A criminal seeking redemption. A former slave trying to belong. A bounty hunter looking for meaning. A mage-in-training trying to save someone he loves.
Sometimes saving the world isn't as simple as embarking on a quest to defeat an evil overlord, especially if you're evil yourself, or you're in love with said overlord, or you kind of suck at being a bounty hunter (or a person in general). It doesn't take long enough for them to find this out the hard way.