I am pretty sure that race only really matters in the first part of the game when you are a lower lvl. Personally, I like Dwarves - but if you think something is going to be fun to play, go for it. That's why there are so many options for everyone to choose from.

Especially if its your first caracter, go for what you think looks fun. I myself is a fan of hafling caracter i like their city and the people there, very fun. Also is the fastest leveling race wich is good for a starter.

Its true that in the end game all race are almost the same but forget about that, your not at the end game and wont be for a long time, so yes youd be a better warrior as an Ogre, much better than a Hafling ( on paper ) but that dopsent mean you cant become better than other ogres if you play a hafling well.

If you really want a idea of the difference between both races, i suggest you play both to level 5 in gloomingdeep. If you are the kind of people that like to have the best possible go for ogre, but if you want mostly to have fun go with the race you prefer.

Also as a beginner, Ogre will be kill on sight in most city which could really limit your exploration option.

anyway have fun

Prometeus Vaer
55 Warrior (Ogre)

Ok, for the most part, we all agree that race does not play a huge factor and you should play what you want (which I did) ... but I want to play devil's advocate for a minute and edit that saying. Until you can max out your stamina, race does not play a huge factor. I play a half elf warrior (and I really got gyped because when I created him the advice was put all the starting points into strength >< ...) and I notice that some the larger race warriors have a good deal more hp than me (the similarly geared or worse ones) just because they have more sta than I do. Now to counter myself and head off rebuttles, race isn't going to make or break your warrior, trust me hehe. But the gap in stamina and hp can make a noticable difference.

It needs to be rememberd that our current idea of what makes the best warrior comes form the high end game, or raiding.
When tanking a major raid incounter you are going to get hit and you are going to get hit for a lot and and you are going to get hit often regardless of your ac etc. Therefor the key stats is total hit points, or how long you can stay alive between complete heals. since sta adds to hitpoints it is considerd the most important stat

Up until you start grouping with clerics that have complete heal (about lvl 40 if i recall) your ac is a much better indication of how good of a tank you are. This is true becaus at these lvls clrics use x amount of mana to heal you for y hitpoints. And the higher your ac the less the mob hits you for, and thus the less mana you need to be healed and the less the clirc needs to med.

As for str this is important because it inceasses both your chance to hit and the damage you do once you hit. In other words str helps you hold agro.

So you can say that the stronger race warrior will hold agro better than the weaker race warrior.
The High agi race warriors will have a better ac than the others, and that the high sta races will have more hit points.
The high dex warrior will get more procs.
These advantage will be in play until you can max out your sta, dex, and str. In other words until you are done lvling.
Also it should be remembed that you do not always end up in a group that has a shaman or what ever buffer you need to max out your stats. With out high lvl buffs a dark elf needs a lot more aa and augments to match the ogre on sta this is true at any lvl

Play the halfling... Im sure you did already. I am an Ogre and I love the unstunnable form the front, I love the view from my higher vantage point too. But I hate listening to my party whine.. Move your to big blah blah blah. Be a midget ANd be a halfling because of the 3 midget races they are the worst for starting stats as a warrior. Make life as hard as possible on yourself so you have a reason to keep playing. The game gets stale when you have no adversity to overcome because you picked the right race/class combo and have the best possible gear and joined an uber guild so you neve rneed to find a group. Please be a halfling warrior, gnome preist, ogre shaman, troll BST, or any other rare class race combo you've seen. Also Please die your armor some interesting color patern.. Im tired of the 1001 black armored hulking barbarian BST's Ogre warriors, and Troll SK's.