What does it mean to be an adventurer?

[Asmotherion]

So, I saw a post earlier about whether an adventurer is actually a profecional killer or not, and it gave me some inspiration for this thread:

As the title suggests, in your (current/past) Campains, what exactly does it mean to be an adventurer/PC?

Do they have some special power over NPCs? Are they Heroic somehow? Are they "super-human(oid)"? Is their ability better than average due to years honning their skills, or does it involve supernatural forces/fate to be a hero?

How mundane or otherwise are adventurers in your campains? Is the PC's party a group of Paragons, bound together to fight for some cause? Is being an adventurer simply a trade of sorts, and there are others who do the same job? Is it free-lance, or are they associated with a guild?

I want to hear about your campain aproaches on the matter, either as a player or DM.

Personally, it's usually a free-lance job were it's usuall to see other adventurers in an inn for example. People will frequently post requests on boards in towns or cities, with a reward. Sometimes the nature of the request will be listed, or it might get more obscure, such as "contact Sir Someone for information".

On some cases, we've run guild oriented play, but we've always had more fun as free-lancers who might eventually build a guild.

[Millstone85]

If I might add a question, how would this relate to "tiers of play"?

If PCs are "effectively apprentice adventurers" until they reach level 5, and only get "high above the ordinary populace" at level 11, that should tell something about the adventurous community in a standard setting.

[Naanomi]

Most common in my campaigns, which are usually set on the same homebrew plane (but often at different periods of history):

-there is a 'kingdom' who led a big multi-national coalition against an eldritch horror in the last age, but blew itself up in the process. The survivors are a sea-faring people who still lean on old treaties and promises from that 'great alliance' era to have fairly unfettered movement and activity (within reason) around the world, and commonly recruit people of talent to join their 'crews'; often utilized by locals to solve politically inconvenient issues with a bit of distance, players are citizens of this sea-nation

-same setting, much later in history: civilized nations are very isolated from one another with big patches of dangerous land between them. Trade is only possible due to extensive mercenary-caravaners who brave the wilderness. There are many mercenary companies; some basically thieves or bandits, others heroic traveling do-gooders, most just out for profit wherever they can find it. They are so ubiquitous that even small communities often have a 'mercenary hall' to accommodate them. Players are either their own mercenary company, or a small band from one of the larger organizations

[PhoenixPhyre]

The main culture in my setting has a relatively rigid society--breaking with traditions is frowned upon. For dwarves, in fact, breaking with tradition gets you labeled a heretic and executed. "Adventurer" is a separate social station given to those who cannot live within society but can possibly be useful defending the borders and doing things that would mentally damage a more traditional member of society. This includes exploration, dealing with non-civilized races, killing monsters that threaten towns, etc. They're taken from the ranks of the condemned criminals--it's a death sentence as well, just spread out over time. The life expectancy is not tremendous.

Now, if we mean "Player Characters" by "Adventurer," PC's are special. They're among the few whose limits for personal growth are much higher than others. This explains why they can gain "levels" (ie grow in power) both more quickly and further than most commoners. The vast majority of people will never get beyond the relative power of a 1st level character, no matter what they do. Only a very few can--among these are the player characters.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Judging by who I see around me most folks are a 9 or 10 score in most things level 1. So by the time you are level 2 or 3 you belong in the Army or Marines.

Adventures in modern life are mercineries, soldiers, CIA operatives, bail bondsmen, maybe gang or cartel members, that type of thing I figure.

[Coffee_Dragon]

In 2-3E Forgotten Realms adventuring was sometimes represented as a phase many young people go through. Some of them don't come back, most come back singed and settle down, some carry on and become professional troubleshooters, explorers, delvers, secret society agents and so forth. Obviously for this it helps if your world is rich in frontier areas and features like old ruins, monster and humanoid depredations, and magical disturbances. If a campaign takes place in a more explored/civilized region, with settled economic and political structures and few exotic features, adventurers would be more likely to work for someone as strongarms, troubleshooters or other types of agents, unless they either have the means and rights to start up their own enterprise, or simply become brigands.