Commoners are the normal people who have nothing really going for them. They don't have much of an education, and they get through life doing the basic work that a society without mechanization needs. They are the labourers, cleaners, shop workers and assistants of the world. They don't earn much money, but they are resourceful and have a half-decent life. They aren't always cold and hungry, and they don't run around dressed in rags. They live in close quarters with each other, a family of six or seven people might live in two rooms, but generally they have somewhere to sleep and a couple of blankets to keep them warm. There is enough food, just about, although it mainly consists of bread and cheap vegetables like cabbage, potatoes, beans, onions and peas. In towns, they probably get eggs, cheese, chicken or fish once or twice a week (although not a big portion). In the countryside, the food is a bit more varied and there might be more protein in the diet. They generally drink herbal teas (it boils the water) or low alcohol small beer (fermentation makes the water safe) - and drink the cheapest ales when they go to a bar.

They have an education, of sorts. They can read, write and do basic arithmetic - so long as the words are simple, and the sums are easy. Think of an average western 10-11 year old. They can read signs and notices, they can leave a simple written message, and they know how much change they should get when they buy something - and the commoner can do all of this without a calculator. They know stuff about their area, they know the culture of their people, and they have a broad understanding of their local religions and local nobles, although this is the limit of their 'book' learning. Commoners can use some Knowledge skills (Local, Religion, Noble) untrained, so long as it relates to things that are common knowledge locally.

In my games, Commoners cannot take the Skill Focus feat and never really become specialists.

Commoners may have one weapon proficiency, if it is appropriate to their role. For example, shepherds will, most likely, use a sling to scare away predators, bandits, watchmen and guards will probably be trained to use a club (Truncheon), farmworkers might be skilled with a sickle, woodsmen could be skilled with an axe, although military weapons are a real rarity. Unless there is a good reason otherwise, weapon skills will generally be one of the free weapons (Club, Quarterstaff, Sling). Any commoner can be skilled at punching and kicking, regardless of other weapon skills - which means that Brass Knuckles and Gauntlets are within the reach of anyone, although they will certainly draw suspicion.

Very few commoners progress beyond third level. I treat L1 as a sort of apprentice level, which means that most human commoners progress to L2 when they get to 20 years old (or there about). Age boundaries are different for other races. Once a commoner is established as head of a family or business, they progress to L3 - but this is controlled by circumstance, not age. Very few commoners progress further than L3.

Commoners are created with a 5 point build. For the majority of my NPC commoners that translates as (Str:11, Dex:11, Con:11, Int:11, Wis:11, Cha:11) including all racial benefits etc. I know it doesn't quite add up, but it keeps it all very very straightforward :) Commoners do not get Traits at level one.

Most commoners get a single trait at L2 (although it might be deferred to L3) and a few get a second Trait (if it suits me, and the characters back story). Suitable commoner traits, including some new traits specifically designed for commoners, can be found here. The new traits cover such roles as Military Assistant, Militiaman and Home-Maker.

If a Commoner can raise an ability to 12 or greater, they might be able to retrain or multi-class into a different NPC class.