D&D General Are your PCs "Adventurers" or just get caught up in the Adventure?

[Tonguez]

Adventurers dont exist in my worlds, so everyone is based on backstory. Occasionally that backstory will be curated with something like ‘you are a hunter for your village” or “you were born during an age of war, with common orc raids and are now part of a mercenary band” (ie standard adventure party) or “you are all members of a large Church organisation ranging from priests to guards, to civilian workers (any class)”.

I like the idea of common folk being swept up in adventures and having to adapt and learn to be more than they expected

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Mostly 1, a bit of 2.

I'm just really not interested in playing an absolute rube. I'm 100% fine not being amazing at everything. I like having limitations, but I don't like the feeling that most things I can attempt are either pointless or so difficult they aren't worth attempting. Hence, I like having areas where I have defined, solid competence--not absolute unequivocal guaranteed success, but a solid baseline to work from as a member of a team.

 

[Tallifer]

Mechanically I build for success, but I search for a build that suits the character I want to play. I then refluff any rough edges that seem to jar with his story.