In behavioral economics, this is known as the paradox of choice (also referred to as overchoice or choice overload). One famous experiment* shows that when people have fewer choices of jam at the supermarket, they were more likely to buy jam.
In other words, while we always think we crave more choice, more choice is not, in fact, always helpful to most people, and can result in anxiety, choice paralysis, and an overall lowering of "happiness" and "utility."
It models my behavior with RPG's. I would stop buying splat books because I already had enough options, and when I look at a new system I'm more likely to duck if it's throwing the kitchen sink at me than want that kitchen sink too.
Too few options is not my thing, but far too many can definitely stop me from even looking.
Did enough people giving feedback in the play test appear to have wanted this option? not sure how much the feedback impacted the game since I wasn’t keeping up with D&D Next at the time. I’m not a fan of the ala carte dip here and than style either due to 3x burn out...still 12 years later.
I vaguely remember WotC sneaking in variety in the caster progression tables that I assume the reason could have been related to multi-classing but not a lot compared to the focus on the classes.
I prefer multi-classing feats, personally. I'm not a fan of open multi-classing but at least the ability score prereq's give some additional consideration.
I've found the exact opposite as the OP. There are not enough options. Or rather, there aren't enough good options. This is mostly because my character creation style was honed during the eras in which - to survive the game - you had to make the most effective build. I would never play a halfling barbarian or a half-orc bard, for instance. If I'm playing a rogue, the only melee weapon I will take is a rapier. Anything else is a subpar decision, in my opinion.
This binary form of character creation - that there are optimal decisions to make and the others are "trap" choices - really takes fun out of the playing experience. But what else can you do?
"Trap" is an over-used term. If someone made a better option than a rapier then the rapier would become the "trap". If someone makes an option exactly the same then the option is meaningless. If someone makes the option different then it's hard to measure and people will still give subjective opinions on what's better.
I also rarely take a rapier over dual short swords and a light crossbow.
I would make a halfling barbarian. He would be stout subrace and from Talenta. He would ride a dinosaur too. Taking that halfling gives me racial benefits I can use. +2 DEX fits nicely with medium armor, +1 CON is find, and lucky is a useful ability. The STR will still cap out over time.
I would also and have made half-orc bards. STR and CON is useful for valor bard who melees. Cleric too. CHA and WIS and can still be focused on and cap out but low slots, weak DC's, and limited benefit depending on spell selection makes the lower starting score minor compared to better combat scores used more often.
We did. We played one session of Warhammer Fantasy RPG. I was the GM and not a player. Had I been a player, I'd likely have been frustrated if I rolled a bad character.
The feel of D&D is different from those other games. The focus is effectiveness at your role. Bring in a subpar character, and you're cheating yourself and the other players who depend on you. A Wisdom 12 cleric that can't heal effectively, an Intelligence 10 wizard who can't hit with his scorching ray - those characters are as annoying to me as the jerk player who plays a rogue to steal his party's equipment while they're sleeping.
The most worthless character I've played and worst time I've had in a game in recent memory was a Labyrinth Lord fighter with random stats - average scores from top to bottom. And I think he had 2 hp.
What makes you think a WIS 12 cleric cannot heal effectively? The difference between WIS 12 and WIS 16 is 2hp of healing on a spell. A first level spell from a life cleric heals an additional 3hp. Based on that, all clerics cannot heal effectively unless they are life clerics, or a life cleric with 12 WIS heals more effectively than a non-life cleric with a 16 WIS.
The higher the level of the party, the less those few hit points are missed, and not all healing spells apply WIS modifier.
INT 10 wizards seems like you've moved the goalposts even further, but they can focus on buffs and uses spells that don't have saves or attack rolls. Your hypothetical 10 INT wizard would just use
magic missile or
sleep instead of
scorching ray.
Perhaps seeing how a player makes effective use of oddball characters would be better than simply assuming they don't meet your personal standard.
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