From Privateer Press lead designer Will Hungerford:
"We'll be offering options for original character creation, as well as an alternate system known as Essence. Essence will allow a player to choose a physical or mental archetype such as "Mighty" or "Intellectual" or "Agile" that replaces normal benefits associated with playing a specific race, and uses the Essence benefits instead. So if you want to play a Mighty Gobber, or an Agile Ogrun, or maybe even a Pious Rhulic Dwarf, you will have those options as an alternative."