There is also some old AngryGM rant about biological and cultural traits of starting characters https://theangrygm.com/why-race-isnt-broken/
maybe try making the mechanical part of lifepaths as short descriptive abilities rather than stats? Something very narrow yet helpful. Check out this blogpost too http://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2023/08/pointcrawling-character-creation.html?m=1
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