Different ways to divvy up starting resources

It sounds like you are saying that you want to allocate a pool of around 20 resources in total to be split among your players. Is this correct?

What information do the players have that would guide their decisions on what resources they want to start with? Are there, for example, a number of buildings that are available for them to build if they have specific resources? Will these buildings definitely be available or will they appear randomly, giving players no guarantee that they will be able to build them? To me, having a clear use for the starting resources would greatly affect which approach to use.

Leadpipe

Random Thoughts:

Based on Dice Roll (probably my least favorite idea)

I'm assuming "drafting" is when you go around the table with each player choosing a resource one at a time until they're all gone? You could do some kind of reverse drafting where each person chooses a resource to give to a different player. Depending on the game, I think this could add an interesting element.

Or go around the table choosing resources one at a time, but whatever resource you take you have to also give one of that same resource to a different player. If certain resources are more valuable than others this would be interesting because to take a valuable one you also have to give a valuable one to someone else.

That other player could be chosen by the player who chose the resource or the other players could bid on it.

When you play Seven Wonders, you take one of the cards you're handed for resources then pass the rest. What if, however, you were to play a card for someone else?

Say, you pick a card for the player to the right, and then pass the hand to them for them to choose one for you (the player on your left plays one for you at this stage as well). Then, they pass you the same hand in return, and you choose the third card for yourself and set the rest in the middle to be shuffled to make a draw pile. Now you only got 1/3 of the available choices to make (from whats left), and you might feel inclined to spread the best cards in such a way that they can't form a cohesive strategy from what they've been given.

It could work...