmare Beast (CR 15), Spellgaunt (CR 12). Unfortunately, training magical beasts is considerably harder, as apparently they're willful folk. Might not take kindly to some ancient, shrivelled halfling giving them orders. Still, hey, roll a 20 and you've got it. And if you've got a trio of pets with Time Stop as an SLA and Dual Actions, you shouldn't have much to worry about.)


(edit3 - Battletitan flavour, just for the win: "Battletitan dinosaurs are massive predatory beasts meticulously bred as hybrids of other dinosaurs. They do not occur naturally; only elaborate nonmagical breeding techniques give rise to the mighty battletitans. Kingdoms that fi eld the dinosaurs in their armies jealously guard the means of their creation, treating such information as a state secret. With the ferocity of the most dangerous carnivores and the defenses of the toughest armored herbivores, a battletitan is a terror to behold." Three of them.



You just know I'm going to be heartbroken if someone finds a hole in my build...)

[ryu]

Also chicken infested. Rare flaw that I would always take given the option even without feat bonuses.

[Venusaur]

Are you planning on going straight commoner, or multiclassing when you get some experience? Because a commoner dip on a DMM cleric to grab chicken infested and persisting Greater Consumptive Field can give you infinite strength.

This comic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12232803&postcount=44) shows how it works.

[Gnome Alone]

I don't think Handle Animal/Chicken Infested cheese is what the OP had in mind. Sounds more like a gritty heroic fantasy kinda deal - the peasant hero typically does not rescue the family farm by taking up dinosaur training. (Ok, when I say it like that it does sound hilarious though.)

Lacking the optimizationalismist chops to help you with what you're actually asking, I will instead direct you to Joe Wood the Commoner (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19558998/Commoner_Campaign) for some inspiration.

[ThiagoMartell]

There was a Commoner Hero prestige class in one of Mongoose Publishing books - the one about fighters. It's 3rd party and all, but I think it fits.

[Daftendirekt]

Go check out the Commoner Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232822) for fun ideas as well.