Class Features for A Commoner?

[Palanan]

I'm looking for small mechanical tweaks that could help set apart individuals in a commoner campaign, based on each character's backstory and their actions in-game. If a character is roleplayed to have a particular interest in music, for instance, I'd like to be able to represent this mechanically.

A bonus feat seems like a lot for a commoner, so I'm thinking something like the traits from Pathfinder, except gained at each new level depending on how the character has developed. Any suggestions along these lines?

[Segev]

Honestly, I'd let the players just use their feat selections to set themselves apart. Much more and you're probably better off not using the commoner class.

[OldTrees1]

Depending on your players, I would almost ask them to design the small effects. (after giving them some example for calibration)

Maybe use pathfinder feats as a metric?

[Frogteam]

Bonus Skill Focus or other skill related Feat?

[Coidzor]

Well, what sort of Commoners are your players rocking or do you expect them to rock that you'd want to allow for features to help customize them?

I mean, if we were just going to generally discuss such things I'd posit something about being able to go for periods of famine for longer/better due to being inured to a starvation diet or something else related to dirt farming and drudgery, such as a resistance to *contracting* certain diseases related to living their lives in filth given a vacuum.

Maybe proficiency with unarmed strikes for those who like brawling or a bonus to using improvised weapons/decrease in non-proficiency penalties? Some bonus to their grapple checks for those who practice folk wrestling? Some form of limited ability to use handle animal in place of diplomacy for domesticated animals as a sort of counterpart to wild empathy? The ability to give commands to some number of creatures that were trained together with the same handle animal skill use action to direct them in and out of combat?

[AuraTwilight]

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258146

I'm just going to pimp this. I've played it before and it's pretty much as good as you're going to get for a PC Commoner with class features.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Coidzor
Maybe proficiency with unarmed strikes for those who like brawling or a bonus to using improvised weapons/decrease in non-proficiency penalties? Some bonus to their grapple checks for those who practice folk wrestling? Some form of limited ability to use handle animal in place of diplomacy for domesticated animals as a sort of counterpart to wild empathy? The ability to give commands to some number of creatures that were trained together with the same handle animal skill use action to direct them in and out of combat?

Interesting ideas, thanks. Some of these suggestions are very much in line with what I was looking for--just little tweaks that aren't up to the level of a feat, but which give a flavorful benefit.

Any other ideas like these?




Originally Posted by AuraTwilight
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258146

I'm just going to pimp this. I've played it before and it's pretty much as good as you're going to get for a PC Commoner with class features.

Thanks for the link, I hadn't seen that one before.

(It goes a little overboard, though. Class features in general are good, but some of that is a little silly.)

[Coidzor]

Interesting ideas, thanks. Some of these suggestions are very much in line with what I was looking for--just little tweaks that aren't up to the level of a feat, but which give a flavorful benefit.

Any other ideas like these?

Hmm. A minor ability allowing them to determine that an individual is a member or at least appears to be a member of a race in the PHB or some other minor ability for them to be able to recognize other members of their race regardless of their HD or that lets them treat identifying humanoids as a "common knowledge" DC 10 check that can be made untrained if it's a species they've encountered before or had sufficiently described to them.

Maybe something to simulate militia training, granting them proficiency with padded, leather, and eventually maybe hide or studded leather armor and then progressively more simple weapons as they level up, say, a choice of either long spear or fauchard(AKA longspear with slashing damage) for a reach weapon, dagger or club as "side-arms", morning star or light/heavy mace for a main one-handed weapon, maybe heavy flail or spear for two-handed, non-reach weapons. But for the "better" weapons that occupy a niche it's a choice between, say, slings or darts as one choice of possible proficiency and then at a higher level a choice between javelins or light crossbows. I can't really see stretching that past 6th level though.

Something similar to Tracking, but only applied to wild game to simulate having a background in poaching. Eventually gaining the ability to set simple traps for Tiny then Small then maybe Medium creatures in wilderness environments given time without material cost or at a reduced cost. Maybe proficiency with certain hunting weapons such as regular old short bows, slings, maybe javelins over time. Possibly boar spears at a bit of a stretch.

Something more related to hunting, but something along the lines of having been a beater for a noble hunter, with the ability to make a check to scare animals, possibly giving intimidate as a class skill or letting handle animal do that job, only working on wild animals and some dumb magical beasts, maybe more animal-like aberrations at a stretch, but getting a bonus from having multiple characters do it at once. Might go along with the being able to coordinate multiple animals with handle animal as well. Might be able to squeeze in boar spears here better.

[Slipperychicken]

I'm looking for small mechanical tweaks that could help set apart individuals in a commoner campaign, based on each character's backstory and their actions in-game. If a character is roleplayed to have a particular interest in music, for instance, I'd like to be able to represent this mechanically.

They're called feats and skill points.

If one commoner is good at music, that's represented by Perform ranks and charisma, and maybe Skill Focus(Perform(Whatever)).