Priority / cost for metahumans, Go ahead, flame me, but . . . Options

[Chodav]

Okay, I am relatively new to SR3 and something has me stumped. Elves and trolls use Priority C while dwarves and orks use Priority D. Or, if you prefer the point-based system in SRComp, elves and trolls cost 10 while dwarves and orks cost 5.

(Now, before I go further, let me insert a disclaimer - I am not allowing for any sort of social or role-playing benefit of this or that race, because that will vary from game to game. Some groups play in a way that makes elves very valuable, while others spend half the game smuggling between the Ork Underground and Cascade Ork lands. So, please ignore any non-game-mechanic factors for a moment . . .)

Let's compare the racial modifications:

Dwarf - +1 Body, +2 Strength, +1 Willpower (net +4), thermographic vision, resistance (+2 dice) for any test to resist a disease or toxin

Elf - +1 Quickness, +2 Charisma (net +3), low-light vision

Ork - +3 Body, +2 Strength, -1 Charisma, -1 Intelligence (net +3), low-light vision

Troll - +5 Body, -1 Quickness, +4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma (net +4), thermographic vision, +1 natural reach, +1 natural dermal armor

As I see it, in terms of game mechanics, elves and orks are virtually identical - both have a net +3 and low-light vision.

Dwarves and trolls are also nearly identical - both have a net +4, thermographic vision, and two other bonuses. They also both suffer the "wrong-sized-world" problem.

Why then, do dwarves cost less than elves?! By the numbers, dwarves are a bargain, and elves are a raw deal. It would seem that dwarves and trolls should be Priority C / cost 10, and elves and orks should be Priority D / cost 5.

(As a reminder, I'm not talking about role-playing issues that will vary from group to group.)

I asked my GM this question, and he replied that it was based on the races' prevalence in the population. That explanation stands up well when comparing orks and trolls (there are a LOT more orks), but does not hold up when comparing elves and dwarves - elves are more common by percentage of population in almost every location in my collection of sourcebooks, including New Seattle and Shadows of North America. Thus, I don't buy the prevalence argument.

So, why the disparity? Why do the high-benefit dwarves cost less than the low-benefit elves? Does anything in canon or company material explain this? (Perhaps in a previous version of SR?) It seems grossly illogical to me, and if I were to run a campaign, I would switch dwarves and elves in the Priority listing / point-based cost table.

What do you think?