For me, I tend to play a character that is affected by the story but doesn't take part in it. Kyrio is a homeless street-rat of a character (The Pearl Lane is a serious slum). He's not a hero. Merri is taking him on as a pupil to be a monk, not some NPC. He's running around and helping people and performing things for the security of the people because it's the right thing to do, not because he has to as demanded by the story and side quests. Even when he's running dungeons, he's simply going on an adventure - not putting down a giant acid-spitting dragon for the purposes of obtaining stinky cheese. And Primal fights are purely occ because he doesn't have an echo. So in the end, I wind up with a lore-friendly character who is able to interact in the world and with the world without bending the cords of the story.
