Well, since there's some people (especially including me) that have questions about particular small things regarding either the gameplay or the game universe itself, I thought we'd have a thread with frequently asked questions and their respective answers. I'll try to keep the questions and their answers in this first post as they come around.
--- ITEMS ---
1. How can I identify items?
2. How do I repair items?
3. How do I get my techie NPCs to make items?
4. Where did my schematic go after I clicked it?
1. How can I identify items?
There should be trailers just outside most of the towns with an old qypsy woman nearby who can identify items for you. They should be visible in the town maps so you don't have to leave the town area.
Protip for free identification (and also quick cash): in Shrouded Hills wait for night, wait another 2 hours, enter Risteze's room, save game, steal his key, wait till morning, sell him unidentified items, take your items from box in his room.
2. How do I repair items?
Most blacksmiths (and often other shop keers) will offer a repair conversation choice when you talk to them (Usually 'Can you repair something for me?'). The blacksmith in Shrouded Hills does not, however, have this option.
You can also learn the Repair Skill, it does move your aptitude a smidgen towards tech though - so if you are planning a Magic based character, using the blacksmith is the best bet (Tip: Use the blacksmith anyway, I find the repair skill to be basically a waste of points - but thats just me)
3. How do I get my techie NPCs to make items?
If your follower knows how to make an item, there will be a dialog option along the lines of "What kind of things can you make for me?" when you talk to them. To have them make you an item, put the ingredients in their inventory (by trading with them), then select that option and select what you want them to make just as if you were making it. They will only know schematics that they learn automatically from leveling; you can't teach them extra schematics...
4. Where did my schematic go after I clicked it?
There are two black buttons on the make-items screen above the big "make this" button, one has a picture of a graduate's cap/mortarboard next to it, and one the picture of a scroll. By default, the schematics shown are the learned schematics (mortarboard). Pressing the scroll button will bring up found/bought schematics.
--- SKILLS ---
1. I want a particular skill but I don't want to spend precious stat points to get them, how can I get aroud this?
1. I want a particular skill but I don't want to spend precious stat points to get them, how can I get aroud this?
Equip primary statistic altering equipment and make use of primary statistic altering spells and/or drugs during leveling up.
Example: Its time to level up, you want to raise melee to level 2 but only have 8 dexterity. Use any means to raise dexterity temporarily to 9 or above, and then enter the character screen to level up. Drugs, spells, items, it doesn't matter.
This is particularly useful for 'Mad Doctors' who whip up their own stat altering drug cocktails.

oops.

Theres even a story reason for this if you talk to the first Gypsy near Shrouded Hills.
Here is one for the FAQ:
How do I repair?
Most blacksmiths (and often other shop keers) will offer a repair conversation choice when you talk to them (Usually 'Can you repair something for me?'). The blacksmith in Shrouded Hills does not, however, have this option.
You can also learn the Repair Skill, it does move your aptitude a smidgen towards tech though - so if you are planning a Magic based character, using the blacksmith is the best bet (Tip: Use the blacksmith anyway, I find the repair skill to be basically a waste of points - but thats just me)
(Edited to add the rest of my tip :p)

Protip for free identification (and also quick cash): in Shrouded Hills wait for night, wait another 2 hours, enter Risteze's room, save game, steal his key, wait till morning, sell him unidentified items, take your items from box in his room.

Wow, I just failed and sold my only scroll of teleportation. Now I have to ask where can I find another one, or is there another quick way to Caladon?
EDIT: I'm in Caladon now but I still can't use the ships. So much running around ugh.
How can I trigger the ship purchase in Black Root?

Here's one that popped up on this forum earlier:
How do I get my techie NPCs to make items?
If your follower knows how to make an item, there will be a dialog option along the lines of "What kind of things can you make for me?" when you talk to them. To have them make you an item, put the ingredients in their inventory (by trading with them), then select that option and select what you want them to make just as if you were making it. They will only know schematics that they learn automatically from leveling; you can't teach them extra schematics...

Aaah, I just found/bought a new schematic, I clicked on it and it disappeared from my inventory. When I go to my tech screen, I can't find it with my other schematics, where did it go?
There are two black buttons on the make-items screen above the big "make this" button, one has a picture of a graduate's cap/mortarboard next to it, and one the picture of a scroll. By default, the schematics shown are the learned schematics (mortarboard). Pressing the scroll button will bring up found/bought schematics.

Equip primary statistic altering equipment and make use of primary statistic altering spells and/or drugs during leveling up.
Example: Its time to level up, you want to raise melee to level 2 but only have 8 dexterity. Use any means to raise dexterity temporarily to 9 or above, and then enter the character screen to level up. Drugs, spells, items, it doesn't matter.
This is particularly useful for 'Mad Doctors' who whip up their own stat altering drug cocktails.

That's a great trick, some games don't allow that so I never thought I'd try it for Arcanum. Could use a title/question for that for the FAQ list though. Ideas?

As a question, you could make it something along the lines of "I want to improve my Skills, but my Stats are too low! What should I do?"

Is it possible to make the game unbeatable by doing certain things, ie killing or pissing off the wrong NPC?

I personally don't know the game too well to answer that, but I've been wondering about the same thing myself.
Without spoiling too much, there's one guy in Tarant you can anger during a quest choice. But I chose to help him out, and it turned out he gave me a lot of main storyline quests so I'm wondering how it would've turned out if I angered him.

This thread has some useful advice that I can use, so, thank you.

I don't know if you can make it, but you can certainly make it close to impossible.
remember Lukan the Witless at the bridge in shrouded hills ?
If you go to the guy who offers you the quest to rob the bank and instead of doing the quest, you just steal the safe combination from him and go take the money yourself AND then go back to him and tell him that you already robbed the bank and that you are not going to share, he will threaten you to tell the doc about what you did.
And when you have finished all quests in shrouded hill and want to cross the bridge you will find Lukan and his folks dead and the doc and 2 guards standing there instead. As soon as you approach, they say something about "not letting me get away with it" and then they attack.
Problem is, the doc and the guards are high in level. I don'tknow for certain how high the guards are, but the doc is level 30 and you are, if you did everything, level 5 or 6.
And guess what ? You have to cross that bridge :)
On the contrary I have to say, there are several ways of proceeding in the main quest, it often comes down to aquire an item or to talk to someone. It often doesn't matter if you comply with the quests, just steal what you need, break in, persuade or buy yourself in or just go on a rampage and kill everybody daring to stand against you.

Just wondering, how long is the average play through of Arcanum.