This morning your peaceful village is burning, somebody murdered your parents in the most horrible way and you're about to be sold off as a slave.
You're not like the others, you never were. The others think you're either broken or come from somewhere else and they might be right.
A man with a long beard and a staff appears on your doorstep.
That tchotchke that has been around for as long as people remember has suddenly vanished/emits an eerie light or has dragons appear out of nowhere and treat it like catnip.
The sun/suns/device that is the source of everything that keeps your society going is growing dimmer by the day.
Your local noble (and pretty much all other nobles) is a murderous vengeful rapist who has an eye on you/your mom/your sister.
You have a special talent nobody else in your community has, it seems to be inborn and you're incredibly good at it despite having no real formal training.
Somewhere in a distant land lives an evil warlord in a land made of volcanic ash and fused glass.
All your life you've been a nobody, not particularly attractive, you never made much money, you certainly have to special skills beyond anything needed for a life of drudgery and now you're sharing a horse with a stunningly beautiful and exotic woman trying to escape local law-enforcement.
The local ruler just declared that all firstborn males must be put to the sword.
You find a baby in a manger by the river.
You or a friend have discovered a noteworthy if not slightly odd object, could be a gold ring, a glowing crystal, a weird-looking weapon, or any superbly crafted, but possibly even damaged item etc.
A stranger wandered into your village, claims to have lost their memory, but why is there a striking resemblance with the a statue in the local temple ?
Your history is tens of millennia old, but once people came up with the steel sword and the crossbow nine-thousand years ago, nobody ever bothered inventing again.
You live in a medieval culture, but all the basics of a plain, simple, but highly comfortable life, like indoor plumbing, well maintained roads, soap, quality medical care and nutricious food come in inexhaustible supply.
Your community has always been separate from something called "the outside world."
Very tall people from the outside world have forced their way into your community and refer to your people with derogatory names implying your shortness.
When you go to the average busy tavern or crowded market you're hard pressed to find two or more individuals of the same race.
You're on a first name basis with most major deities.
Your job is to guard a major magical artefact, or make sure some powerful being remains imprisoned forever.
Your race consists of highly attractive exotic beings, but you have this inner voice telling you that the common behaviour among your people is "evil" and it bothers you so much you want to leave and be free.
Near your home is a dark, mysterious and abandoned temple/ruin/burial ground and everyone tells you to keep away from it.
"The gods are again oppressing mankind and it's high time somebody did something about it !"
The wisdom of your mystical elder teachers is either self-evident, pulled out of their orifice or scribbed from a fortune cookie.
You're an apprentice to a powerful wizard or a renowned knight for years, but aside from back-breaking menial jobs and a bunch of insults they have yet to teach you the first thing about the job you applied for.
You and your friends are on a major quest, each and every important event is marked by the recital of some ancient poetry or a song or two.
You're said to be the last of your race or kind, all the others have been murdered or went away to parts unknown.
starts his new Amazon army at the top, with an airborne general!
is a "tchotchke" ?