Commoner PC?

[Das_Uberboat]

So last session I was asked by a player if he could play a Red Dragonborn Commoner in our campaign.
This player comes from a long history of 3.P gaming, and as far as I am aware this is his first 5e experience.
Not willing to ruin the fun(and I honestly wanted to see how this would play out), I flipped to the back of the MM and gave him the Commoner template as his class; 10 of every ability score, 4 starting HP, and a club. Nothing else. I gave him d8 hit dice, as the commoner's HP is set as 4(1d8).
However, he was starting at level 4, as per party level.
I quickly hashed together some rules about leveling up as a commoner("one proficiency or a +1 to ability score every other level") but I would like to know if any of you guys have any better/more balanced commoner homebrew rules i can draw off of.
Thanks!

[Tenmujiin]

So last session I was asked by a player if he could play a Red Dragonborn Commoner in our campaign.
This player comes from a long history of 3.P gaming, and as far as I am aware this is his first 5e experience.
Not willing to ruin the fun(and I honestly wanted to see how this would play out), I flipped to the back of the MM and gave him the Commoner template as his class; 10 of every ability score, 4 starting HP, and a club. Nothing else. I gave him d8 hit dice, as the commoner's HP is set as 4(1d8).
However, he was starting at level 4, as per party level.
I quickly hashed together some rules about leveling up as a commoner("one proficiency or a +1 to ability score every other level") but I would like to know if any of you guys have any better/more balanced commoner homebrew rules i can draw off of.
Thanks!

He might be better off having a custom commoner background if he wants to basically be a nobody

[jkat718]

1.) I agree with Das_Uberboat here; if the player doesn't choose a class, he'll be sorely outstripped by his companions, and quite likely die very, very soon.
2.) Homebrew goes in the homebrew section, not here.
3.) If he wants to be "a nobody," have him take something with minimal options, like the Berserker Barbarian, Champion Fighter, or Thief Rogue, and then never use his class features.

[burninatortrog]

I'd just have the player roll up a dragonborn with the folk hero background. If he really didn't want to have a class, I'd give him 8 + Con HP and a d8 hit die but no class features. I'd let him play that way for as long as he enjoyed it and then rebuild the character when/if he got tired of it.

[goto124]

The player had better be REALLY good at social situations and other non-combat skills.

[jkat718]

I'd just have the player roll up a dragonborn with the folk hero background. If he really didn't want to have a class, I'd give him 8 + Con HP and a d8 hit die but no class features. I'd let him play that way for as long as he enjoyed it and then rebuild the character when/if he got tired of it.

Oh, yeah... I forgot about the Folk Hero. That's probably the best "Average Joe" background.

[kaoskonfety]

Folk hero - Take our some of the "hero" fluff out (overthrew a tyrant etc.) and it fits fine, its pretty much straight up the commoner background from the playtest.

Letting his first 'level' be a throw away "peasant" out of the DMG and having him THEN start leveling a class out of the book may be workable - You don't stay an unskilled yokel when fighting Orcs every few days, you learn to fight (or hide), like it or not. It will leave him a level ish behind and a bit low on hit points, weaker but 'survivable' and it will become less noticeable as the advance.

Even in 3rd with they "supported" class I've only allowed commoners for one shots (quick side play, everyone makes a commoner, then *something poorly described* kills them, the city guards show up again written and played by the PC's, the *something poorly described with multiple heads that breaths fire and lives in the swamp* kills them - now enter the PC's, who are pretty sure from survivor reports its a hydra or a chimera, show up...) and for a single starting level (and generally I pointed at expert quite hard even then, cause seriously you sucking and dying is going to get old, at least have a few skill points in something interesting).

Rogue/Thief works well, See Bilbo Baggins, keep your expertise in a "useless" RP skill (tool - farmers tools) and stealth (hiding!!) Thieves cant is replaced with the local commoner dialect from his home village (or generally speaking/understanding "heavily accented talk about crops, weather and the local still")... couple other ability fluff reskins (cunning action is "run away!" or "Rule #1 - Cardio")

Fighter/Champion works - I have a sword, the pointy end goes in the other man

Barbarian/Rager works - I get mad and hit things till I'm not mad anymore

[Inevitability]

Why... Why would anyone even want that? :smalleek:

[CrusaderJoe]

Yeah Folk Hero - Hero or guild artisan would work.

Give them a level 1 hp of a wizard or maybe worse, 1d4, and allow them to add con to the Hp.

HP: 6 + Con
Save Throws: None
Armor: None
Weapons: Daggers and clubs (or other similar)
Skills: As background
Class features: None


This character doesn't gain levels. There is no levels for commoner. When the average party member gains an ASI the player may gain a +1 to any ability score. They can not take feats.

Or DM up and tell the player that you are running supported material and commoner is neither a PC class or a good choice for a PC class. If you want fluff then fluff it something mundane like the fighter.

A disruptive player can come in many forms, one that isn't on the same page like this can be just as bad as someone trying to play Sailor Moon in a Ravenloft game.

[Mandragola]

Agree with the others that this is much more a background thing than a class mechanics thing. If you want to RP a commoner then that's totally fine. Mechanically, he should pick a class. Something like rogue, ranger, fighter or whatever. Take skills to reflect the stuff he could do in his job as a peasant. Note that the hero of the people, outlander, guild merchant, sailor, urchin, criminal... basically most of the backgrounds are absolutely designed to represent someone from a common background who goes off to be an adventurer, for whatever reason.

Why not level up as commoner? Because actually that doesn't make any sense. A commoner is good at whatever he does as his job. If he goes out and kills a bunch of orks he's not going to get better (level up) at ploughing fields or knitting, or whatever he was doing before. He's going to get better at killing orks, or he's going to die. Rather more likely the latter.

Meanwhile why would the other adventurers drag some random peasant around with them? What actual use is he to a party?

[CrusaderJoe]

Meanwhile why would the other adventurers drag some random peasant around with them? What actual use is he to a party?

Depending on alignment... The commoner will make a good 1/life trapfinder. Send the commoner in first to check for traps. Or if there is a trap, and the skill monkey can't deactivate it, the commoner makes a good triggering mechanism.

Usually you use captured goblins, but commoners work the same.

Also a commoner would be brought along to screw with the BBEG's head. The BBEG will wither run or focus attention on the commoner because there MUST be some destiny bull crap reason the heroes are bringing this random person with them.

Maximum funny... Keep cloning or silmilicrum-ing the commoner hahaha... Really mess with the BBEG's head. WHY would the heroes do this for a commoner? Must be some damn destiny one ring bull crap.

BBEG might just give up if you screw with his head enough. Might be a good time for a group illusion so that everyone looks like the commoner... Then pretend they don't know what the BBEG is talking about. Then illusion the BBEG (or all mirrors, whatever) to make the BBEG look like the commoner.... I would burn a wish to pull this off (I'm sure the trickster god would approve of petty revenge in such a way).

Edit

I'm not allowed to play certain types of characters due to the truce of 2008...:smallcool: