....but have I fallen into the same trap?

I liked what seemed to be an elegant solution to my problems regarding skills in the "SNAFU" system. Instead of treating skills like something completely different, they now contribute a die to the pool. However, after a couple of days reconsidering the way this idea fits into the system, I'm starting to worry that I'm running directly into the exact type of problem that I've been trying to avoid.

One of the main things I'm trying to avoid is the idea that certain parts of the system work in certain ways, and those ways aren't necessarily compatible with other parts of the system. 

The system is consolidating around a few A words for the dice

Attribute - This is a set of four dice: physical, social, mental, and supernatural. These reflect the characters innate potential. I'm tossing up whether these dice can be increased through experience, of if they simply remain static throughout a character's story. There might be a mid-point compromise where attributes can be increased by a single level. Generally attributes start at an average level of **(d6), but since our characters are heroes in the world, they'll typically have two attributes that are above average (***(d8)) or one exceptional attribute (****(d10)), maybe one higher if they're willing to accept being below average in one of their attribute categories. Attributes might be used to represent a character's innate natural potential to work within the rules of reality. 

0 - If you have zero in an attribute you may not attempt tasks associated with that attribute.

* - (d4) You are below average when it comes to this attribute. You may still attempt things related to the attribute, however you're not very good at it.

** - (d6) You are generally average compared to the people around you when it comes to actions associated with this attribute.  

*** - (d8) You have an edge over most people when it comes to performing tasks associated with this attribute. You may not always be better in all situations, but are better than most people most of the time.

**** - (d10) You are consistently better than almost everyone else when it comes to performing tasks associated with this attribute. You are considered at the top of your game in this field, and rarely encounter someone who is more naturally talented than you when it comes to this type of task.  

***** - (d12) You are one of the most naturally talented individuals in the world when it comes to performing tasks associated with this attribute. Only those with natural and trained skill might be better.

Ability - This is a die that varies depending on the situation. A character will probably start with half a dozen ability aspects, and they choose which ones of these might apply to the task they are attempting. If there is any doubt about whether an ability aspect applies, they might get a sentence to quickly explain it, and if they can't or if the explanation is too convoluted then it just won't work this time. The more aspects make sense to provide knowledge, insight or benefit to a task, the higher the ability die used. Ability is the influence of nurture over nature, and the ways a character has learned to enhance their potential to work within the rules of reality.  

0 - You don't have any training, or haven't learned anything specific that might be beneficial in the task you are attempting.

* - (d4) You have minimal knowledge or training that might help you complete the task you are working on (Only one of your abilities applies to the task at hand) 

** - (d6) You have two areas of insight that apply to the tasks that you are trying to achieve, the overlap in these areas gives you a better perspective of how to achieve a success in this task  (Two of your abilities applies to the task at hand)

*** - (d8) You have three overlapping areas of training and knowledge that can assist in this type of task (Three of your abilities applies to the task at hand)

**** - (d10) You have specialized knowledge and training from multiple perspectives that make tasks like this one easy for you (Four of your abilities applies to the task at hand)

***** - (d12) You have learned a great deal and trained extensively for situations like these. (Five or more of your abilities applies to the task at hand)

Agency - This die increases with experience and with assertion of protagonism in the storyline. The more a character asserts their dominance in the world and makes choices that align with their archetypes, the higher this die becomes. Most people have no agency, they are simply drones in the world going about their lives unaware that there is something deeper controlling their destiny. Agency is a character's potential to work with the rules of reality (rather than just within them). 

0 - You have no control over your destiny. You are one of the world's faceless masses, but maybe you're starting to awaken and realise your potential as an agent of change in the universe. You probably only attempt tasks where you have abilities that link to the activity being performed. 

* - (d4) Student You have started to see behind the curtain of reality, and have begun to understand that there are forces generally outside your control. You have also started making choices to control your own destiny with this knowledge in mind. You are now a minor protagonist (or sidekick).

** - (d6) Adept You can see the forces and strings that pull at the mundane masses of the world and have begun to experiment with pulling those strings. You know that there are still some forces in the world that are manipulating your destiny, but now you are starting to manipulate the destiny of other people around you. You are now becoming a protagonist of your own story.  

*** - (d8) Veteran You not only see the forces of destiny, but you understand how they work and how they can work for you. The forces underlying reality allow you to manipulate the stories of others. 

**** - (d10) Hero You have reached the point where you control destiny, more than destiny controls you. Whether they want to or not, others become entangled in your stories as you become an agent of change in the world (for good or bad).  

***** - (d12) Legend You have transcended the mortals around you and people will be telling your tales for generations. You actions have effects far and wide, and your reputation is known even further. You manipulate reality by thought, word and deed (even when you don't want to). 

Advantage - Situational benefits that apply to the task being undertaken. These kinds of benefits are introduced through play and might come from having useful items, gaining assistance from allies, setting up strategic advantages, or other effects defined by the narrative of the story. 

0 - You have no additional advantages.

* - (d4) A minor benefit that might help in the situation.

** - (d6) A decent benefit that will probably help a bit

*** - (d8) A good benefit that will usually have a reasonable effect on the outcome

**** - (d10) A significant benefit that will often make a dramatic difference

***** - (d12) A powerful benefit that will overwhelm most others

I'm really struggling here whether to have a single die where all of the potential benefits are added into the mix (if you've got the advantage you get a benefit, if you don't then the benefit is not added). The other option is to have nuanced benefits, each with their own die, to show that some items might be better than others, and some situations might be more or less advantageous than others. If we go with the individual components building up the die, this can really slow the game down, because players will be deciding what applies and what doesn't, and with each action the situation might change. For this reason it might be worthwhile having a set of situation cards, and item cards that a player can simply lay down on the table to show what they're using as a party of their action (much like an ability/skills list). I'm also thinking of characters having signature weapons or abilities that might have their own designated dice (this dagger is d4, this two-handed sword is d12 but you need *** physical and the "melee" ability to use it effectively). The idea is to make sure game-play runs pretty quickly and smoothly, and player decisions matter. 

Arcana - This is the focus of mystical energy into the task at hand. Not every character has Arcana, and tapping into the mystic energies of the world should always be a risky and potentially dangerous proposition. I've been toying with various ways to add magical powers into FUBAR and SNAFU for almost 15 years, and I'm still not completely happy, but certain bits of the new ability system might work as a method for handling a dynamic and free-form magic system. 

Just like abilities are divided into overlapping aspects that build up advantages for specific situations, I'm seeing a variety of magical words that are built up into effects. The more words you've mastered in relation to an effect, the more powerful the magic you may channel into it. Each magical word will have a specific success criteria, and any successes gained on the Arcana die may be spent according to those criteria... maybe "Heal" allows successes to remove damage, "Distant" allows successes to extend the range, "Mass" allows multiple people to be impacted by the effect, etc. Spending magical energy further increases the effect.

The difference I always had in mind for the Arcana die was that once you invoked that die, you either had to use it, or there might be some kind of situation where the magic is subtle and not noticed by the outside world if the arcana die rolls low, but it's blatant and draws attention if the arcana die rolls the highest out of those available. If the Arcana die is built in the same way as the Ability die, then I'd also consider throwing a cap on the maximum size of the die...perhaps no higher than the awareness die. But here's where things start getting complicated again. 

This leaves us with most mundane folks rolling two dice for their actions, an attribute die (based on the type of action they are doing and their natural proficiency with that type of task) and an ability die (built up from their knowledge of aspects associated with their intended task),..in the right situation, or with the right tools, they might be adding an extra die or two then choosing the best two results.

Player characters (and named NPCs) are rolling an automatic extra die due to their agency in the narrative, and may be rolling an extra one due to their mastery of Arcana (if they choose to use it). So we generally end up with a situation where player characters have a built in level of plot armour against the unnamed characters they'll typically be facing, and will easily accomplish most tasks unless they specifically have the odds stacked against them.

Some of these choices are deliberate, some of them are happy coincidences and elements that will only be revealed through emergence of play rather than thrown into player's faces blatantly. So all of these factors need to be taken into consideration when they game is further developed... they need to be intuitive and need to seem vital to play, because when some of the piece are omitted, there will be a cascade effect through the system that will leave some parts of the game flat and not lead to the intended play experience. Keeping things easier lets elements sneak in under the radar, but only if the design is good.

More thinking needs to be done.