Being nobody: Aquillion's guide to Commoners.

[Dumbledore lives]

If you're ever in a situation where you can't survive, go for the broke and fill all of creation with chickens. Just imagine the reaction of people halfway around the world when every square inch of space in their world is suddenly and completely full of chickens.

Is it alright if I sig this? It is awesome.

[Bayar]

The best weapon to pick is the basket. Basketweaving commoners are one of the most powerful characters in the game and rival even Pun Pun.

[Rutee]

First, look at their skill list. Commoners get several vital skills, .... they have use rope for kinky things!

So I have my next character.

[Tokiko Mima]

Hilarious!

Thank you!

[Storm Bringer]

other useful features of the commoner class:

You are the only class out thier that can pick up a sycthe and not look like a poser!

When you is bluffing your way past guards, you can say 'I am but a mere commoner' and mean it. THINK of the situational bonuses!

you can follow in the footsteps of some of historys greatest leaders! Ghenis Khan, Joesph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Bruce Stringsteen, all of these started thier lives as humble commoners and rose to greatness on the backs of thier charisma!

[Green Bean]

I object to people calling the Commoner overpowered. In any real game, the DM would intervene to keep the Commoner's power level low enough to compete fairly with the other classes. Frankly, this so-called "Jimmy Olsen" Commoner is little more than a theoretical build.

[The Rose Dragon]

Did you also have them take the Leadership?

Nah, I feared for the cheese overload and resisted the temptation.

The best weapon to pick is the basket. Basketweaving commoners are one of the most powerful characters in the game and rival even Pun Pun.

OK, I've seen this thrown around, and I have to ask: why?

[Oslecamo]

Commoner will be an exalted path for 4e characters, available at 31th level.

It's good to see that Wotc finally put comoners where they deserve.

However, I get the feel that it is riped of from the mmorpg comoners.

[KIDS]

Lovely lovely and lovely, maybe not exactly on level of "Complete Samurai" but still very awesome! Thanks for writing this!

[Bayar]

OK, I've seen this thrown around, and I have to ask: why?

The handbook to basketweaving
A commoner that beat the Twice-betrayer of Shar

[Solo]

How foolish of me to have invested so much of my faith in casters.. Now I see that basket weaving commoners are the true path to ultimate power.

[elliott20]

this thread is just too beautiful for words...

[Moak]

2. Advantages
[...] they have ride and handle animal, which lets them ride or tame a much much stronger creature like a riding dog; [...]

...add in...this....

[...]
For the other classes, just look at the commoner's superior skillset -- commoners have Profession (which can grant unlimited gold at no risk!)

Next, rogues. I shouldn't even need to point this out, but commoners have Ride and Handle Animal as class skills -- both are very powerful, and can together net you as many animal servants as you can pay for, while you ride one yourself (something that can easily have more HP than the flimsy rogue!) Clearly, the commoner beats the rogue completely.[...]

That also means that you can VERY VERY EASILY BUY HOW MANY PET YOU WANT! And thanks to Handle Animal you can train them better than anyone else!
You,your Leadership and....your HORDES of animals!!!

[Nohwl]

i might have to make a commoner to play as in my next campaign.

[Telonius]

Hmm. You could also take the Delicious flaw to reliably draw aggro, allowing your party various attacks of opportunity as the monsters brush past them to get to you.

[SurlySeraph]

Commoners: common for a reason.

[Sebastian]

Why do you think there is not a commoner class for 4e? They dropped it because it is broken, I tell you, BROKEN!!!

And I'm willing to bet there are not housecats, either. :)

[Thiel]

In a similar vein to the chicken there's the always reliable tidal wave of clubs and quarterstaffs. All it takes is a DC 12 Craft(Weaponsmithing) check. It requires neither tools or materials.

[Chronos]

The best thing about this thread is that it actually does play to the strengths of the Commoner class. I hadn't noticed before that they get Listen and Spot as class skills: Those are actually very useful skills to have, and not easily available to most classes. So a commoner who puts all of his skill points into Listen and Spot is using his own class abilities effectively, and doing something that can't actually be done well by most classes.

In a similar vein to the chicken there's the always reliable tidal wave of clubs and quarterstaffs. All it takes is a DC 12 Craft(Weaponsmithing) check. It requires neither tools or materials.

I know that this is a popular joke, but the rules for crafting quarterstaves actually do make sense. It's not true that making a staff requires neither tools nor materials: Rather, it requires materials costing 0 gold. If we're going to joke about the rules not making sense, let's at least pick rules that really don't make sense (Pun-Pun knows there's enough of those out there already).

[Aquillion]

...add in...this....


That also means that you can VERY VERY EASILY BUY HOW MANY PET YOU WANT! And thanks to Handle Animal you can train them better than anyone else!
You,your Leadership and....your HORDES of animals!!!

New build.

Elan (or Warforged) commoner. Put all skill points in handle animal and either profession or craft.

Using your unlimited lifespan, make nigh infinite craft or profession checks, netting you NI gold. Spend this gold on NI animals, as well as NI copies of every beneficial item every printed anywhere; and hire NI hirelings for NI days; outfit your hirelings with every beneficial item ever printed, too. Order your commoners to retrieve any object or artifact that can't be obtained with money; with NI commoners armed with the best gear ever printed, chances are one will eventually succeed.

You are also assumed to constantly be under the effect of every beneficial buff that can be purchased for 3000 gold or less, since you can pay wizards to constantly cast them on you. You have unlimited wishes via either Candles of Invocation (if you want to be cheesy) or good old rings of three wishes (if you don't.) Your stats are all boosted by +5 inherent bonuses from tomes.

[tyckspoon]

I know that this is a popular joke, but the rules for crafting quarterstaves actually do make sense. It's not true that making a staff requires neither tools nor materials: Rather, it requires materials costing 0 gold. If we're going to joke about the rules not making sense, let's at least pick rules that really don't make sense (Pun-Pun knows there's enough of those out there already).

Oh, then it's still fair to point out that the value-based rules for using Craft means you can nigh-instantly transform a quantity of wood into the same quantity of quarterstaves or clubs without using anything more than normal tools. With just the minimum successful check (DC 12 Weaponsmithing for a 'simple melee or thrown weapon') you can create 144 CP worth of quarterstaffs in one day's work. Alternately, you can't actually make a quarterstaff or club with Craft, because the zero/no numerical value of one breaks the math. It's senseless anyway.

[AmberVael]

My favorite arena build that I've heard of used a Commoner with the Chicken Infested flaw, actually. Essentially the character just spent a ton of time out of the arena spawning chickens, then used their wealth to buy a Celestial Rooster.
And, well...
Ended up with a Half-Celestial chicken army.
(Though technically you can't apply half celestial to a chicken, but what would they be otherwise? I don't know how the player worked that out.)

[marjan]

It's also worth noting that commoners are very RP friendly. Meaning: unlike some classes (like monk for example), they don't have any alignment restrictions and they usually don't have any implications of what you have to do to become one (like for example training in monastery), so they are the perfect opportunity to play a character with the background you have created.

[Draz74]

The Adventures of Joe Wood.
Seems timely for this thread. Note his extensive use of Handle Animal.

(Warning: long read.)

[konfeta]

The only thing this build is really missing is 3 pages on extensive use of UMD.

[marjan]

The only thing this build is really missing is 3 pages on extensive use of UMD.

No need for that. Commoner is powerful class even without the cheese that is UMD. And beside which of his skills would you neglect in order to put SPs in UMD? It would be pretty hard choice, I believe.

[Solo]

No, no, no. Live chickens are the best commoner weapon. The build in that thread will need considerable improvement to take full advantage of the commoner's power, but the Chicken Infested "flaw" is an excellent advantage and no other class is allowed to take it.

What a fowl tactic...

[Draz74]

What a fowl tactic...

Ow. Did you have to, Solo?

[Solo]

Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

[SamTheCleric]

I demand a follow up. I want an Aristocrat guide!

Aristocrat: You suck.. but you have money. And everyone knows: Money CAN buy happiness.