Conflict Proximity

Some stories are small in their scope. The stakes are deeply personal, the landscape of conflict contained. If done well, these stories are no less powerful in their emotional impact than a 'save the world' epic. Conversely, just because the stakes in your plot are 'saving the world from X' doesn't mean it will have any emotional grip on your audience.

One of the most common points where audience emotional investment in a epic adventure is picking the wrong main character. This doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with the main character in and of themselves-- in fact, they can be a well-developed, interesting, and likeable character in their own right. However, they're the wrong character to follow for that particular story.

A common cause of this picking a main character who is peripheral to the main conflict, or who has few intrinsic reasons to be invested in the outcome. Telltale signs include characters who must be persuaded, wheedled, and finally dragged by very specific circumstances to join the quest; alternately, characters who require a series of convoluted events to get them to where the main conflict is. Another sign is side characters who are way more interesting than the protagonist, due to having a much deeper investment in the conflict at hand.

Luckily, it's an easy fix: ditch the protagonist, and pick up the viewpoint of one of the other characters Or create a new character with a more compelling relationship to the main issues in the narrative. Either way, if you have an interesting character with a strong investment in the main conflict, you're well on your way to a great story.