A Breakaway From Typical Character Design

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So, I've got a question for all you gamers out there.

I know a huge trend in games of any genre (particularly FPSs and RPGs) is the whole one-man-army thing for the player character. A hardened badass with either direct or indirect ties to the military or something similar. What I'm thinking of is something a bit different.

What would you all think of an FPS/TPS/RPG that, for the most part, tried to steer away from that kind of thing? A game where the main character isn't a one-man or one-woman army, but just a trained professional doing their job, still easily out-numbered and out-gunned, having to rely on stealth, diplomacy and the assistance of others as much as brute force to survive situations. A character who's not necessarily in it for revenge or specifically to save the world/universe, but first and foremost to preserve or improve the current status quo in their own life, and maybe preserve or improve others' along the way. One driven by empathy and morals as much as duty and responsibility. The good mother instead of the classic anti-hero or silent every-man.

That kind of thing.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

well depends on the 'verse I mean if it's sci-fi or near-normal or fantasy..

most my characters are 'normal' members of their species apart from talents and stuff but all my settings are sci-fi or fantasy..

some of my characters are hardened by having a difficult past though but not military..

I'm all for characters like that, but I don't see what's particularly new or unique about it. Super Mario doesn't have any military orders or need for vengeance, he's just trying to help out because it's the right thing to do and because he can. Same goes for Eddie Riggs, I think, I haven't played much of Brütal Legend. Perhaps these can be called one man armies in other ways, but they act primarily out of compassion (and sometimes maybe a smidge of lust). An example of a character just trying to restore some sort of normalcy in their own life, how about Chell from Portal? She's just trying to get out of the seemingly abandoned Aperture Science facility without getting killed by the computer GLaDOS.
As for assistance from others, I'm not enitrely sure how you mean. Like in the old LucasArts and Sierra adventure games? Or like every RPG character almost ever?
Stealth might be somewhat uncommon. Most games expect the player to take initiative rather than escape. But there are moments in games when you're supposed to sneak past the danger rather than attack it. Portal, again, comes to mind. Pretty sure Arkham Asylum had a few bits like that as well, although they were followed by sneaking up or dropping down on the bad guys and knocking them out. The Space Quest series had a lot of running away and no fighting as far as I can recall.

Sounds like a good idea, but I have the sneaking feeling someone's already done, but I don't know where. As for me, I have the idea of a character who goes out for revenge and succeeds, only to find that their path has more negative consequences.

I am a game industry veteran, and I have a pretty cool idea I have been thinking about. It's RPG, but with a really neat idea for the player and 'who" the player is...

I'm thinking more along the lines of FPSs than RPGs, but the character I have in mind is for a sci-fi FPS (or possible TPS) with RPG elements, like the Deus Ex games. Except there's really nothing special, mysterious or unusual about the character in terms of background and abilities. The character has set physical appearance, a voice, and a distinct personality; but the player can make minor dialogue and action choices that affect how the character is viewed and received by NPCs and will also affect the game's key events and ending to some degree.

I was going to say Thief 2, but then you said "not an anti-hero".

But yeah, I've been thinking about that a bit lately, how in FPS you're always way more powerful than your enemies. I was starting to brainstorm some ideas, but decided to save it for later, since I have too many unfinished projects at the moment as it is >_<