As previous posters have pointed out, it worked for Bilbo, and it worked for Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. And it worked for the start of Fallout (you start as a civilian in a fallout shelter) and Fallout New Vegas (a regular courier). And of course Neverwinter Nights 2 where you actually start out as a peasant in a swamp village. So not that far fetched, I'd think.