Why not have a list of options at character creation like Neverwinter Online? Let players pick where their character is from and at least some sort of basic background based on the background they chose.
Probably because this will create a cartesian product of possible dialogue options. It was implemented in NWN2 OC (I definitely remember some NPCs reacting to my background with unique lines), but considering that all dialogues in BG3 are voiced, Larian might not even have considered this, realising how much additional work will be required. it's definitely a railroading, but I can't really blame them for that.
It rubs me the wrong way too when the game forces you to be a Baldurian Human. When I first saw the [Baldurian] tag in dialogue I thought it was a glitch.
They should just leave your origin out of voiced dialogue and give us the freedom to imagine any kind of character we want to play. It doesn't necessarily need to be a part of character generation either. That would just be a whole lot of confusing and unnecessary information especially for players who are not familiar with Forgotten Realms. "What does it mean to be Rashemi or Calishite?" Just leave it blank and let the player imagine their character.
How relevant is it anyway where your character is from? Seems like minor flavor that's largely unimportant in the big picture. Certainly not important enough to force all humans to be from Baldur's Gate and blocking the rest of Forgotten Realms as background.
