Overall I mostly want PPs to be taken out. They seem to not make any real sense, if you rank up in that skill you can carry on no matter what... yeah? I think training by paying for lessons could be an alternative, making the training time quicker (half as much) than training by yourself.
On the idea of stats, I think they're completely unrealistic, going to see a guard to gain strength makes no sense. So I think you should gain these skills by doing the action, for example strength could gradually come as you run around, INT as you use Mana, etc. Maybe if you don't go for a run you'll slowly lose your strength. Other than that, stats could be made more realistic by magicians training you, maybe a spell could give you strength, yeeeah? If you gradually train strength from running around you could get a spell to make it permanent.
I'm still in favor of repeatable quests that give skill experience instead of just regular PPs. For example, Harquist is behind on an order and needs you to make 5 new swords for the guards. He'll pay you for the swords, and as a special thanks he'll also give you a few tips on blacksmithing (aka xp). This could be applied to pretty much any crafting skill. Mining, alchemy, cooking, etc. This gives players an alternative to grinding, and gives them an IC reason to be crafting in the first place.
I like this idea, maybe not repeatable as such, but have the quest change slightly. For instance it could be swords for the guards, daggers for a creep in the dungeon, axes for Gordy. The amount of items to be made could vary slightly, the prize could change too.
Overall I think Planeshift would have something unique and good if they have various alternatives in training.
