The Common Folk

In discussions of the categories of racial heritage and adventuring professions, scholars often use these general terms to describe how common a given designation is in the general population of Patchwork.

• Very Common - You can hardly walk down the street in any settlement without meeting one of these individuals. Everyone is at least familiar with the general capabilities of this class, or the attributes of this race, even if they're not an expert on them. Examples: Fighters, Wizards, Humans, Elves .
• Common - They may not be everywhere, but they're a familiar sight to most people. Their abilities might be slightly obscure, but aren't likely to be a complete surprise to anyone. Examples: Summoners, Gunslingers, Ifrits, Tieflings .
• Uncommon - Most people have met someone of this class or race, but may not know their abilities in great detail. They might get some attention from those that consider them exotic, but usually nothing too extreme. Examples: Gripplis, Kitsune, Brawlers, Skalds.
• Rare - While they aren't completely unknown, a member of this race or class will be an unknown factor to most people and will very likely stand out in all but the largest settlements. There's a good chance they'll receive stares and impertinent questioning, although, given the nature of Patchwork, at least hostility will be rare. Examples: Centaurs, Leshy, Arcane Tricksters, Kineticists.
• Obscure - Even in a metropolitan area, this person may be the single example of their class or race. Most people will only known of them through rumor, at best, and contingency plans will almost never take their abilities into consideration. They are likely to generate at least an edge of fear or awe in most people and attract extra attention wherever they go. Examples: Androids, Shobhads, Dragon Disciples, Technomancers.

It's also possible for a being to be Unique, with much of the same social effects as obscure, but by the very nature of this category it will never apply to a class or race!

Game Mechanics?

Where there are no actual rules in Pathfinder for familiarity with classes ("adventuring professions") or races ("heritage"), this is a generalized description for how likely the people in the world are to be with a given class or race, or at least how likely a class or race is to be found in a random settlement. Those found in the core rulebook are very common, with others being slightly more obscure. This does not mean NPCs will be completely overwhelmed by your mysterious abilities as a oread magnus, but you might be slightly more likely to encounter adversaries that aren't completely prepared for them. Of course this the balance to this is that you're likely to attract at least some curiosity and might not be able to blend into a crowd as easily as a human fighter.