Is exhausting a Talent Card any type of action? Or can a player do it anytime? We played it as if it were a free action and it seemed fine, but the rules are a bit obtuse so I might have missed the actual rule.

mtowle said:

Its free AFAIK

It is a character ability, not an action. In fact, most could not be used if they were actions since you are limited to one action per turn. It takes a maneuver to swap out an talent, but there is nothing in the rules to indicate that it is a maneuver to use a talent. Persistent talents can be used any time their text would come into play. The only difference between a persistent talent and one you must exhaust is that the exhausted talent must recharge before you can use it again. Long story short, there is no other "cost" to use a talent.