Just wondering what people actually play as characters.
I run in 3 campaigns and have active pc's of each metatype

For some reason I have trouble identifying myself to any metahumans. All my character concepts end uo being human.

Not that I have that problem when making NPCs. Just when I make PCs.

Wow I'm the first elf vote, I just like the ears, and the pretty hair...
WHAT!

I like orcs. you get this big bruiser, and even if hes been sick, hes still as stong as a human, and tougher to boot. Its easy to hit 20 soak dice, and strong enough to carry all the gear you need.

as for the lower logic, theres always cultured bioware to make your brain-meats a bit smarter. and how many builds with that much body and strength need a high charisma?

the orc language Or'Zet, the orc underground, orkspoitation... lots of fun angles to play off of.

Orks are the new elves. Partially because I always thought that the orc in traditional fantasy was direly underrepresented. Elves and dwarves are typically the Masters of Their Crafts and so forth. They've got this sort of nimbus of artifical awesomeness that kind of detracts from reality. Like you can't have an elf that's just some guy working a 9 to 5 and going home to a microwavable burrito and a rented DVD.

I like orks because while they're going to cap out faster than humans in intelligence, they're still smart enough to know what's going on, plus getting just a little bit of extra mass to deal with the day to day. They're the John Everymen in action films that happen to just be regular guys who have to kick ass to get things done.

Plus, elves are overdone and I hate being short.

I had to go with everything. It all really depends on the character concept.

Dwarves.

I just like these little guys, especially when they beat up the hulking trolls or cast down those untrustworthy elves.

I go with humans, only.

I play elves most of the time as a pc

All the races are open ended. They have areas they excel in, but no races, especially in SR4, are incapable of performing a specific archetype's duties.

This is most interesting. the group I run with mostly makes metahuman.

Elves. They have 2 extra drain dice by default.

...pretty much academic in my case.

The plain ol' human all the way.

I'd rather allocate BPs to things like skills & contacts (you never can have "too good" a relationship with your contacts).

But, you know this already...

I really like Orcs. Probably because of the whole underground, oppressed race getting to fight against the Man kind of thing. On a related and undoubtably unnecessarily inflammatory note, I wonder how many people play Orcs to get to explore certain racial themes without feeling awkward about it.

Hear me out. I'm sure we can all agree that Orcs are supposed to be, to a greater or lesser degree, an analog for African American's situation in society. Orcs are a large minority with a distinct culture who are generally forced (by circumstances and discrimination) into inner-city ghettos. If any further evidence of a connection is required see the Orxploitation movement.

This makes me wonder how often Orcs are played as a way for us white boys to play a black character without worrying that we are being derogatory, or disrespectful, or are a poser, etc.

Granted, I imagine a lot of folks play Orcs because they are absolutely badass, or because they just like the image and don't think at all about the racial implication, but I am very curious how much my own fondness of orcs is related to the racial image. Moreover, I really have to wonder how comfortable I would be playing a black character in a more "real world" game, like World of Darkness or such.

Something to think about I guess.

Humanis Unite!!!

I kid, I kid.

I will say, I like that the SR universe allows us to explore racial issues without offending anyone directly, as there are no real orks or trolls to get offended. Hmmm, dwarves are pushing it, but it's not really the same thing.
Hehe, I just had a thought. There are still real-world dwarfs in SR, right? Or does that genetic trait necessarily result in a 6th world dwarf? Imagine the confusion: "I'm not a dwarf, I'm a dwarf!"

I can't imagine real dwarfism would have just disappeared. That would rather suck, to have all the penalties for being a dwarf, plus no IR vision.

Human, for similar reason previously stated: ease of sliding into a cultural POV. it certainly isnt the best race for all occasions, but what is? each race has definate merit and i am not bias against any of them... okay.. perhaps dwarves. i too have an aversion to shortness.

I play Trolls. Whether that be as a Sam, Mage or Hacker, or even Face, I will play a Troll.
So much so that i'm know around my city as Troll.
It's not just cos i'm Big Dumb and Ugly.

My own favorite seems to be elves, as that's the last couple of characters I've played. In reality though, it changes based on the concept. My most favorite character however was an elf in 3rd ed named Highborne. He was an arrogant, self-confident, albino mage, and a native of the Tir. By the end of that game, he (along with his teammates) had reached amazing levels of ability and prowess. He very much knew he was a badass and had no problems telling even high level initiates where to stick it. (this tended to get him into trouble sometimes, particularly with our boss... hehe)

About the only non human meta I have played in the past have been dwarves. Since I tend towards techno vs awakened types, they work really well.

Though... I am curious about designing a Dwarf Adept.

man that little bugger is fast...!

I like playing an elf because he can have a long view of human society without becoming bitter and crotchety due to his degenerating physical state. Kind of like in the Highlander. I hate the show, but I love the concept. If only it had everyone who had anything to do with writing, directing, or producing replaced with 5 year olds, then the show would be better.