Some seriously killer talents:

Finisher - You have the uncanny ability ... to finish other people's sentences.

Eyes Behind Your Head - You have your grandmother's genes. For reasons you can't explain, you see everything that happens around you. Even behind your back.

Wallflower - You've learned how to fake your way through any social situation, at least for a short time. You know how to blend in even when you don't fit in.

Strapping - You can't help but get noticed by your size and presence. Men secretly want to be you. Women secretly want to be with you. But they'd never admit that.

Hound's Blood - You can detect and follow people's scent. Sometimes, you really wish you couldn't.

Im thinking a type of ability that anyone can attain through dedicated practice. So not as strong as a 'magic' user which is only attainable with luck, but more in the line of control of your body through meditation.

On our Earth there is/was belief that there are hand signs developed through meditation that can enable them to heal themselves or focus/see in the dark. No reason it cannot actually work in Elyria.

So... ninja hand signs:

• You have to meditate to actually be able to use them, the more you meditate the stronger the hand signs becomes. You can use the hand signs quickly, they dont require you to meditate while using them.

• Can heal yourself or see in the dark etc. (probably through meditation you can attain the effects of various alchemy potions willingly without the use of them). Keep in mind you wont ever run out of those hand-signs while in the middle of some trouble but on the other hand you can sell potions, cant sell handsigns . (can have other limitations/hurdles to it, if you want to make sure it doesn't become more popular than alchemy.)

• Could make meditation itself a hidden skill or just tie it to 'willpower' , and once you attain journeyman level you can meditate instead of sleep. At the Expert level you're not only one with your body and soul, you are also one with nature and therefore wont get hungry or thirsty while meditating and wild animals wont attack you during it and may even defend you (would make it harder to seek out trainers), you will also be alerted if another player is in your vicinity while meditating because of this you're forced to meditate away from civilisation/players because the presence of them would alert and wake you. (This makes it harder to access and learn from expert meditators while also encouraging RP). At the Artisan/Master level that ability mentioned previously to be alerted to another player in your vicinity will be able to be used as a hand sign and with it you would be able to track down any player you have a scent of.

• The lore related to the skill of meditation could be that every soul has magic in it but only the lucky few get access to it. The rest can only taste a fraction of that power by learning to control your own body and soul through meditation. In the lore magic users are a threatened species and if there are eventually witch hunters it would make sense for them to also be interested in meditation so that they can be better effective at hunting them witches and bringing them back to be burned at the stake or a contract to work for the kingdom. The master level hand sign of being able to track any prey with just the scent of their soul would be really scary for the magic users.

So in conclusion this skill would probably be attractive to constant travellers/vagabonds because you would never run out those hand signs unlike potions. You would be able to meditate instead of sleep . The disadvantages are tied to populated areas and not being able to meditate in that area.

Healing. Definitely healing.

A Talent that could heal without the need of other methods would be extremely useful if used correctly.

Planeswalker - One who can walk the other planes of existence and learn from others in those planes.

Transmuter - One who can transmute substances into other substances (lead into gold, etc.)

NeverLost - One whose connection to the stars produces an affinity so strong that they are never lost, no matter how far from home.

As much as I'd love to read sixty pages worth of answers, I don't quite have the attention span. I hope my answers aren't repeats:

1) Ability to learn, and improve learning speed.

2) Ability to influence other people. Something like reputation and rapport, so people are more likely to listen to you or do things commanded by (and for) you by known associates.

3) Similar to #2, ability to inspire people to work harder so that your society is more productive, and thus, more prosperous/effective.

4) Ability to withstand slander and other negative publicity.

Greenthumb - increase the yield rate of planted goods.

Forester - Trees planted by you will mature faster.

Fisher of Men - Inspires NPCs to give up their profession and follow you.

Miracle Worker - So long as there is food in your pack no one within 20 meters of you will go hungry or thirsty.

Beast Whisperer - pick one species of animal, this animal will trust you more allowing for faster taming/training

Touched by the Old Gods - you may create an altar to an ancient god, you may make sacrifices on this altar to curry favor for yourself or others.

War Drummer - Allows for a unique set of war signals and increases the range at which they can be heard.

Defy Convention - Reduces or removes penalty for reproducing with a character from another tribe.

Speciation - your children will be granted a new physical trait or feature, but will no longer be able to reproduce with people who do not share this feature (yes the implications of this are controversial).

"I'm a survivor" - "Not going to give up" This character is hardy, able to survive longer without food or drink and able to withstand (reduce) the negative effects of extreme conditions.

Diligent Scholar - Because of your diligence in checking and double checking your results you make discoveries faster and are less likely to have negative outcomes when performing an experiment.

Natural Therapist - People like talking to you, they tell you things they wouldn't tell anyone else, and they feel better after they do.

Experienced Sailor - You can tell where the wind is going to be and where it will likely take you.

Experienced Traveller - Roads act as one quality level higher for you, highest quality level roads increase movement speed by a further 5%.

... invite people to Masquerade Balls in Karcion.

)))

I guess a spirit-thing would be cool if not covered. Commune with all spirits - maybe summon a ghost of players as a visual effect when investigating a kill crime for an instant accurate lead (discounts disguise effects if it's a real talent), or summon a black spirit if it's items / lost / stolen investigation.

Effect: Instant accurate leads on crimes, with relatively simple visuals also seen briefly by local players. A brief local "golden age" of crimes being solved and not unjust outcomes in local court cases, until...

Effect: It soon becomes apparent to local criminals as word gets around what you're capable of, placing you high on their wanted list, attracting the wrong sorts of attention, for all the wrong reasons. Good luck...

Has anyone mentioned....

Innovation being able to see the potential new uses for existing materials, and possible uses for currently unusable and/or seemingly worthless raw material.

My character can find inherent flaws and boons in domesticated animals, such as horses, cattle, dogs, etc. Basically animal husbandry, being able to derive strengths and weakness of animals. Would be very helpful for anyone breeding or buying prize warhorses, cattle, etc.

My character can transform into a black Raven to soar the sky of Elyria.