This is a great topic and goes to the heart of one problem with MMORPG's.
First off, I'd like to sound off on the Dark Elf label. I guess "Drow" is copy-righted because this is the type of Dark Elf that abounds in gaming. A seemingly misunderstood/evil/capable of redemption/cold/haughty...etc.etc. race with one or two "turncoats" that go to the other side. Are they evil? Are they good? Are they neutral?
In D&D, the Drow was on the evil end of the balance spectrum, but that did not necessarily mean evil-incarnate; Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil and Chaotic Evil were options along with the omni-present Neutral and each had a particular flavor to it. Chaotic Evil was your typical Psycopathic Killer while Lawful Evil tended to be more of a Sociopathic person who is too rigid and inflexible. At any rate, a Dark Elf-nee-Drow was evil and any differentiation was to be viewed with distrust and scorn until proven otherwise.
City of Heroes is (or was) toying around with the idea of temptation and redemption. You may start as a Villain, but if you wish to become a Hero, you must embark on a lengthy and difficult "Redemption" Quest in order to jump to the other side...and vice-versa, if you want to go to the Dark Side, be prepared to choke some puppies or whatever
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Saying that, I like the idea of having racial identities being a governing factor in character development. If I want to be a "good" Dark Elf and the history of the Dark Elf race is one of evil, then I will have some modifiers that I will have to overcome. Humans may find me mildly repugnant based upon lore, but if my race committed horrible acts against the dwarves, then I should be prepared to "throw down" any time I meet a kneebiter. However, as I overcome the stereotype, my modifiers should reflect the perception shift and as I gain in reputation and seasoning, I am viewed with favor by the dwarves, while becoming repulsive to the Dark Elves....(shake me, bake me and call me Drizz't).
The same can hold true for all the races...there doesn't necessarily have to be a dividing line such as in World of Warcraft, but more of a
Shades of Gray" game balance that could be found in WhiteWolf....btw, I still have my Rage cards and my WhiteWolf Nation ID....sigh.....
In WoW, there are factions that can be affected by your gameplay, such as certain NPC races and NPC guilds but this is for questing and you are still pigeon-holed by being an Alliance/Horde partisan.
I won't even pretend to understand the code involved in the type of game balancing I am thinking of...nor do I know how that would play out in a PvP environement.
In my old Dungeons and Dragon campaign, I played a Dwarven Fighter...derr...go figure. In the Player's Handbook, it stated dwarves as being dour and taciturn...well, that's how I played my dwarf, gruff and a bit of a jerk. We had a High Elf Mage in our party as well. Now, the guy that played the elf was a good friend and we rarely had disagreements in RL....but get us in character and all bets were off. I hated elves, all elves....dark, high, stinky...I didn't care, that's how I roleplayed. And though the elf tried to make peace, I didn't care and eventually, HIS character hated all dwarves...
That is the dynamic I am looking for...the ability to affect the perceptual environment of NPC's as well as PC's and the freedom to choose which faction I wish to belong regardless of my class and race....
I think that is a valid component of gameplay that should/could be available.
Now, I hope that made sense...I've been typing in between taking client calls at work
<sniff> can't we all just get along <sniff> :twisted: