OK!
so someone was very nice and they gifted me this awesome collection, so I decided I'd play Might and Magic six, on the recommendation from friends in the IRC.
When I loaded it up, I saw two options "Make your own Party!" and "just fucking play the game!" (these are not exactly the same wording)
So I said "well you know what, this game looks pretty cool, let's check out the build yer own party option."
What I saw there horrified me.
a stat sheet like an accountants dinner.
So I freaked out, I didn't know what to do, I wasn't going to just go barreling in like some idiot, because then I'll die and then have to start over, and I FUCKING HATE STARTING OVER.
So I decided, "you know what? let's read the manual, maybe this will educate me."
I read the manual, and my brain explodes, the storyline, the humor, the artwork (ok maybe not the artwork), the music (alright, I didn't listen to the soundtrack yet, damn pax podcasts), but most of all, the game treating itself like more than a game.
I read through as much of the manual as much as I had time to, and I was amazed.
But I'm still intimidated. I'm afraid to play this game. Why? because I still have no clue what I'm doing. I'm afraid of having to start over, and I really don't want to look up a gamefaq.
Any tips/ideas/stories/circlejerking you guys want to give/take/shower in ?

Dude, MM6 is relatively light on stats.You need to get out more. :)
Yeah, manuals like MM6 has are fantastic, and trust me, the music's great.
Take your time to absorb the manual. You'll be fine if you take at least a meatgrinder fighter, cleric to heal and buff, and a mage to rain fireballs the size of Arkansas on enemies, just keep levelling and boost your abilities and main class stats.
Not to say it'll be a walk in the park, goblin mobs will rape you in the beginning until you get a bit of experience under your belt. But it's doable, I mean heck I did it, and I flunked College Algebra.

thank yous, I'm close to starting to play this game now.

Right click for Tooltip on, well, just about anything in MM6. On the party creation screen, it tells you what stats work best for what class.
Fighter, **, Cleric, Mage is the general party. You can put what you want as the second member, but it's useful if they have some melee/combat focus.
Clear off the area around the starting town, then head to the Goblin building to level up a bit, it's easier than the nearby temple. There is no monster scaled-levelling in this game, walk into some areas, and you have next to no chance to win early on.
Pay attention to what the main NPCs say; the quest journal and direction is still not kept 100% for you as with previous games. (MM7 is better in this regard, but it does make it more obviously linear).
If you die, the party resurrects at the starting town, and it's possible to play enough that the characters that you thought you botched from the start become very powerful after a while.

This. If you want to powergame, this'll make you a death machine in time.

If you can afford (and find one), hire a Merchant. They increase the Merchant skill by six points, and it is true even for characters who don't have the skill!

And of course there is a little trick with Temple of Gods.

wat?

This is a great trick!!! I don't consider it a cheat as it is put in there and as the website below states, I believe they put it in there for a reason!! So players can have a little help starting out. But if you don't care for things like that, then steer clear. It really helps tho and I highly encourage you to do it.
The process is on the website below.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/41610/54664
(You have to scroll down to where the walkthrough is to find the Temple of the Gods. It's right at the beginning of the walkthrough.)
Happy Gaming!! MM6 Rocks!

Well, it's not a hack, but it is kinda a cheat, as you'd never find it without help, and it completely nerfs the rest of the game. I'd avoid it the first time through.

it's ok, I don't understand what he's talking about.

Basically, it's a way to get your stats hyped and hoard a considerable amount of loot.
I'm with phanboy4 in that although it's not a cheat per se, but getting it so early in the game ruins the fun.

I figured that much, I just didn't understand how to do it. I looked at the FAQ and there was no temple of god.

Oh, that. In that FAQ, you'll find it as "Shrine of the Gods".