I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
IT 100% depends on your style of play, and it doesn't affect it a whole lot.
By the book, everyone has a base of 10 or 11 for their stats, and only racial modifiers push it anywhere beyond those.
These common folk can become heroes, no problem. They're just heroes that have to try a bit harder, be a bit more lucky, perhaps be more favored by chance and happenstance. Sam'd be one of these types. He's not an exceptional being in any way, but he's caught up in big circumstances, pulls together, and uses the few skills he does have to their biggest advantage. They're uncommon because of the things around them, and because of non-mechanics-related personality quirks, not because of what they can do. They're unimpressive stat-wise, with a lot of levels.
Then there's the heroes who are NEVER common. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, heck, even Boromir and Frodo. They do things no Sam could ever pull off...slaying goblins, resisting the pull of the One Ring, being special and magical since birth itself. They're impressive stat-wise, and usually with a good chunk of levels to boot.
There's also those who are 'heroic' in stats but who don't do anything with their lives. These basically don't exist in D&D, unless they're special NPC's (the strong man at the circus, the wise sage, etc.). They're powerful in their own right, but don't go out and DO anything with it. Like, say, Elrond. These guys might have wondrous stats and lots of levels, but they never come out of their dusty towers, so they never use it.
What stats your PC's have will basically define if they're 'average joes caught up in things' (10's, 11's, etc.) or 'uncoomon uncommoners who are different always' (18's, 16's, etc.). And neither way is really any more justified than any other way.
Why do PC's have to be mighty in comparison to the rest? So that the players feel that their characters are special in some tangible way. Anybody can take any set of 10's and 11's and say 'he's descended from an elven prince!' but it makes something a bit more effective if he's got a Cha and an Int and a Dex to back that claim up.
By the book, everyone has a base of 10 or 11 for their stats, and only racial modifiers push it anywhere beyond those.
These common folk can become heroes, no problem. They're just heroes that have to try a bit harder, be a bit more lucky, perhaps be more favored by chance and happenstance. Sam'd be one of these types. He's not an exceptional being in any way, but he's caught up in big circumstances, pulls together, and uses the few skills he does have to their biggest advantage. They're uncommon because of the things around them, and because of non-mechanics-related personality quirks, not because of what they can do. They're unimpressive stat-wise, with a lot of levels.
Then there's the heroes who are NEVER common. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, heck, even Boromir and Frodo. They do things no Sam could ever pull off...slaying goblins, resisting the pull of the One Ring, being special and magical since birth itself. They're impressive stat-wise, and usually with a good chunk of levels to boot.
There's also those who are 'heroic' in stats but who don't do anything with their lives. These basically don't exist in D&D, unless they're special NPC's (the strong man at the circus, the wise sage, etc.). They're powerful in their own right, but don't go out and DO anything with it. Like, say, Elrond. These guys might have wondrous stats and lots of levels, but they never come out of their dusty towers, so they never use it.
What stats your PC's have will basically define if they're 'average joes caught up in things' (10's, 11's, etc.) or 'uncoomon uncommoners who are different always' (18's, 16's, etc.). And neither way is really any more justified than any other way.
Why do PC's have to be mighty in comparison to the rest? So that the players feel that their characters are special in some tangible way. Anybody can take any set of 10's and 11's and say 'he's descended from an elven prince!' but it makes something a bit more effective if he's got a Cha and an Int and a Dex to back that claim up.
