“Why hello there, Adventurer! Welcome to my little shop. It’s not much – me and the Husband have been running this store for about ten years now, stocking up on all your adventuring needs for people heading into the Great Darkness Caverns.

“Between you and me, though, I’m hearing rumors. Some say…. there’s a wizard involved.”

(Beat)

“Ah, but you didn’t come here to listen to gossip. What can I get for you?

“What… what do you mean, everything? I mean, I’m happy to sell you what you need, but I have to keep some invent– oh, okay. Sir Dwarf, I… if you can put that axe down, we can discuss this like civilized… Did that halfling just set my shop on fire? What is WRONG with you people?!”

And, SCENE.

Is the Commoner the most powerful creature in the Monster Manual? Definitely not. But the most important?

Absolutely.

This is the Everyperson, whom you can shape into whatever you need. A shopkeeper, a blacksmith, a schoolteacher, a reporter, a pickpocket, a traveler from distant lands – all of these fall under the umbrella designation of Commoner.

How you and your players interact with the Commoner is going to really shape the game that you play. As a DM, do you give consideration to the NPCs your players will meet? Some DMs can tell you the whole life story of Jodeliah the Dairy Farmer. Others just need a name, a price list, and a Passive Perception of 10.

It doesn’t really matter how well-fleshed-out your Commoners are, as long as everyone at the table is getting what they want out of the game. I ran a shopping session once where my players met several shopkeepers, passers-by, and other sundry Commoners. I had a great time putting them together, but in the end, that’s not what they wanted out of their game. Shopping could be done in a few minutes above the table so that they could go fight monsters. That’s what they wanted, and it saved me a little time and mental effort.

It’s easy, then, to think about Commoners as being of secondary importance, since their presence (or absence) doesn’t do a whole lot to your campaign plan.

That way of thinking would be a great loss to your game, though.

What does a Commoner really mean in your game?

The answer is: far more than you think.

Give some thought to your adventure plot. A rampaging dragon is burning through the countryside. An ancient lich is rewriting reality. An evil king is raising an army of the dead.

For your players, these are all puzzles to solve and fights to win.

For the Commoners, they are world-ending threats.

The Commoner provides your game with a sense of scale. You don’t really know how dangerous an Owlbear is until it tears through a family’s cabin. Or how awful a rogue wizard is until those fireballs that your players love are destroying a small town.

Commoners in your game demonstrate consequences. They tell your players, “Fix this problem, or more people will suffer.” Because what can they do? They’re Commoners – an AC of 10, 4 HP and a Club that won’t do much damage worth talking about.

With those consequences, of course, come moral choices for your players. What do these Commoners mean to them? Are they people to be protected? Exploited? Ignored? More than any grand quest or fantastic campaign, their interactions with Commoners will show you what your party’s moral compass is. Do they save the Baker’s kid or let him be carried off by goblins? Do they pay for that beer or try to intimidate the tavern keeper into getting it for free? Do they help that famer’s family fight off an Ankheg invasion or loot the empty house afterwards?

Those decisions fall squarely on your players. However they treat the Commoners in the game – the people who exist only to give the world depth and context – will tell you who their characters really are. The moment an NPC dies from your players’ neglect or cruelty will be a defining moment for their campaign.

Finally, it’s important to remember that we would all be Commoners if we found ourselves in a D&D world. We would need to be saved by heroes, or otherwise arm ourselves with a club and one skill proficiency. It’s humbling, and for some types of players, it can be motivating. Sometimes, seeing the world through they eyes of a Commoner can you better understand the level of threat you’re facing in the adventure.

All in all, the Commoner means everything to your world.

The dragon didn’t see the Commoner. The lich didn’t think twice. The army of the dead swept through them.

But someone raised a sword that day. Not to slay the threat, but to protect the baker. And the dairy farmer. And the shopkeeper.

And in that moment, the Commoner was more than just background. They were the reason the sword was lifted at all.