Forum

A lot of the general talents in FL can be boiled down to "take +1 when x".  This leads to two outcomes which I personally don't like; large dice pools and mechanical gameplay. 

The first outcome has been discussed at length elsewhere. Essentially, players could be rolling an unseemly amount of dice. After nine XP (about two sessions) a fighter would likely be rolling at least: 5 base dice + 3 skill dice + 3 talent dice, for a total of 11 dice. No magic weapon, just two sessions of play and they are rolling like a monster.

Focusing on growing the dice pool seems a lost opportunity, the general talents could instead offer a chance to multi class and expend a characters repertoire. The cold blooded talent is a great example of this. 

COLD BLOODED
You are completely callous and can kill defense- less enemies without so much as a second’s hes- itation.✥LEVEL 1:You can perform aCOUP DE
GRACE(page xx) without suffering doubt. 
✥LEVEL 2:You can perform aCOUP DE
GRACE(page xx) without spending a Will-
power Point and without suffering doubt. 
✥LEVEL 3:As per level 2, but you also
recover a point of doubt when you perform aCOUP DE GRACE. 

Each level is different, further incentivizing the player to kill in cold blood. (Killing in cold blood is interesting!)

An example of boring general talent can be found in "Axe Fighter"

AXE FIGHTER
Nothing splits a shield – or a skull – like a mighty axe.

• ✥  LEVEL 1:Your attack rolls are modified by
  +1 when you fight with an axe.
• ✥  LEVEL 2:Your attack rolls are modified by
  +2 when you fight with an axe.
• ✥  LEVEL 3:Your attack rolls are modified by
  +3 when you fight with an axe. 

With each level, you get another skill die when fighting with an axe. (Getting bonuses to a fight rule is boring...)

While I don't know what I would add, this talent (and those like it) feel like a waste of space. Doubly so when they cost the same as the far more interesting class talents. Could't the feeling of progressively getting better at hacking an enemy apart be better conveyed than +1 dice? I think it could be one level, but having it be all three makes me yawn. 

TLDR: General talents like "Axe Fighter" are boring, especially when compared to class talents or general talents like "Cold Blooded". They are both a missed opportunity to make interesting talents and grow the dice pool too quickly.

I think I have a deja vu

I pretty much agree. However, the "boring" talents do have a place when compared to paying increase skills, which are useful in a more general way. What I do think is amiss is when a talent is neither. 

Ideally all talent should be ladders with distinct capabilities but an either-or design can be fine too.

i would lioke to see a cost increase at each level of a talent.  making more incentive to spread out a bit

level 1 - 3xp
level 2 - 6xp
level 3 - 9 xp

What if AXE FIGHTER looked something more like this?
Level 1 - You gain +1 gear dice when rolling to DISARM an opponent.
Level 2 - Extra successes when rolling to DISARM can be used to inflict 1 damage per success.
Level 3 - Your attacks are modified by +1 when wielding an axe. Additionally, extra successes when rolling to DISARM can be used to throw the opponents weapon further away, up to a SHORT distance.
This sort of flavor to the talent would play into the style that is used when fighting with an axe. It is meant to break through defenses and inflict harm. It would also work to lower the number of dice rolled and reinforce a style to the weapon.

What if AXE FIGHTER looked something more like this?
Level 1 - You gain +1 gear dice when rolling to DISARM an opponent.
Level 2 - Extra successes when rolling to DISARM can be used to inflict 1 damage per success.
Level 3 - Your attacks are modified by +1 when wielding an axe. Additionally, extra successes when rolling to DISARM can be used to throw the opponents weapon further away, up to a SHORT distance.
This sort of flavor to the talent would play into the style that is used when fighting with an axe. It is meant to break through defenses and inflict harm. It would also work to lower the number of dice rolled and reinforce a style to the weapon.

I like it!

agreed.  Its these little touches that make each weapon you use a choice that matters and reallyafect play style... Its these kind of options that make character creation exciting.  More options = always better in my book