Krow_Incarnate posted...I like the Durge origin a lot, but I hate when people insist that it's the canon playthrough and makes Tav obsolete.
The problem is, that's technically true - it
is canon.
If WotC references BG3 in future works, the main character is going to be Durge, not Tav. It's also going to be a male white Dragonborn. "Tav" doesn't exist "canonically".
Larian honestly doesn't like player backstory agency, even if the vast majority of players prefer it. It's why in Divinity: Original Sin 2 you're "supposed" to play as one of the Origin characters and not a custom - you miss out on a LOT of the story if you play custom, and you don't really get anything unique in exchange.
Same with Tav and Durge - Durge gets extra plot, Tav doesn't. Most of the story is clearly built around Durge, Tav is basically a nobody.
I wouldn't say Durge makes Tav obsolete (I personally prefer the freedom of Tav, because I'm a filthy RPer). But Durge is definitely canonical, and clearly who Larian
want you to play.
Krow_Incarnate posted...For Half-Drow, it's up to you, but in my experience when I played as the half-elf subrace, I didn't get any of the Drow dialogue IIRC. That's why I ended up going full-drow and customized him to look Half-Drow-ish.
From what I've heard, they get
some Drow options, and some Half-Elf options - and at least a couple lines that are specifically for Half-Drow. So there
is a difference between them and pure Drow or pure Half-Elf.
But like I said, I'm a filthy RPer. And I know a ton about Faerun. So I'm not as concerned about whether or not the game has a ton of reactivity for a specific race as opposed to whatever persona I'm
building in my head. I wouldn't necessarily pick the race or class options in a given conversation anyway if they don't fit who I think my character
is.
(Incidentally, this is why I prefer Fallout: New Vegas over Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 - I'd rather have the total blank slate Obsidian gives me than the more defined backstory Bethesda clearly wants to integrate into the main story. I don't RP to have someone else tell me who I'm supposed to be.)
As an example, my impulsive and "whimsical" Half-Elf Warlock raised on the streets of Baldur's Gate would probably be picking very different options than my "Merciful" Half-Elf Selunite Cleric raised in a temple, and neither of them would be overly hung up on their heritage (ie, not picking the Half-Elf options). But a Half-Drow would be much more aware of being sort of trapped between two worlds.
I feel like the Background and Class options do more to shape personality than Race does (for me, anyway). Though I'll lean into it more for the full Drow and Tiefling runs, especially since those are so strongly tied into the Act 1 plot.
I was considering a Gnome at one point, but I heard some of the smaller races can have camera issues in some scenes. It was originally going to be my Warlock, and I may still play one eventually, but if I do I'll probably go Barbarian in memory of Nudo (RIP).