Even when presented with a wealth of options and opportunities, people will still default to making what’s comfortable and familiar: themselves.
No, because then the default guy would be overweight. Two-thirds of the Western world is overweight or obese, and gamers like snacks. They're making an idealised version of themselves. "Me if I were good-looking and competent." Cos, you know, it's
fantasy roleplaying.
I just really do not even understand these "gamers" whole motivation for *wanting* fucked up, crippled, weird, socially-ostracized, rebel freak characters.
Because you get extra character build points when you take disadvantages. It's all GURPS' fault, they started it. If you were a one-eyed epilectic dwarf with a stutter you could be a master swordsman on day one of your adventuring.
My old man works with people with acquired brain injuries. I said, "Is it like Rainman? You know, idiot savants?"
"No, most of them are just idiots."
Game designers have this perverse idea that games should be balanced, which carried to its absurd extreme means everyone is built on the same total points - overall, everyone is as good as everyone else. Point-buy is roleplaying game socialism, and it doesn't represent reality or fantasy fiction in any way at all.
This is why random roll character generation is superior - there's less opportunity for the player to indulge their desire to be a unique special snowflake and, god help us, write a backstory.
The idea that disabilities give you extra other abilities accounts for people wanting to be disabled. Point-buy character generation is the cause of modern Wokeness. Save the world from the Woke, stick to random roll character generation.
PS: I would say that random roll actually offers more opportunities for developing empathy for people with difficulties. Because maybe all your rolls are shit. But with wits and luck, you make the best of it anyway. Meanwhile some guy with great stats dies in the first combat. Your poor rolls mean you have to work harder for the same results than the guy with good rolls - but you might get there anyway!
But I guess, "Make the best of things, whatever your difficulties, in the end success or failure is largely up to you," is not really a Woke message.