As What pointed out, ranged is easily "bought" buy just buying 40k red chins, going to the tunnel and fighting the undead monkeys until you have 99. As for melee, you can just go to PC and do that until you have maxed melee. Mage, of course, can also be "bought" by buying the items for alching or enchanting at the MTA. The point is, no matter how you look at it, every combat skill (and most skills for that matter), can be "bought" or very easily obtained. Make most of your first paragraph invailed. In my opinion, the part I bolded, would be your vaild point in this. Since mage's armours are very weak, if they had a regen-type spell, it would help counter-balance the fact that most meleers can just run in with D'hide on and just slash the mager to all hell without a good fight.