Ahhh... Elves, trolls, dwarves, halflings, orcs, trolls, humans,... Whenever I'm about to choose my main charater's race from the extensive list of races available, I know I will end up being either a human or an Elf. For some reason I simply can't stand the idea of having my character reincarnate as a dwarf, halfling or a dumb troll. Unless there are other new races worth exploring like an Elemental, Beastlord or Drake, this is how it usually ends, me being an Elf or a Human.
I fully understand that having such "common" races in a game might be a good thing because people are already familiar with them and may be specially attached to some. These common races usually share the same strengths and weaknesses allowing players to quickly foreseen the expected game play. A dwarf usually excels in fortitude and stamina while an elf will mostly certainly have magic bonuses making it a strong candidate to become a great wizard.
Then you have roles. Certain roles will be only available to certain races, which I guess it makes sense. Having "The Great Troll wizard" or the "Champion Halfling Gladiator" would sound an utter non-sense. But this however does restricts possibilities, which is something I'm usually not fond of. Having to choose roles itself at the beginning of the game feels already castrating, not to mention you will have to try each race with each role until its outcome will be something you might appreciate or that may suit your gaming style.
Races and roles can also be a decisive factor to enjoy or letting someone getting into the game. I hated when I first played ADOM because I choose a race and role with a poor outcome. That combination didn't let me to perceive ADOM's game play as expect.
The Elder's Scrolls have the concept I like most for character generation. You do choose a race and possibly a role or you can create a role of your own and even if you create your own role, the character won't be limited to those skills you have chosen, you will still be able to train whatever you want throughout the whole playing without restriction whatsoever, though you won't become good at every field of course. But there is something I really hate even in skyrim. Something that affects a huge stack of games, which is failing miserably on not telling the player what exactly will be those bonuses / penalties they mention regarding that particular race the player is viewing information about. Lets have a look at this example in Skyrim:
The High Elves, also commonly known as Altmer, are a race of Elves which reside in the region of Tamriel. The High Elves, or Altmer try their utmost to follow their ancestors which are the Aldmer in as many ways as possible, namely though, through traditions involving Marriage and Reproduction. (...)
Altmer/High Elves are, on average smaller than humans in body size, which means that in general they are not as strong. Being very tall creatures, this makes them less Agile than the Bosmer, and therefore more vulnerable. Altmer are among the most intelligent and magically skilled races within Nirn, which surpass even the Bretons in magical ability. (...)
Ok, so we can conclude the High Elves are good with magic but what is good with magic? What exactly are their bonuses? I need numbers and I need to see what is considered average so that even if they show those numbers players can understand what the magnitude of the bonuses they refer about.
Anyway...
What do you prefer? Races with or without established roles?
Having or not common races? Do you prefer to have races you never heard before or keep playing with traditional ones?
