At the very least on their next game they should move to an Origin system more akin to Dragon Age (Or the Dark Urge). A 'Gith Origin' in such a hypothetical would give you the ability to determine your character's gender, appearance, name, class etc while retaining a 'Gith' storyline and reactivity.
I don’t mind having Origin characters as long as their Origin story is unique to them and there is enough material for the Custom PC to feel involed in the big story. The origin characters basically should be your usual companion characters with their own story, but playable. They could put things in a different perspective or show you a different angle on the story. What they shouldn’t be is the focus of the main story. The player should have the option to have a full game experience with their choosen race/gender/class regardless of having a companion in the party or not. The companion shouldn’t hijack the optional race/class part of the game and negating it for the Pc just because that is their background. That is simply bad writing.
For original characters there shouldn't be an Elf storyline, that's the point of the origins. My character was Drow, there is no way for Larian to know if I was RP'ing a surface exile or devout Lothist, they gave dialogue options for both. The same with Gith, I am a playing a loyal soldier or an orphan raised in Neverwinter? My choice not theirs. Lae'zel is not just Gith, she is a unique character and forcing all Gith PC's to be Laz would make less sense than allowing Gith characters to be whoever you want them to be!
Saying you want an Elf storyline for nonorigin elfs, isn't saying no origin system, t's saying more origin characters to pick from. AN elf storyline if you play an elf would make the elf not a non-origin PC but an origin.
I think there are ways to help the player to form their character. As a drow, if you have the option to answer both as a Lolth loyalist or a renegade then you as the player can pick the right option and roleplay. But you still are a drow, so if you get in a situation where it is logical for the world to recognize this, the world should. Larian claimed in their last Panel from Hell that they were focusing on this aspect a lot, and sure, some lines you get during your playthrough will be specific to your race. The issue starts when things happen around you that should be affected by you being that race. That is hard to handle, so most games just stay away feom it. But if you make a game focusing on a plotline connected to a race, e.g. The githyanki here, then you cannot just brush off the PC with a few complimentary, “oh, what chew you up and spat you out again” line in the face of a whole gith specific plotline happening right next to them. Either don’t put that plotline in it or involve the PC character to the level they realistically should be.
