I've played as a dwarf with doctorates in smithy and mechanics, with a party consisting of Virgil, a dog and four automatons
. Also, I've played as a halfling evil thief, a stupid half-ogre, an über-pwner mage (master of force and several levels of dark necromantic, fire and summoning), just finished as a gun-slinger with a doctorate in electricity and gunsmithy. Right now I'm going for a human with bow and throwing mastery , with doctorates in explosives and mechanics. After that I plan to go with a human paladin - 5 ranks of necromantic white and divinity, with strength and constitution boosted to the max, equipped with every arcane item I manage to find during the game.
So, yeah, you could say I always theme my characters. That's what roleplay is all about, innit? ^^