shadowmane
First Post
I take it back one step further: they start out as relative schmucks and have to earn the tools to become heroes; then - assuming "hero" is among their career goals (it often isn't) - use those tools to become such.
Lanefan
I've got no problem with that. Its how you weed out the bad builds at the lower levels. But the whole campaign should be built around the characters and their goals. You provide the sandbox as far as setting, but if you don't have them at least partially in mind, then all you're doing is involving them in a story your (the DM) are telling. You're bringing them along for the ride, and nothing they do will effect the game world.
My approach is that everything they do effects the game world. At first, negligibly, but as they level up and gain in power, their actions effect it more and more. They are the central characters in the story. They are the protagonists. They are the heroes, no matter what level they are at. The campaign is about them becoming heroes in the game world.