> A bunch of NPCs telling you that their [insert crafting resource] is running low, and that they sure don't like [neighbour with low charisma score]

Very true.

However... I don't think it's necessarily a waste of time. Having set up the world state, you could then apply hand crafted template scenarios which match aspects of the emergent world state. The world state would in turn reflect the outcome of the scenario.

So you get the benefits of handcrafted tidbits which recombine into different configurations, always naturally embedded into the world.

This is pretty much what Radiant AI from Skyrim does. But there's a lot of room to do it better.