[panjandrum]

How about just giving each race a different flavour on the same skill/spell?

Having set racial bonuses tends to lead to homogenization more-so than not having it. The bane of most of these games in the end seems to be the min/maxers and the sheep that follow them. People will still find a way, even in EQII you still here that certain races can't be certain classes and it's so not true.