I'm going to skip the obvious lesson from literature, which is about the construction of mystery scenarios, and where Sherlock Holmes is actually a strong example of how not to do it. Instead, I think I'll talk about what Sherlock Holmes, Batman, and d'Argtanian have in common (at least until halfway through "The Three Musketeers"). Which is probably a pertinent lesson as regards the role of PCs in an RPG.
Here's the thing: in all three cases, the heroes named are extremely competent amateurs who frequently work with less capable professionals. And, crucially, in each case our hero chooses to work with the authority figure, but isn't part of the official heirarchy - meaning that at any time they could choose not to work with the professionals and could instead go off-book.
I think both of these are useful lessons as regards RPGs. Firstly, making the PCs clearly a "cut above" plays into the player-empowerment aspect of RPGs, which is always to the good. It also explains why they would be called on by those professionals - their special talents mean that they can do things the authorities cannot (and, indeed, their being unofficial also has the same advantage).
But, secondly, making the PCs outside the official heirarchy also has key advantages. It allows them greater freedom to act than if they were beholden to some official organisation with a designated superior. And it also allows for a greater variety of interactions: most of the professionals may well respect them for their talents, but there will also be plenty of scope for them to obstruct the PCs or have to be worked around, precisely because Batman doesn't carry a badge.
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