The Ultimate Commoner Build

[GameResearch]

Many players nowadays want 36 pt buy, all splatbooks for feats and prestige classes, gestalt characters, weird races and whatnot which ultimately make characters very very powerful but not necessarily believable or consistent. Yes, there's a word to describe players like these, but I don't want to talk about that.

Any 25 pt buy character built with PH and DMG only will become truly extraordinary around levels 5-10, a super hero. An extraplanar character with three templates, 5 base classes and 5 prestige classes (and epic levels of course!), and unbelievable combos that defy game balance, logic, and common sense become something beyond regular RPG super heroes. But what if you take the characters to the opposite direction for a change?

I know, D&D is about heroes, but D&D is also about roleplaying (so the say) which does not require convoluted combos. If you claim that your three templates that don't make sense to anyone else are there only because they increase your character's roleplaying value, the whole thing turns into a joke. Anyway, this thread is about characters without templates, without splatbook feats, poweful races, etc. It's about low-level human commoners.

Could you ever imagine playing a 1st level commoner? What sort of adventures would you want him/her to have? Would it have to be entirely different from what D&D normally is? Or just slightly different?

...and finally, what would your commoner be like?

Discuss and post your ultimate commoner build! (and feel free to use them as NPCs in your campaign... no more nameless NPCs! :smallsmile:

Commoner Population: 16

Here are a few: (1st level, 15 pt buy [ouch])

Shalissa

This beautiful young woman seems too frail for any real work, but actually she's tamed many horses for riding and work. No-one knows why she's so good at it - she herself thinks it her singing that calms them down. She's getting bored with the work and routines - maybe one day she'll steal a horse and run away...
Str 8, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 14
Feats: Animal Affinity, Skill Focus (Perform (singing)), Simple Weapon Proficiency (dagger)
Skills: Handle Animal +8, Perform (singing) +7, Ride +7

Sam

To those who don't know him, Sam appears rude while he's really just shy and a little slow. For this reason Sam gets into trouble quite often, but luckily for him, he's a big fellow and knows how to defend himself. He dreams of becoming a wrestling champion, but must work at a farm to earn his living... for now.

Str 14, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 8
Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Simple Weapon Proficiency (sling)
Skills: Climb +6, Profession (farmer) +1, Swim +5

Rutger

Rutger leads a simple life: fishing, hunting, and trapping. Occasionally he sells pelts and buys more crossbow bolts, alcohol, and new clothes. Recently he found goblin tracks near the human lands... they may be planning to raid farmsteads or a nearby village... maybe he'll have to do something about it...

Str 10, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8
Feats: Rapid Reload, Skill Focus (survival), Simple Weapon Proficiency (heavy crossbow)
Skills: Craft (trapmaking) +5, Listen +4, Speak Language (goblin), Spot +4, Survival +5

[Jasdoif]

Is there some particular reason you picked commoners instead of, say, experts?

[Kaelik]

Is there some particular reason you picked commoners instead of, say, experts?

Because he hates power. Physically hates it.

[Ossian]

Ah, your words are worthy 5 platinums per keystroke.
We did try it once, and it was fun. One of us wanted to be, one day, a mercenary Captain of Fortune, but he really was just a peasant, imagine the English yeoman type that became famous for the use of longbow and that was even sort of literate and ambitious. As his trusted companions in search fro glory there were a trapper from the same village (who ACTED like he was a ranger form the north, but hey, he was good at catching squirrels) and his thug, who you should imagine as the prototypal mercenary, with a lot of unvented aggressivity and stolen equipment.

Another guy who runs in a group I jon sometimes uses just a plain old brawler, a robber, a cattle stealer and a thug (not in the sense of Fighter's alternative build. just a thug...). Whatever happens to him has him concerned on howto save his backside, get some women and some gold, and possibly steal a couple of horses. He gambles and loses, gets fairly drunk, and fights with whatever he finds, despite the fact that he carries a fine (+1) and STOLEN longsword strapped to his back. Gunnar the Dark they call him. He's going to get the noose some day...

O.

[Balkash]

I can't recall where the thread is, but at some point there had been a godly commoner. I don't recall much, but his sythe was unearthly. It required well over 100 ranks in profession (farming) or suffer instant death. Maybe someone else can remember where it is.

[Indon]

Thom

This young man shirks his responsibilities and instead hunts animals, thinking himself an adventurer and idolizing and mimicing the elves in the nearby forest. His family permits it because the meat he brings in is, in fact, worth the effort, and as the second son, he really wouldn't inherit his parents' land anyway.

Str 12, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 9
Feats: Precise Shot, Dash, Simple Weapon Proficiency (Shortbow)
Skills: Survival +3, Craft(Fletchery) +5, Listen +3


If the Shortbow isn't a simple weapon (Filter blocks access to info at this time), make the following changes:
-Thom is an Elf, born to an elven couple who abandoned him, and left him to be raised among humans. He has outlived his original foster parents and is now living with his foster siblings who now function as his guardians. He chafes to return to the Elven lands, but does not feel that it is yet the right time.
-Thom's stats are Str 12, Dex 15, Con 8, Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 9.
-Thom took Simple Weapon Proficiency (Dagger), but uses a Longbow as per his racial ability.
-Thom does not have the Precise Shot feat.
-Thom has two ranks less of Craft(Fletchery), and one rank less of Survival and Listen.

[Yeril]

Gribby Green

Gribby Green is a little goblin in a big city, who dispite the prejudice against his people he has found a place in society, Buying and selling blackmarket goods in a back-ally "no questions asked" slum.

Str;9 Dex;11 Con;8 Int;12 Wis;10 Cha;11
Feats; Skill Focus (Bluff), Swp (Light crossbow)
Skills; Bluff +5, Profession (Black market Dealer) +4

[SilverClawShift]

I'll Bite.

**********************

Jessica Greenwater
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral with evil tendencies

Str 12, Dex 13, Con 8, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 8
Feats: Simple Weapon Proficiency (Dart), Martial Weapon Proficiency (Sap), Improved Initiative
Skills: Hide +1 (cc), Move Silently +1 (cc), Open Lock +2 (cc), Profession (fisher) +1, Sleight of hand +2 (cc), Swim +1, use Rope +2
Posessions: 1 SAP, 5 Darts (one of which has 20 feet of hemp rope tied around it), 4 bags of caltrops, Flint & Steel, A backpack, 30 feet of hemp rope, 2 burlap sacks, 3 pints of oil, 10 peices of chalk, a flask, and a fish-hook

Jessica is the human daughter of a moderately successfull fisherman, who in fact utterly despises the sea or aquatic related persuits. As her fathers only child, she was raised aiding him in catching, cleaning, and selling fish in various port towns along the coast. She has a profound knack for hitting sub-surface creatures with thrown objects, and occasionally spends her time pegging fish with rope-braided darts and pulling them to the boat manually.
She hates the life they live, and considers herself smart enough to persue some other profession which would be more enjoyable and more profitable. Her father, however, is a simple man with simple expectations, and he needs his daughters help to continue surviving in the only manner he's ever known. Jessica loves her father, so refuses to abandon him, but has reached the end of her patience for selling fisheads to street urchins and being ignored by people who don't smell like saltwater. She's decided that to break out of the rut she's trapped in, there's only one logical solution. Steal everything that she can get her hands on and use the profit to start building a better life, one way or another.
Jessica is opposed to the thought of murdering anyone who discovers her, and her lifetime on boats and in the water has left her slightly stronger and more agile than the average person on the streets, so she fancies the idea that she could simply knock out people who get in her way. To this end, she's managed to purchase a well made SAP and has practiced swinging it, hoping to catch any opponent unaware and drop them with a good clean strike to the back of the head. She's not very sturdy herself, so any combat that lasts longer than one round will be potentially fatal to her... but she's slowly becoming convinced she can avoid that ugly possibility with enough cunning.
Despite not wanting to kill, Jessica would rather leave a corpse in her wake than be one herself, and isn't opposed to doing what she has to to escape unscatched or cover up her tracks (up to and including arson).

She's spent a fair bit of time committing petty crimes. Lifting coins or valuables that no one is paying attention to, slipping her hands into the pockets of a few distracted drunks, and even opening a few locked doors to see what was on the other side. She's steeling herself for actually attempting a full blown, honest-to-god robbery of some small unguarded location... perhaps a closed shop or harbor masters office.
In the end, she's a bright girl with enough tricks planned that she might actually succeed in her goals. unfortunately, if things go south, it'll probably end with a building burning down and a charred corpse... or jessica getting dropped with one solid swing of a guards sword.

************************************************** ***********************************

A commoner should realistically start with 12 gold peices and five silver peices. That doesn't buy much real adventuring gear, but as you can see from the above list, it buys more useful goods than you might assume at a glance. If you had to make due with mundane equipment, there's still some cute tricks you could pull off.
Jessica deals 2-7 nonlethal damage with her SAP. That's enough to have a realistic chance at knocking out another average commoner or a low level mage, a BAD chance (but still a chance) of knocking out an expert or a rogue or something, and no realistic chance of knocking out guards or fighter types without a good roll and a critical hit. If she were cornered and left going up against a real honest to god guard or even a fighter? She'd probably try to set up a trap. Lay down some caltrops, peg the guard with a dart, and hope the resulting charge left him damaged and limping, at which point she could try to close the distance and knock him out herself. She's got some rope and the skill to tie someone up with it, to give her a chance to still snag some loot and get away, probably without anyone really recognizing her at a glance.

If worse came to worse, she could slit a throat and burn the place down (after looting it blind), but she really doesn't want it to come to that.

Tricks she might be able to pull off? Draw a chalk arrow leading in a direction OTHER than the one she's heading. A group of dim-witted guards might honestly think they were being taunted and follow the arrow. If she thought she were up against someone brighter reverse psychology might come into it, drawing the arrow the way she DID go, making the persuer stop to wonder if it was a trap, or a trick.
2 burlap sacks means she could stuff a bunch of valuable stuff in one, and a bunch of useless junk in the other, and try to do a switcheroo.

Jessica is, at this point, essentially saving up to get some real thieves tools and more/better gear she might be able to use on her little quest for profits. She has no hope of hitting REAL rogue targets like banks or mage towers, but she might realistically expect to find a cache of gold in some harbor masters hidden safe, or steal some valuable goods from a small shop and burn the place, leaving everyone to assume the stuff she now has was reduced to ashes.

[Nonah_Me]

Heh, this was fun.

Bartholomew
Lawful Neutral (because the demands of being a librarian I would think demand an ordered kind of person)
Used 3d6 and assigned to modifiers (that 17 is amazing!)
STR: 7 (- 2)
DEX: 10 (0)
CON: 13 (+1)
INT: 17 (+3)
WIS: 15 (+2)
CHA: 10 (0)

HP: 5 (max of D4 + 1)
Fort: +1 Ref: +0 Will: +2
BaB/Grp: -2/-2
Skills: 3 + int(3) X 4 @ 1st level = 24
Skill/Total with Mod/Ranks
Spot / 8 / 4
Listen / 8 / 4
Search (cc) / 5 / 2
Knowledge (History) (cc) / 5 / 2
Knowledge (Local) (cc) / 5 / 2
Profession (Librarian) / 9 / 4

Feats:
Human Bonus: Alertness
Skill Focus: Profession (Librarian)

Simple Weapon Prof. (Quarterstaff)

Gear: 12 gp 5 sp
5 sp a day goes towards staying at a common Inn.
9 sp a day goes towards common meals.
That's 1gp, 4 silver pieces a day. As per the profession skill, Bart averages about 19 gold pieces a week from his librarian's job (10 + 9 on Profession check). Even if he rolls a 1, that's 10 gold pieces, and 29 if he rolls a 20! Not bad for a commoner. It easily pays for his inn and food prices. The only reason I don't have him renting a place in the city is that the SRD doesn't have the prices for such things.
5 gp goes toward a Scholar's Outfit, common enough for people that work at the library.
I don't really think a city kid like Bart would go out to the woods and find himself a quarterstaff, so I'm going to say he bought one from an unscrupulous merchant for 5 cp.

Bart usually stays at a common inn near the library where he works inside the city. He's only a junior librarian, but the head master has seen promise in him, especially since he knows an abnormally large amount of history and legend for someone who was not born noble. He's willing to help just about anyone find anything they need in his home library, and has developed quite a fondness for mages from the city's Temple of Boccob, though he himself finds actual worship of any diety a bit tiring.

[GameResearch]

Ossian, Yeril, SilverClawShift & Nonah_Me, thanks for contributing to this thread. The characters you posted would be interesting to rp, although the challenges they'd face would be different from the more usual D&D characters. Take Jessica Greenwater, for example: I think she's got more rp value than any rogue I've seen :smallsmile:

Hmm, it'd be interesting to have a contest ("Commoner of the Year" or something like that) where anyone could post an entry or cast a vote. The build would not have to be optimized for combat or skill monkeyness, it could be anything that you think would be interesting to roleplay.

Also, I've been thinking about running a commoner colonists game, where a large bunch of commoners are building a colony with little resources to begin with (think D&D + The Sims + Survivor). The game would be heavy on rp and character interaction and would have some micromanagement (who's going to find food with the Survival skill, who's guarding the colony, who's tending to the sick, and so on), but they'd also have to face dangerous challenges every now and then, such as a brown bear on rampage; tornados, floods and other extreme weather; epidemics; or even a tribe of hostile humanoids (gnolls, orcs, etc.)

What do you think?

[Yami]

-----

"My name's Billy Thames, but only the missus calls my Billy any more, so you can just call me Bill. I know what your askin', and I suppose I do look a bit silly what with my hoe, bein' all swaddled in cloth and this here pot tied to me head, so's I guess I better get to 'splainin afore you run me out.

You see, I come from silver valley down yonder. Used ta work the fields with my boy; sun up till sun down, while the missus tended the cows and the little ones. We got by alright, even with the goblin raiders. Probably ran the same gig here too. Run down, cause a ruckus, take what they need and leave. No real threat. Heck, Virgil used to trade with the little buggers. Had a weakness for mead they did.

Well, that meant there was less for the king when it came time to pay taxes, but that didn't seem to bother him none, not for years did it. Well, I guess that all changed. A few days ago we had some strangers pass through. Pretty beat up like, they just up and strolled though the town proper, yellin' for an inn we didn't have. Some one put them up of course, and they took of the next day all lickety split. We though that was that.

That night the goblins came. I don't know what them wanderin' folk did, but the little green ones came upon us with blades bare an' torches in 'er hands. We was too shocked to do much but hide, an most o' us didn't even think a that quick enough. Not that it worked well with the fires all about.

Well, the short of it is, my wife's dead, the crop ruined, and the last son I got left's in the hands o' them little green blighters. So I'd put the word out if I was you, things might be gettin' hairy.

And if you know anyone crazy enough ta lead me up the mountains, could you point me towards 'em?"

Billy Thames
Str 14
Int 8
Wis 8
Dex 11
Con 14
Chr 8

Padded armour, dagger, hand axe. And a hoe.

[Dhavaer]

I ran an all-commoner game once. They did very well, seeing as the enemies were all standard warriors.

[The Professor]

It's too late for me now, but otherwise I'd of made a commoner to go along.

This is here to express interest in the sort of game where everyone is a commoner.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is better for this, in that game you start with a randomly determined profession. You have like a 1% chance to get something really cool like Duelist or Berzerker and a 60% chance to get a lame profession like ratcatcher or shoeshiner. You can then eventually change your profession to become something like a knight or mercenary.

[GameResearch]

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is better for this, in that game you start with a randomly determined profession. You have like a 1% chance to get something really cool like Duelist or Berzerker and a 60% chance to get a lame profession like ratcatcher or shoeshiner. You can then eventually change your profession to become something like a knight or mercenary.

Perhaps, thanks for the advice! Anyway, I prefer planned character creation to randomness. It looks like the character creation system in Warhammer arbitrarily punishes some players and rewards others. In a "commoners only" game everyone's pretty much equal, especially if you use the point buy system.

Also, the D&D 3.5 SRD is free for everyone! (Warhammer, I believe, doesn't have similar OGL material?)

[Closet_Skeleton]

Perhaps, thanks for the advice! Anyway, I prefer planned character creation to randomness.

If you prefer planned character creation, D&D is better, but playing as commoners ruins most of D&D's character creation so you're not playing to D&D's strengths so there's less reason to play D&D.

Warhammer is only random in creation. After that you get to make all the choices. This is sort of realistic since in real life you don't choose what you are but can influence what you become. But if you don't like playing like that you can change the character creation rules in Warhammer and let people pick their starting profession, just ban the more powerful ones.


It looks like the character creation system in Warhammer arbitrarily punishes some players and rewards others.

More like it forces some players to be more creative. Everyone is pretty much equally killable. You can have fun with any character.


Also, the D&D 3.5 SRD is free for everyone! (Warhammer, I believe, doesn't have similar OGL material?)

Yes, you have to buy Warhammer. That is a point. But Warhammer works on one book while D&D needs three.

Warhammer is better than D&D for a commoner game if you intend to get better later. If you play D&D you can multiclass whenever and you'll still have commoner levels so you can never be as strong as a pure fighter. In Warhammer a Master Wizard with 1000XP who started as a high chance to start with ratcatcher is just as powerful as a Master Wizard with 1000XP who started as the low chance to start with Wizard Apprentice. PHB2 has retraining rules but those will erase your character history while in Warhammer if your Wizard suddenly gets into a situation where he needs his ratcatcher skills he can use them.

If you want to stay as commoners and then die after a few sessions Warhammer and D&D are about equal. If you want to plan out your characters 3rd edition D&D is very good, but if you're playing commoners to have a break from D&D you might as well play a differant system for a similar break (except for the whole money thing). d20 modern is also good if you want to play nobodies but due to its class system you'll actually be normal 1st level characters, only your backgrounds will matter, it has an SRD as well.

I actually prefer D&D to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, but it does do commoners better since it expects them to be playable while D&D expects them to be a joke.

[GameResearch]

Ok, thanks for the well-founded arguments on why Warhammer is better than D&D for a commoner campaign. I'll give it a shot if the opportunity presents itself...

However... as a long-time fan of D&D, I'm not so easily swayed :smalltongue: I enjoy the rules and I believe the rules are versatile enough to accommodate many kinds of play styles.

When I have the time, I'll start a commoner colony game if I can find enough players (30 or so). That'll be a challenge. The players will have to make big decisions without my help (such as electing leaders, negotiating treaties with other tribes, resolving crises, preventing goblins from stealing cattle and so on). I hope there'll be huge debates ("We MUST attack the goblins!" "No, we cannot risk our lives!"), even conspiracies (the person who didn't want to attack is found murdered). Although the commoners level up when they successfully deal with the challenges, the role of class and level diminish next to the rp potential the characters have.

[SoD]

Hols Davarah, Half-elf commoner 1.
Hit Dice: 1d4-2 (1)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 30ft.
Atk: dagger -1 (1d4-1)
Full atk: dagger -1 (1d4-1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft.
Special attacks: N.A.
Special Qualities: immune sleep, +2 saves vs. enchantments, low light vision, elven blood,.
Saves: fort -2, ref -1, will +1.
Abilities: str 8, dex 9, con 7, int 12, wis 12, cha 14
Skills: profession (minstrel) +5, perfom (vocals) +7, handle animal +4, bluff +3, listen +2, spot +2, search +2, diplomacy +4, gather information +4. Languages: Elven, Common, Gnomish.
Feats: skill focus (perform [vocals]).
Gear: dagger, travelers outfit, lute, bedroll, backpack, pot (iron), soap (2lbs), waterskin, flint and steel, rations (trail [2 days worth]), hatchett, oil (1 pint), torches (x5). 1gp, 2sp, 5cp.
Alignment: CN
Deity: Fharlanghn.
Age: 25.

Hols is a traveling half-elf minstrel. He never got accustomed to living or staying in one particular place for too long, mostly due to the discrimination (half blood status) which he had to endure. He now travels across the land earning his keep by singing and telling tales in taverns and inns. He can usually be found on the road rather than in town.

I would just like to add that this was not my creation, but rather that of a friend of mine who doesn't have an account on the forum. He's read all of OOTS, and has been a player in my campaign for a few months (since the start of it). He's just lazy in the respect of registering. And many other respects, as he just informed me. SoD.

And here's mine.

Astarith, wood elf commoner 1.
Hit Dice: 1d4-1 (2)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30ft.
Atk: sickle +2 (1d6)
Full atk: sickle +2 (1d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft.
Special attacks: N.A.
Special Qualities: immune sleep, +2 saves vs. enchantments, low light vision, elven blood.
Saves: fort -1, ref +1, will -2.
Abilities: str 11, dex 12, con 8, int 10, wis 7, cha 12
Skills: survival 0, profession (hunter) 0, craft (bowmaking) +2, spot 0, search +2, listen 0.
Feats: track.
Gear: Shortbow, 20 arrows.
Alignment: N
Deity: Obad-hai.

Astarith is a lone wood elf who basically, lives in the forest. Never fully getting the hang of life as a hermit, which is what he thinks of himself, he gladly will talk about anything with anyone who finds him. He occasionally will even listen to what they have to say in reply! As well as a hermit, he also refers to himself as a lone ranger, or a brilliant tracker, when, in reality, he barely manages to survive in the woodlands. If he comes into contact with anyone, he will hint at the fact that 'life in the wilderness is cruel, etc, etc' which roughly translates into 'please, spare me some food'. He has been living on his own for the last 200 years or so, and left home at the age of 50. Yet, in those 200 years, he has only just managed to survive with all that experience. He will never be found inside any town, village, etc. and never leaves the forest he calls home.

[geek_2049]

Charles "Charley" Woolsworth,
Human, TN, 18 yrs old, tussled dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and a lop-sided grin. Charley is the third oldest of four children, like his father and older brother he raises sheep. On weekends Charley likes to visit the local pub in the village with his brother. Charley is well liked by the villagers, the guys want to be like him or at least friends with him, and the girls want to be with him. Charley's popularity has led him into some sticky situations of late due to his good looks, but has so far used that innocent smile to good use. Charley has had rudimentary training with a staff should wolves, goblins, or thieves try to steal a sheep, though it mostly just serves as a walking stick. Charley does not consider the future, he enjoys being with the sheep in nature, drinking at the pub, and chasing girls.

Str-11
Dex-12
Con-12
Int-7
Wis-10
Cha-16

hp-5
swp-quartestaff
feats-alertness, persuasive
skill ranks- spot 2, listen 2, handle animal 4

Aramil Amastacia

Half-elf, CG, 27 yrs old, slender and resembling more his elven father than human mother Aramil has deep set green eyes, long straight jet black hair, and fair skin. Aramil's birth in the capitol came at an unfortunate time as it was amidst a plague. He was affected by the plague though he survived. His body was left weakened. Neighboors blamed his elf blood for not being able to resist the plague, and there may have been some truth to it, but never-the-less the plague claimed the lives of many young and old. Throughout his youth his mother, concerned for his heallth kept him indoors, through a stipend his father left his mother bough him an education. He displayed an aptitude for learning. His mentor recommended that he apply at the local wizards college and speak to a friend and collegue, and so he did. The contact eagerly accepted Aramil, but the wizard upon hearing about his bout with the plague as a child explained that magic is taxing and other survivors of the plague who then tried to learn and practice magic suffered sometimes lethal consequences. Aramil was crushed by this discovery. A few days later Amaril's teacher told him that the wizard would like a second meeting. The wizard divulged that he felt bad about Aramil's situation, and believed that Aramil would have made a fine wizard.The wizard then explained that he knew an alchemist who was in search of an apprentice. The wizard set up a meeting and Aramil and the alchemist had an instant rapport as Aramil spoke gnomish to the gnome alchemist.

Str-6
Dex-12
Con-5
Int-15
Wis-12
Cha-13

hp-1
swp-dagger
feat- skill focus (craft alchemy)
skill ranks-craft alchemy 4, profession apothecary 4, spot 4, knowledge history 4, knowledge geography 4, knowledge nature 4.
languages- common, elven, gnome, and halfling

[Wraithy]

My group is actually doing a one off session with similar character prerequisites (the same exept for 32 point buy and splatbooks allowed), here's a version of him with your prereqs

Kalindy Theakin
LN Halfling Commoner 1
10 Str
12 Dex
10 Con
13 Int
8 Wis
10 Cha

swp-javelin
feat-improved initiative
skill ranks- climb 4, craft(sculpture) 2, profession(Lumberjack) 2, handle animal 2, use rope 2
languages- common, halfling, gnome

Kalindy Theakin is tall for his race at three and a half feet tall, his hair is a thick blond mop, straight, and waist length, matted with dirt that covers all but a thin strip of his face, from which his April eyes peer out. his clothes are an uncoloured pair of homespun work trousers that were made for a normal sized halfling and come up to his rough haired shins. his feet are large, heavily caloused and equally hairy.

Kalindy has been the only Lumberjack in the village of Iselia since he was able to climb a tree and tie a knot. He was the eighth son of Mammy and Pappy Theakin, who entrusted the care of their youngest weeun to Pappy Theakin's father's third cousin, before setting off in ther caravan. since Kalindy started chopping down trees, the village has gone from mud huts to wooden posts covered in mud, and the villagers - dwarves, gnomes, a few halflings, and one goblin - can now buid much taller houses, somethimes to lofty hights of five feet.
Kalindy starts most weeks by climbing a tree, he then ties rope around the top, climbs down, and starts hacking at the base, this takes most of a day, sometimes two, and by the end of it he is so tired he rests for a day. he wakes up fresh the next day and borrows an animal from the fields to help him pull down the tree, he ties the rope around the animal and slowly moves it forwards to pull down the tree. he returns the animal then calls in the local goblin gardener to plant new trees where he pulled down the old one. the next morning he chops up the tree and rolls the sections to his wooden hut, there he crafts them into forms requested by the villagers and trades them for food, blankets, and other things. when the villagers need his services, he starts again, but he tends to rest for a day or two before going back to his work. He finds contentment in his activity, and enjoys the periods of rest equally. spending his free time drinking with his friends in "The Flying ****" inn.

it probably isn't the most powerful commoner you can make, but roleplay doesn't need stats

[GameResearch]

Marta Willowisp, age 148 (venerable)

Thought to be senile and harmless, this old lady is actually very, very dangerous. Many children have fallen victim to her poisoned candies that cause fever and deep sleep full of nightmares. She takes the weakened victims to the heart of the Black Forest where they are sacrificed to Caelbak, the vile god of worms, fungi, and rot. In return, Caelbak has granted her the knowledge of poisonmaking and the secret of the youth essence that has given her longevity beyond mortal boundaries.

Alignment: CE
Deity: Caelbak
Str 4, Dex 4, Con 4, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14
Skills: Bluff (cc) +4, Craft (poisonmaking) +9, Profession (herbalist) +6
Feats: Toughness, Skill Focus (Craft (poisonmaking)), Simple Weapon Proficiency (sickle)

---

Woohoo, my first commoner villain!!!

[SoD]

What race is she? I know that this is getting a bit number crunchy, but, tecnically, she could only be halfling or half-elf, otherwise she'd either be dead or not vernerable. In my defense, I only know this because my PhB just happened to be right next to the computer, open at that page...

I'd throw more commoners in, but I don't have time. Tomorrow, maybe.

[GameResearch]

That's one of the benefits of giving sacrifices to the vile god. I know, according to the age table she should be dead, but she isn't. :smallwink: She uses her Bluff skill to lie about her age when asked. Anyway, it's there just for flavor (stealing the children's youth essence to unnatully extend her life span).

[SoD]

Well, I guess almost all females seem to invest ranks in bluff when it comes to age. Or maybe it's a racial bonus? Anyway, another commoner.

James, human commoner 1.
Medium Humanoid (human)
Hit Dice: 1d4+3 (5 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 30
Armor Class: 9 (-1 dex)
Base Attack/Grapple: 0/0
Attack: club 0 (1d6)
Full Attack: club 0 (1d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: none
Special Qualities: none
Saves: fort +3, ref -1, will +2
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 9, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: profession (stablehand) +6, handle animal +7, ride +2
Feats: skill focus (handle animal), skill focus (ride)

James is a simple guy with simple desires. He works in the local stable, tending to the horses. Someday, he wants to own the stable, and breed his own horses. He has spent a small amount of time riding the horses, but when caught shirking his work, he is frequently told off for it.

[Shas aia Toriia]

Bromwell

This is the local old man, complete with cryptic phrasing and the occasional actual prophecy. Most people view him as half-insane, although the truth is that he has no inner monolouge, causing him to spout seemingly useless drivel. He is also the local storyteller, telling tales of his adventuring youth as a world famous adventurer (hallucinations, actually).

Str 8, Dex 9, Con 7, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 13
Feats: Skill focus (perform), Toughness
Skills: Perfom (oratory) + 8, knowledge (local) +5

[Nevermore]

Herbert Stonegut
Dwarven Peasent lvl 1

Herbert is a dwarf without a family, long ago cast out of the mountain holt for laziness, bad hygiene and a brutish demeanor. Now he lives in the small villiage of Tanglefroth. Tanglefroth is known for its small brewery, which produces cheap but passable ale or as Herbert prefers to call it "Moose pis, now if only I had some dwarven ale..." but alas he spends his meager earnings upon the cheap local lager before he even gets close to buying "the good stuff".

He "works," if you can call it that, as the sheriff of Tanglefroth village. Mostly he just bullies anyone he sees as weak and takes great pleasure in beating on anyone that breaks the law or crosses him.

Herbert Stonegut
Dwarven lvl 1 Peasent
Medium Humanoid (dwarf)
Hit Dice: 1d4+2 (4 hp)
Initiative: 0
Speed: 20
Armor Class: 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +0
Attack: club +2 (1d6+3)
Full Attack: club +2 (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: none
Special Qualities: none
Saves: fort +2, ref 0, will -1
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 6
Skills: Spot 2 (1) Listen 2 (1) Profession: Jailer 2(1), Use Rope 2(2)
Feats: Light Armor Prof, Club Prof

Equipment: Well used Cudgel (Club), stained Leather armor, lamp, hemp rope 50ft, 2 pints of oil, flask full of cheap ale

[SilverClawShift]

Daniel Fleeceworn, Human
Commoner (1)
Alignment: Neutral Good

Str 8
Dex 8
Con 14
Int 11
Wis 8
Cha 14

Feats: Bind Vestige, Practiced Binder, Simple Weapon Proficiency (sling)
Skills: Bluff 2 (CC), Diplomacy 2 (CC), Intimidate 2 (CC)
Posessions: 1 Sling, 50 sling bullets, 5 sheets of parchment, 1 metal parchment case, 1 signet ring, 1 scholars outfit

I could have been somebody...

Daniel Fleeceworn had a great-grandmother who was a mildly famous adventurer known for being ready for any situation. The secret to her success (though never discovered in life) was her knowledge of Binding, Vestiges, and Pact Magic. With but a few minutes warning, she was capable of adopting an entirely new set of skills and talents simply by binding a new set of vestiges which would grant her the abilities needed to survive whatever situation she found herself in. Through the course of her life, she kept a massive diary full of information detailing her travels and discoveries, as well as all of her knowledge of pact magic.
When she died, her family kept her diary along with several other heirlooms and items she'd acquired throughout her life. Her diary was never read by her children or grandchildren, wether out of respect or disinterest.
Daniel, on the other hand, was interested in what his great grandmother had found worthy of writing about throughout her lifetime of wandering. Through studying the diary, Daniel learned the basics of pact magic. Eventually, despite his young age, he was successfull in summoning the vestige known as Amon (who appears in a burst of foul black smoke while hurling curses at his summoner). Unfortunately, Daniel's grandfather saw the summoning take place, and beleived the vestige to be a demon. To preserve the memory of his mother and to prevent his grandson from cavorting with evil forces, Daniel's grandfather unceremoniously threw the diary into the fireplace.

However, Daniel was scholarly by habit. While studying the magic presented in the diary, he had discovered that the books spine double as a hidden scroll case, capable of holding a small number of rolled sheets of parchment. He had taken several instances to write notes and diagrams of what little he had managed to understand, tucking them away in that scroll case for conveiniance. When the book was reduced to ashes, the scroll case remained. Daniel managed to recover it, releived that it and the parchment inside had survived the heat.
Daniel is convinced (and possibly correct) that the information in the book could have led him to fame and power, giving him the abilities necessary to overcome any obstacle. As he's aged, he's grown bitter and resentful of his utterly common life, never letting the scroll case leave his side and playing with the small powers granted by the few vestiges he knows how to summon and bind. He's grown up covering up the signs and influence they cause, and has dedicated most of his mental efforts towards concealing the fact that he consorts with those 'demons' on a daily basis.

Recently, however, a now adult Daniel has left his hometown out of disgust, wandering from city to city and using his vestige abilities to keep himself safe. While passing through a large city (and bound to Aym, a vestige that granted resistance to fire and enhanced ability to destroy physical objects), Daniel found himself near a burning building with several people trapped inside. While the rest of the crowd looked on, helpless to do anything, Daniel realized he was the only one capable of attempting to aide those stuck in the inferno. His vestige allowed him to kick down the doors and barriers in his way with relative ease, and to dash through the raging fires to reach those inside. He managed to save them, despite the building itself burning to rubble.
He received a fair bit of instant popularity as a result, as people brave and small were more than happy to shake his hand and buy him a drink. A perfect example of being in the right place at the right time, the cities nobility decided to meet with him to formally thank him for the aide he had lended, and his persuasive nature (and the vestige Naberius, who grants a silver tongue and increased knowledge) allowed him to easily fit into the crowd of nobles.
While politics are a dangerous game, several of the nobles saw Daniel as a great opportunity. A charismatic and knowledgeable speaker who had become famous for an act of selfless heroism? To that end, several have begun the process of 'grooming' Daniel into aristocracy, urging him to run for political office and hoping to influence him from behind the scenes. He favors using the vestige Naberius for his political values, as from day to day Daniel can change the knowledge sets and languages he speaks freely. He has been known to bind other vestiges from time to time, when he beleives they will be useful for a single purpose.

Now, Daniel is realizing that his hopes of becoming someone great are not necessarily completely dashed. As he begins to gain more and more of the publics support, and some of the cities wealthy upper class try to win him over to their side, he finds his options growing. In the short term, becoming a mayor or other leader and being 'adopted' into the nobility sounds like a great idea to him. In the long run, however, he wants to learn more about pact magic and vestiges, hoping to recover the knowledge lost when his ancestors diary was burned. How he could go about learning such information without instantly being demonized remains to be seen.
Despite being a truly good person, Daniel will go to great lengths to keep his daily pact making secret. If someone were to discover that truth or threaten to reveal it publically, there is no telling what Daniel might feel he had to do.

To learn more about pact magic, Daniel might even decide to lead a crusade against it, if he could gain the churches support. Alternately, he might ask a local thieves guild (through a proxy of course) if they could find more informtation about it.

*********************************

I'd bug my DM to let me give him a few levels of Aristocrat. At third level, I'd take the Improved Practiced Binder feat to gain access to second level vestiges (and a whole heap of awesome stuff they can give from day to day).


***EDIT***

Also, I'm aware that he's got feats from the tome of magic. I'm aware it's a splatbook. He's a COMMONER, with a 15 point buy, sue me :smalltongue:

He ain't destroying any worlds.

[Nonah_Me]

Heck, according to the fluff (if I remember correctly) the biggest reason that the churches want pact magic destroyed is because of it's ease of use. I could totally see a commoner who dabbled in pact magic taking levels in binder after a few years. Especally if he got ahold of even the barest hint of lore.

[GameResearch]

Also, I'm aware that he's got feats from the tome of magic. I'm aware it's a splatbook. He's a COMMONER, with a 15 point buy, sue me :smalltongue:

He ain't destroying any worlds.

An interesting experiment :smallsmile:

Hmm I guess it won't hurt te thread if we expand its scope a little. Let's say you can use any ONE splatbook (or campaign sourcebook) in addition to core. Give me the most versatile or powerful 1st level commoner (15 pt buy) you can think of!

Here's an idea of mine: (An organization this time, rather than an individual)

Order of the Focused Mind

The brothers and sisters of the order seek a state of mind ("the Focused Mind") that allows them to overcome some of the physical limitations of the frail human body. The Order has two branches that share the ideology but differ in focus.

Members of the Order are often called monks, although they rarely use that name themselves. The brothers and sisters of the Order dye their clothes red and many also shave their heads.

The Martial Branch, Order of the Intercepting Strike

These monks strive to perfect an attack they call "the Intercepting Strike". They believe that it's better to end a battle before it has even begun.

Feats: Wild Talent, Psionic Weapon

Initiates of the Intercepting Strike generally favor the longspear, but many choose to practise with the quarterstaff, especially in areas where it is prohibited to carry weapons.

Simple Weapon Proficiency: Longspear or Quarterstaff

3rd level feats to consider: Improved Initiative or Combat Reflexes (for monks who train in longspear techniques)

Abilites: Str 14, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 8

The Monk-Athletes, Order of the Perfect Body

These monks train in techniques that allow them to enhance their running speed or even defy gravity.

Feats: Wild Talent and Mental Leap, Speed of Thought, or Up The Walls

Other psionic feats to consider

Inquisitor: Some exceptionally wise monks become elders, leaders of the Order. Elders often have to settle disputes, and this feat comes in handy in such situations.

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Longspear + Psionic Weapon + Str 14 = 2d6+2d4+3 damage! Not bad for a 1st-level commoner :smallwink: