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omg i love commoner

Quote from Dartagnan_Galochio >>

Quote from Warrior_for_hire >>

That stat block makes no sense at all, a commoner dwarf can out run a dwarf character, an elf commoner can't usually speak elvish... really?

 I believe this might be autoassuming human honestly.

Like, "dwarf commoner" would essentially be a contradiction, by how it feels this was thought out.

 Yes, the default is human, if you look at any nonhuman commoners in published adventures then a dwarf commoner has speed: 25 ft., darkvision: 60 ft., languages: common & dwarvish, and so on and so forth for all the other races. The same can be done for any other statblock.

However, you should never give an NPC statblock a damage-dealing racial trait (including innate spellcasting) that deals more damage than their highest-damage attack.

No, no.  A frog has only 1 HP so it's an auto-kill if you hit it and it has no effective attack.  A commoner has 4 HP and it can fight back.  Also, think about how one might kill a frog compared to a helpless human.  Not so difficult, when you really look at it.

Pretty sure this is just a template to apply racial traits to.    

So a human commoner would have 11 to all ability scores

A mountain dwarf commoner would have reduced speed, 12 to str & con, and 10 to everything else

A high elf commoner would have 12 dex,11 int, 10 for everything else

Etc... 

Quote from hasonyousf2003 >>

Pretty sure this is just a template to apply racial traits to.    

So a human commoner would have 11 to all ability scores

A mountain dwarf commoner would have reduced speed, 12 to str & con, and 10 to everything else

A high elf commoner would have 12 dex,11 int, 10 for everything else

Etc... 

^Precisely this, was my impression of it. This listing being literally the baseline stats for the most common humanoids (most prolific of those often being Humans), upon which to apply any racial templates or backgrounds. So human Commoners would get +1 to each Attribute stat, in addition to what's shown in the stat block here, for all the good it does them. Dwarves would get Darkvision, 25ft movement, etc.

Note that the equipment listed for a background may differ from equipment required for attacks in the "/monsters/" listing! A Commoner with Urchin background has a dagger instead of a club. The Soldier background doesn't necessarily grant a weapon at all (might get a dagger).

So although the active-duty stat block shown for /monsters/Soldier has a longsword, a /monsters/Commoner with a Soldier background usually doesn't have a sword anymore (though they might still possess a trophy such as a dagger or a broken blade).

A normal rat only has to bite a commoner four times to kill them. Being a peasant in D&D is rough. 

Me, a Wizard, and my 1d6 for health.... ;-;

*Side note - I was curious about what a standard person in a town would probably has stat-wise, and now I truly know just how little health my wizard has....

Quote from EzraAlgard >>

Yeah. I've been using it for peasants, serfs, slaves, servants, pilgrims, merchants, artisans, and hermits...

 That’s just the description.

Sadly, it's hard for cats to kill commoners now :(

Well like... is that inaccurate? You ever try to sneak up on a frog, they’re quick lil buggers

every single regular person has a club lol

As a DM, one must be flexible with the situation. For example, when a commoner was hit by lets say a 4th level PC with a bludgeoning weapon, then instead of dying it can be considered incapacitated or fainted. But when they were hit with a slashing or stabbing, then it can be considered dying. 

Is it unrealistic that a mastiffs bite could one hit kill a commoner but in real life a dogs bite would barely shed much blood, if any. Also, I give my commoners daggers or slings instead of clubs because who carries a club around all day, and commoners with slings perfectly fit the bart simpson trouble maker type with a slingshot.

"Six level 20's can kill 1000 commoners with ease"

Culling of Stratolme energy.

In fairness to the commoner, a normal rat in D&D can lift 60 pounds (30x its strength), so if they hide behind a sofa the rat can just kick it over.

D&D Logic

Eagle > Commoner

If a commoner suddenly says I want to become a thug their hitpoints go up 8 times, that feels wrong

This is a human commoner stat block where did you get “commoner dwarf can out run a dwarf character, an elf commoner can't usually speak elvish... really?” I’m genuinely curious?

Medium humanoid (any race) , any alignment

compare also stat blocks for goblin vs goblin commoner, kobold vs kobold commoner from sunless citadel, etc