Talen5000: The advantage of the modules over what any individual "would deem" to be part of their "backwoods" upbringing is that they provide a list of Attributes/Traits/Skills with varying levels of "suggested".
Which adds nothing to the character - it makes the creation process a bit more restrictive, but adds a bit more handholding. These are the skills you allowed to choose for your "BackWoods" background as opposed to "You are encouraged to select skills suited for your characters backstory"
To my point of view, that isn't major consideration because they are simply two paths to the same goal. One is simply restrictive, but mandatory. There is no "Best" option here....simply preference, and how the systems are implemented.
Don't get me wrong - I like the Life Path system. But....I still don't think to works for BT. There are too many options in BT to make a lifepath system truly viable - again, unless we can count on factions books of some kind in order to expand the system (and we can't). More, the entire system we have now needs to be rewritten to account for the deterrence factor. Most players, in my experience, don't like the amount of math involved in creating a BT character. It isn't the difficulty...it is the amount. One calculus equation would be preferable to a score of minor additions....especially because a calculus equation would feel "meaningful" and important and the myriad additions and subtractions of the AToW lifepath system feels anything but.
The question then is, taking everything into account, does it provide value for the page count it has....and my answer is still, no. It doesn't. It isn't fit for purpose as it is written because it doesn't really add anything to character creation that other systems cannot provide, but because of its writing, flexibility, mechanics and reputation it is time consuming and, worst of all, is an active deterrence in getting players to play.
Can the system be fixed? Can it be adjusted to be worthwhile? And the answer is....IMO, no. There are no faction books planned which would be needed to expand the system and if the character creation system has to fit into one book, then it needs to be fairly complete. As it needs to be rewritten anyway, then the best solution would be to adopt another more straightforward character creation system and adjust the character creation process to encourage, in some way, the player to adopt skills and traits that would be typical of his culture and nation.
One aspect of the AToW that does strike me as worth exploring further is the Faction system they have - where membership of a faction bestows skills, languages, traits that are common. I think this system could be adapted.
For example - the Smoke Jaguars. Yeah - my main faction. Sue me for using them ;)
They are a Clan faction.
So....they speak Clan English. They get a trait - Clan honor, honest.
They are literate...reading is universal.
They are the Jaguar sub faction.
They get computers as a skill.
They get protocol Smoke Jaguar as a sub skill of Protocol Clan.
Warriors get Batalan: Smoke Jaguar for their battle language.
Traits? The Clan is ritualistic. Fatalistic. Superstitious. And not in the Nova Cat sense - the Jaguars believe in ghosts and use rituals to ward away bad luck. Kinda.
The Clan is unlucky - very unlucky. Its mentioned that they have suffered several falls.
The Warriors and Merchants of the Clan don't trust each other. Something bout multiple rebellions and multiple suppressions.
The Jaguars could be very harsh - but its lower castes appeared loyal
The Clan is known for its science, engineers and its technical ability...Victor referred to their technicians as the best in the galaxy.
The Clan is said to hate slavery and slavers with a passion.
The warriors are anti freebirth but have also been known to mingle freely.
Their cities are sterile but their art, as exemplified by the leaping jaguar above Lootera, could be sublime.
They were aggressive, but also said to be thoughtful.
They loved simplicity but could also create plans of stunning complexity.
They were touchy about rebellions
They didn't like the Wolverines or anyone who helped them - but then, no true Clanner did
They are said to be conservative but they deviated from Clan norms in many areas - the use of a Reagan SDS system and actual cybernetic upgrades, having a dedicated hospital ship, the use of artillery and deviating from the standard formations amongst them
I could go on. The trouble is, each such faction would require half a page? a full page? Two? How many traits and quirks to describe a factions Culture and values would be "right" or would there be a risk in going overboard. Well...more than a risk. You could go for the stereotypes but some of the more subtle beliefs common within a faction might be important...but important enough to warrant a "quirk". And what about the stereotypes that are often wrong.
Point being that a "Faction Page" detailing baseline quirks and skills may or may not be worth keeping. And it would probably be a page each, once sub factions and homeworld or baseline background is added. If you gave each a page, that'd be 30 pages describing the factions and providing a basic set of skills and traits to represent the faction.
Value?
Of course, it isn't the only solution to the min-max issue.
Ultimately - the point still stands. The LifePath system as it is written is not a good fit for the BT RPG and there is no way to fix it given the likely lack of the extra books and factional material necessary. It needs to be rewritten and rebuilt from the ground up so as to remove the deterrence factor that is such a huge negative. Page count is also an issue - the hefty page count of a Life Path system would be justified if it brought "value" to the game. I think the Faction section does do that, in that it presents a basic overview of each faction and their beliefs, values and associated tropes but I don't believe the Life path system...as it exists now....does. Page count must also be balanced against other uses.
Few people put as much thought into a character's background as you (or even I).
And that is (partially) the point - most players don't care. It can be fun rolling up a Life Path..butt here is also fun in rolling up a quick character and simply getting to work, leaving the backstory for later. And when players see 5XP here, 10XP there and 200XP elsewhere - what they see is "Math? Yughhh!" And there is no way to repair the LifePath system other than with a total rebuild because that system also touches on character advancement and rewards.
There is nothing majorly wrong with a properly done Life Path system...just as there is nothing majorly wrong with a properly done Point Buy system. But, in AToW, the Life Path system is not properly done and there is no simple way to fix the issues.