I have those red 18" (with marked 1" increments) sticks that came with Necromunda. Those dang things are worth gold I tell ya.
Sadly they are noticeably shorter than 18".
Anyway, I find that certain systems encourages people to do certain things. In a system where your characters can take a lot of punishment with little or no long-term consequences, then people will be more willing to use combat as their go-to solution, while a system where permanent injuries are common and players are squishy, then people tend to look for alternative solutions.
As for D&D (in general) I find that the systems do encourage combat and a fare bit of min-maxing, even if most players are able to add a bit of their character into their stats. Still, it is very easy to end up with a character that just feels like it can't bring much to the table unless you design it within the limitations of the system. In most other games you are able to find your niche even with a "sub par" character, as it is easier for the GM to make a character useful when the system is more open ended, and character creation & development is not as rigid.
D&D 4 though I've noticed that even those who usually stay far away from min-maxing in all its form feel almost forced to min-max. The game takes for granted that the players wants to optimize their characters at almost every turn, and offers very little in the way of "middle of the road" options, either you take something that was intended for your character type, or you take something that you won't be able to use.
In many ways playing D&D 4 feels more like playing Battletech than like playing a proper RPG.