User blog comment:Cuddles Epic/DNR No.2 - Being realistic and going too far./@comment-24205786-20130605055514

I personally don't think people should be using steam engines at all, unless the character is a dwarf. The way I see it, certain races have certain perks or abilities which level them out and make them equal in the long run.

Gnomes have the ability to fly complicated (albeit made of organic/natural materials) machinery and have War Tortoises, which according to lore, have natural armor and the ability to swim (Trainer Nacklepen at the Tree Gnome Stronghold training area states this). They also possess Terrorbirds and siege equipment such as ballistae. One more thing gnomes possess is the excellent archery, which allows them to be quite a force to be reckoned with despite a small stature. Another thing gnomes have is illusion magicks; they can make false images to scare opponents because they are not naturally a violent race. Lastly, they have some better hearing than humans, though not as good as elves.

Dwarves have complicated machinery made from metals which they can professionally smith better than human metallurgy. They're a very industrial people who have hand-cannons, multi-cannons, and steam engines. Furthermore, they're huge masses of muscle. With a war hammer & armor, a dwarf would be pretty hard to beat in close-quartered combat.

Elves have very versatile crystal equipment which is malleable into almost anything. Elves are also much more agile then humans and able to out-run humans. Stealth is their game and one they're a champion at. Sneaking up on an elf in a secluded area, such as the woods, would be very hard. One thing I haven't seen much of from people role-playing elves is the use of their voice as a weapon; elves with their powerful lungs could sing some dreadfully awful, ear-piercing screeching thing to disorient their opponent.

Why do they have these things and humans don't?

Gnomes and dwarves are very shorter than humans. Elves can only be in areas with a climate suitable for a forest, because they lack body fat and wouldn't survive in the cold north or the hot Kharid. Dwarves lack the ability to use any and all magics.

What do humans have?

Humans are currently the master-race of the world and certainly one of the most powerful overall. They have the strongest defenses, the largest armies, and are pretty innovative. Humans are masters of the sea and can sail almost anywhere. They've colonized every continent of Gielinor and are very adaptable to almost any climate. They can survive in the icy north or the desert, and thrive. Humans slay apocalyptic, destroy dragons which lay waste to whole settlements, and annihiliate tribes of ogres or goblins. Humans can bring the dead back to life to fight once more, travel to other dimensions, and have even developed a rudimentry way of flight (balloons). Humans are just enduring and undying. They're nearly impossible to get rid of and once they decide to do something, they do it.

When I see role-players who play humans and decide to use Gnomecopters, hand-cannons, or steam engines, I get a little upset. 'They are taking perks and abilities exclusive to one race and making an already powerful race stronger. 'A person has to be logical and say,'' "Why do I need this? Is it to make improve my role-play and make things more unique or do I want this because it's cool and my character should be/is a total badass and deserves this?" ''People should also question how they got these things. The Adventurer, saviour of the Grand Tree and Hero of the Gnomes wasn't granted the ability to fly Gnomecopters and Gliders, why the hell were you? HE GETS A RIDE. He wasn't told how to fly. He did some of the most remarkable things in gnome history and he gets a RIDE. Dwarves let the Adventurer have a hand-cannon and multi-cannon after he did ALL the stuff he did to help them. WHY do YOU get these things?

(I'm just gonna insert this here because I see it so often; your human did not watch and study the gnomes or the dwarves or any other race and figure out their design and manufacture. The best human minds in Gielinor are PUZZLED about these things and can only make rough models from what little scrap of the item they can see. If a team of brilliant scholars, researchers, and scientists can't figure these things out, how did your single character?)

Tl;dr/Summary

The perks and abilities each race has makes them equal to humans and when you take them away from these races and add them to your own, you're over-powering your character. End of. They shouldn't be used by any other race than the race that was born with or invented their perks and abilities. That concludes my mini-rant. I'll probably write something tomorrow about the limited availability of resources, how much can actually be used, and their responsible consumption.