Techniques
Techniques are special abilities that let you customize the items you make. Each class of item can only take certain techniques, so you are slightly limited in that sense. Adding a technique requires that you have that technique scribed and that you have some additional material to successfully add the tech. For instance, adding the technique 'Spell: Flame Damage' requires that you have 2 gruok bristles and 4 dim essence orbs, in addition to the regular cost of the spell. There are also tiers of techniques, just like there are tiers of items. You can only add a technique to an item if the tier grade of the item is equal to or higher than the level of the technique. For example, you can add flame damage I to a tier II spell, but you cannot add Flame Damage II to a tier I spell. Tier III and higher items can take 2 techniques! Adding a technique increases the creation difficulty of the spell by 10 points per technique tier. Adding a tier 2 technique to flame bolt II increases the needed skill from 200 to 220.
Below is a listing of all the techniques you can buy from the Quartermasters throughout Istaria. There are also techniques that can only be found on monsters. All tier I techs require 4 dim essence orbs, but higher tiered Techs require either normal essence orbs or sometimes tainted essence orbs.
The information here is too big for just one page, so here are pages for the 5 major divisions of techniques. Socketting techs are also available.
Socketing
Tool Socketing, Jewelry Socketing, Armor Socketing, Weapon Socketing - all allow a crystal to be added to an item later. Effects are dictated by the crystal used. All require a mixture of cedar boards, bronze bars, sandstone bricks, and dim essence orbs. Adding this technique adds 40 points to the difficultly to create the item.