some questions (minor spoilers)

1) In looking for the stillwater giant pelt, I cleared out the pass to quintarra. I finally gave up and looked up the answer in the cheats. It also mentioned that the real still water giant was in that pass I found, but I didn't see him there (it was empty as far as I can tell). Will I never find the giant now? or does he hide elsewhere?
2) Does that blue rabbit have any use?
3) If I have a magic character (no tech at all), are schematics useless? Can I give them to my followers to use? Will I be able to do that quest to find durin's stone, which I was under the impression, started by using an ancient schematic?

 

1)I think the real Stillwater Giant appears randomly somewhere along the way to Hardin's pass. I only encountered it once, and it was immediately after I had done the whole fake Giant quest to get the location to Qintarra.

2)The caged blue rabbit is useless as far as I can tell. Maybe if you have a really high persuasion, then you can sell it to HT Parnell, but I'm not sure about that.

3)You can learn found schematics no matter how magical you are. Most of them will be useless though, because tech items aren't that useful to a mage. Some exceptions are the Iron Key and the Wheel Clan Spectacles. You can't make your followers use them either, but they can use the items you make from them. So you could make a Pyro Axe using the schematic and give it to Magnus or something.

 

My problem is that schematics require a certain tech skill.

I tried one and I couldn't make it. Looking at the book, it implies that each item requires a certain level of "tech" to make???
Not sure how that works though.
Well I will try the iron key one and see if I can make it. hmmm... maybe a potion of intelligence would help?

 

See, each school of technology (like Explosives, Electrical, Smithy, etc.) has it's own seperate aptitude. Meaning that the more you know in a particular school, the higher your aptitude. You can check your tech aptitudes by going to the character screen, clicking the technology button, and then clicking a given school. Your aptitude should be up there as a little blue number.

Since you mentioned you're a magic user, I'm assuming you haven't invested in any tech whatsoever. This would mean your tech aptitudes are 0.

This is where the tech manuals come in. You can buy them at the Tarant University. It's behind the library, which is behind the zoological society. Way up in the northeastern corner of the map.

Each manual that you have in your inventory will increase your tech aptitude by your intelligence. So if you have 10 intelligence, and you have 3 Gunsmithing manuals in your inentory, your gunsmithy aptitude will be 30. This only lasts as long as the manuals are on you.

Finally, on the found schematics you'll notice that you always need two ingredients. Some of these ingredients will have a little number beside them. You have to be at least this high in your tech aptitude in order to make the item.

PS - I don't think the Iron Key requires any tech aptitude. I could be wrong about that though. Same goes for the Wheel Clan Spectacles. If they do, and your level isn't high enough, just buy the appropriate manuals to boost it temporarily.