The argument \"why use guns if you have bows, crossbows and magic\" is flawed IMO.
You could also ask: \"Why use bows / crossbows if you have magic\" Same reasoning.
If guns are more powerful, then why NOT use guns? Surely not to \"be fair to the archer guys\".
If they weren\'t more powerful, then how do you explain that they were developed at all in the medieval (or late medieval or whatever) when bows and crossbows were already available? Simple, because it was a new idea and people kept it around. AFAIK, skill-wise, a gun and a crossbow are the same, you don\'t need much skill to use either one and kill someone on reasonable distance.
The main reason of why use guns IMO is: they are more easy to carry. A Bow and a crossbow isn\'t exactly going to fit in your pocket. A rifle still is less bulky than either. So there _is_ reason to prefer a gun over bow and crossbow even if it is a lot less reliable and more dangerous to the user. I\'d say it\'s a merchants weapon: easy to handle and to carry (of course, these factors are always overlooked in games as you just mysteriously have 4 bows and 7 swords in your bag
Also, the fact that a bow will wear out quickly if it is under tension (i.e. ready to use) all the time, is also ignored. And dampness and coldness has serious effects on it as well, but nobody thinks about that.).
Also there\'s the \"bang\" factor. A gun makes a big impression due to the sound of it firing. This can scare primitive societies and nonintelligent creatures. It also tells them your exact position.
I must say, the more I think about it, the more I can accept guns in PS. The only thing is that we need to prevent them from being used nearly exclusively, but we definitively can manage that.
I also want to be able to throw rocks, because they are the most obvious thing but also nearly always missing from games. You just grab some rocks from the ground and you have a scary weapon. Even with slings, in games, the most rocky cliff, or a cave, does not provide a single rock, which is, IMO, unrealistic to the highest degree. Rocks are _everywhere_, even today. Sticks are, too.
