We folks here at the Guild take pleasure in writing out dramatic, epic backstories for our characters. Now, it's not always in the sense that your character is the Chosen One (though in many cases it is), but it is often in a tragic nature. We find many characters on the Guild with dead parents, dead siblings, dead mentors, dead friends, psychological problems, family problems, problems with society (i.e outcasted, often in a dramatic manner), or very heavy life problems in general. Now, this is exceptionally healthy for main characters of a story, because it of course offers more opportunities for growth. 

However, in my case, I'm making a character for a Minecraft* roleplay server, which only offers one universe to make our own stories. There are a multitude of characters in the world, and making your character 'special' or forcing them into a main character role is usually frowned upon, as it detracts from the growth of other characters. Focusing the story on your own character's problems will often box out the hundreds of other characters in the world. So, what I'm looking for is to make a unique character with his own story and his own problems to overcome, but I'm also not looking for a 'special snowflake' backstory that will overshadow other characters.

Can anyone help me strike a balance?

This can also apply to anyone making a character for a one-universe roleplaying medium with multiple other characters.

[sub]*And before anyone takes a jab at this, I'll have you know that the communities on whitelisted roleplay servers are generally more mature than the average playerbase.[/sub]