Alot of talk about how the player character is introduced. I think there is an alternative to the old tropes of amensia or nobody.
This type of character background would create certain setting elements, such as objects of power, so a derivative of it would have to be used, but hang with me.
You start by choosing your characters portrait/appearance and basic skill/stat allocation. Then the game starts. You are immediately in control of a character who has significant strength through (insert lore specific items of power/Power Bestowed by Deity/etc.). Through the prologue, this power is stripped from you (betrayal from authority who gave it to you, a mysterious crisis that has made all items of such power stop working, or just an evil baddy knowing the 'weakness' to said power).
After the dramatic moment, you have a reason to be in contact with someone of importance (You already were working for them/ Were part of an organization/ etc.). Based upon how the power was strip from you, you then begin working toward the storyline (Discovering why the items of power have ceased to exist/ Recovering the source of the item's power/ or merely growing and using your own abilities to exist within the world, coming to realize you and society can no longer rely upon said powers.
Imagine a Geneforge in which the entire story is people coping with the complete and total lack of any shaping or magic what so ever. Anything even remotely touched by shaping not existing. Just as an example.
