That is something I would never do. I restrict races that I feel will be disruptive to the game, but I would never tell the players what kind of character to play beyond a few loose guidelines such as: Can't be evil, can't be the same class as another character (with possible exceptions)
I think you misunderstand what I am saying. I create a role for my story idea. Similar to what an author does.
EX:
The Worshipper - Extremely devote individual willing to defend his religious beliefs against blasphemy.
The Abomination - Loyal to his hometowm of {insert village}, but different than everyone else. Everyone else looks down upon him.
After I posted this initial concept, I had a player come along and say, "This is great I have an idea for a dwarf that believes religiously in the power of arcane magic and its superiority."
Another came along and said he always wanted to play a Quazimodo type character but never could find a way to fit it into a campaign. Both I though were perfect for my idea of the story, and I end with a dwarven wizard, and an ugly human rogue. The players developed the idea, I just provided them with the source to express themselves, which in my opinion is a critical job of the DM.
Most of literature and film would like to have a word with you.
I don't this so. Most authors, literature and screen plays, have an idea of the story they want to tell and where they want it to go. Some may develop it over time, but they always have an idea, and most will write their characters to fit that idea. If they need a dwarf or a gnome, they'll incorporate it because that is what their story needs. If their story doesn't need it the don't incorporate it, but that is a far cry difference from the collaborative story-telling of most roleplaying games.
With collaborative story-telling, the group decides how the story develops. As DM, I am not there to restrict the creativity of my players. I am there develop the initial story idea give the players inspiration on where they fit into the world. Once they have that figured out, we begin building the story around my idea and collectively feed and water it to create an intricate tell that we will remember and possibly tell our kids. And if we do our job right, our kids can enter the world and create a new story of their own.
I see a lot of posts saying: You can be whatever race you want, but there will be consequences.
In my opinion, that is how it should be. After all, a great story always has some conflict, and characters with inner turmoil can be very compelling and entertaining stories as they overcome their struggles and make themselves and those around them better.
So you are giving permission to the crunch but not to the concept. I think that is the wrong way to go about it. In the end there are restrictions on what kind of personality your character can have due to the nature of the game.
Again, you misunderstand me. I have a story idea, but how that story is told is up to the players. I provide the inspiration, they fill in the details. Those roles I listed can contain any archetype a character can think of. They could be an archetype of their own, but they don't have to be. That is how I got my dwarf wizard worshipper. The guy playing the cleric wasn't too happy about that, but he chose the Wanderer role, and created an elaborately detailed travelling priest living a life of poverty and sacrifice.
Our group is strictly cooperative for example. Your character must want to adventure with others and help each other. By extension your character must also care about the plot that the other characters are involved in. Character arcs must also fit into the framework of things that are involving to the other characters.
I don't see a problem with that, but I don't declare that my player's must work together, either. Though, I do provide incentives to encourage it. In my current campaign, the Seer role is played by an elven ranger, and his idea was to stay as an outsider and only help the group from a distance. He helps the party then vanishes and re-appears later when they need him or when he decides its time. That worked moderately well in the beginning, but eventually, I had to put him in situations that he couldn't handle alone to push him to officially joining the party.
It simply won't do to play evil devil-man who is on a personal conflict of good and evil when none of the other characters care and it has nothing to do with the plot.
I again disagree. In a 2e campaign I played in the 80s, I had a dwarven fighter/cleric of the god of greed. It was set in Greyhawk, and our leader was going to claim a castle that once belong to his family but was taken by the Demi-god Iuz. I just so happened, that I had information that there was a silver mine under the castle that belonged to my clan and we hand't heard from that part of the clan in ages. I joined the campaign just so I could acquire the mine. Our objectives were similar, but not directly aligned. When we finally took the castle, I explained to the party leader why I was there, and offered him a share in the mine's production. I promised that I would provide detailed bookkeeping and share the information with him openly. Once the mine was reopened, I brought in a bunch of clansmen, and began paying them in silver. I had two sets of books, the real ones and the ones I showed the party. I paid everyone working the mines a set price agreed to by the clan, but the party though I paid them twice that much. I even did the same thing with the human workers that wanted a job. I lasted for four years, before my character was killed in a mining accident.
When you have a character backstory specific spotlight in game it should brighten the group. The group should care because it involves them. It shouldn't just be your personal story that the rest of the players just listen to.
With this I agree, but I think you are statement comes from a misunderstanding of what I was saying. I may have a role I need filled, but that isn't a specfic backstory component. I make my roles broad so as to provide the players with an idea on how their characters fit into the world and the greater story arc. They make the characters what they are, and as a group we write the story around them, with guidance from me because I have a specific path I want the group to experience.
"But that's what my character would do" is not an excuse. Don't make your character that way.
With this I would also disagree. I once had a single character sidetrack an entire module because he was compelled to save a group of orphan children. He was an orphan himself, and went out of his way to provide for the orphans in the village. A group of children were kidnapped by a guerilla group from another region to train as soldiers against an evil lord. He insisted that his character wouldn't just trapse off after another objective while these children might be in trouble. The group was going to get to that point eventually, this decision just moved them there a bit sooner than I intended. By the time they caught up with the kid and his captures the lord was on their heels. It ended up being a near TPK, but the stories the party tells about that misadventure are something the group still brings up. They all enjoyed it, and that is all that matters.
In the campaign I am currently running with my adult group, I started off as a player with another DM. He setup this module where the city we were in was atacked and we attempted to fight to same it. It was a losing battle we had no chance, and we had to retreat and establish ourselves as rebel fighters trying to drive out the conquering force. He then intended for us to travel to a major city several months away by horse to convince the leadership to send an army to liberate the city. I refused, my character was from that town, and travelling over a year, assuming the city had a standing army they were ready to send just didn't make sense. I convinced the rest of the party that we should rebels and harrass the army widdling them down in order to drive them out. I argued that we would be better servicing the city by inciting rebellion and providing the people with encouragement to get free. Everyone agreed with me and it upset the DM to the point that he quit. The this is what my character would do is something that can make a great story.
It is my job as DM to identify character concepts like this and stop them before the game begins. So I won't tell you what you need to be, but I will certainly tell you what you can't be for the fun of all involved.
Again, I believe it is the job of the DM to provide the inspiration that encourages the players to help create the story.
