Barothmuk

I'm confident my views on this matter mirror Sylvius'. I've always hated RPGs that force the PC to act as leader and I hate being limited to having the main character act as spokesperson when someone else may be better suited.

Not even remotely true. At no point in human history has there been a worldwide, standardized style of armour (especially in the medieval and early modern eras.) If they do take the realistic route we'd likely see armour that is practical, coherent and a reflection of the environment and culture of its wearer. And just because it's fantasy that doesn't mean it can't have some semblance of verisimilitude, nor does it mean it has to conform to hideous aesthetics that the market is already oversaturated with.

ORCS Classic fantasy race that deserve to be a given as much as dwarves and elves are. So long as I get my orcs (and goblins) I'll be happy.

Truth be told, theoretically, I support the idea. It allows more roleplaying freedom and adds another potential layer of depth to the player character. However I do fear it might end up attracting swarms of 'fans' who try to turn the game/franchise into a pathetic, wishfulfilling substitute for their own sad lonley existence. tl;dr, ****ing Bioware fans ruining everything.

Maximum freedom in determining my character is certainly ideal. The only limitations I'd want is my character's own facticity. I.e. their race, sex, culture etc and how they'd influence who they are and how others perceive them. What I don't want is the type of blank slate TES series offers where it gives you complete and total freedom to define who your character is; it just never in any way reacts to anything about your character. You're not an elf, a human or an orc, you're just a brick of death that steamrolls itself across the countryside doing fetch quests.

Absolutely. One of my favourite types of character to roleplay is the ostracized half-orc who is incapable of fitting into either human society or orcish society. The only problem I have with implementing orcs is the fear that they'll try the all too common trope of "subverting" the orcs in an attempt to make them different. I don't want a race of sophisticated, noble, warriors. What I want is a race of primitive, barbaric, brutes with crude weaponary and a love of violence who are hated by all.