An RPG that handles this nicely, in my view, is Cthulhu Dark.
PC building consists in choosing a name and an occupation/profession. The only stat is Sanity, which is rated on a die.
Then, when a PC performs an action that requires a roll, the player builds a dice pool:
But I don't have any particular preference. I've enjoyed very build-focused RPGs (like 4e D&D) and also RPGs where most or all PC abilities come from skill ranks that, at least in principle, anyone can have (Torchbearer 2e, Prince Valiant, Classic Traveller).
Agon 2e is a fun RPG where PCs differ mostly in their attributes (of which there are 4) and in their descriptors (of which they might have one or two): descriptors allow adding to the dice pool, a bit like the occupation/profession in Cthulhu Dark.
So I don't think there is any particular "optimal path" of design in this respect.
PC building consists in choosing a name and an occupation/profession. The only stat is Sanity, which is rated on a die.
Then, when a PC performs an action that requires a roll, the player builds a dice pool:
*Include one die in your pool if the action is humanly possible (so eg running quickly across a street is humanly possible; summoning entities from the outer void is not possible);
*Include one die in your pool if the action is within the scope of your occupation/profession (so eg a longshoreman wouldn't get this die if trying to summon an entity from the outer void, but an antiquarian who has read the Necronomicon might);
*Include your sanity die in your pool if you're prepared to risk your sanity to succeed at the action.
*Include one die in your pool if the action is within the scope of your occupation/profession (so eg a longshoreman wouldn't get this die if trying to summon an entity from the outer void, but an antiquarian who has read the Necronomicon might);
*Include your sanity die in your pool if you're prepared to risk your sanity to succeed at the action.
But I don't have any particular preference. I've enjoyed very build-focused RPGs (like 4e D&D) and also RPGs where most or all PC abilities come from skill ranks that, at least in principle, anyone can have (Torchbearer 2e, Prince Valiant, Classic Traveller).
Agon 2e is a fun RPG where PCs differ mostly in their attributes (of which there are 4) and in their descriptors (of which they might have one or two): descriptors allow adding to the dice pool, a bit like the occupation/profession in Cthulhu Dark.
So I don't think there is any particular "optimal path" of design in this respect.
