As far as using runics, what you want is to have 100% chance of making the item exceptional. Some items you won't need a talisman, while others you will need to find the best talisman you have with blacksmithing bonus in both areas. If your still not don't have 100% exceptional chance then you might equip a hammer with + to blacksmithing. If you are already at 100% to make the item exceptional without a talisman or + blacksmithing hammer, you will not gain anything from using these items (but it doesn't hurt to still have the talisman on). As far as ingots go, it depends on what your wanting. There should be a table in the crafting forums.
To get a message on your spells, it can all be done by using the UO macros. In 2D all you need to do on your paperdall is open the macro screen, set-up a macro for what spell you want and right below it add a line for "say" and the message you want. Everytime you hit the macro key it will cast the spell and say your message.
