I actually yearn to do a Trade Caste level adventure exclusively filled with folks like butchers, bakers, candlestick makers,...etc., just to see what players do when their characters haven't been built as "adventurers", and were literally part of some merchant outing that went "awry" in some way... Armed with little more than knives, their wits, and other tools of their trade, they could be plunged into some sort of setting (such as getting stranded in a distant jungle) that would test their mettle and survival skills! I bet I'd be amazed at the level of creativity involved in keeping such "normal" characters alive...

As far as examples of characters built at less-than-heroic levels, some of the best came from the "post apocalyptic" campaign I ran, as well as the few low-level campaigns where the character's were either very old or children, either peasants or outcaste... Later I may try to post a few of those characters for everyone's amusement!

Scottie