Radiance1979: Am i right to presume i just walk the island in the beginning killing all monsters pretending i know what to do( yes i delivered the letter apparantly playing fool to some evil monk ) until i stumble of any direction ?

macAilpin: It is a wide-open game. But when in a village you will get Quests from house dwellers and some "Town Halls" and Government Figures that will also give you quests. (Some of these quests are "Promotional" which are required so your players can advance in the specialties).
Two ways to start: stay in New Sorpigal till you clear the monster out on the mainland of New Sorpigal (magical use with few bows, path one) ; 2) go to Castle Ironfist and get bows for all. You can travel there by coach. Some find Path 2 is easier,. I find path one best.
The quests will begin to clue you on why it is a Troubled Land. Also, Ironfist has the Oracle--- a site to get hints on what to do next.
Sorry for all the edits. My writing skills are getting rusty.

Radiance1979: Yeah! funny you should say since i was really wondering about where to find bows, so far i'm getting along with the standard party but another extra bow would not be a waste!

Well, thanks for the advice chaps, lets see how far i will manage this time

macAilpin: Maybe you know this already but in MMVI, the quicker you get away from Magic Arrow and Flame Arrow the better. Static isn't bad. And Harm for your Cleric. Most magic doesn't miss, but Magic and Flame Arrow often do. And do little damage.

Bookwyrm627: I'll second this. Just use a bow instead of Magic/Flame Arrow; it will probably be as effective while costing less.
Static Charge works for a small plink of damage, with Cold Beam being equivalent with a different damage type. Fire Bolt and Poison Spray cost a little more and do a more damage with more skill points, but Deadly Swarm is my favorite for the early damage spells, giving you the most bang for your spell points.

Radiance1979: Well i'm really not sure what i can use more with the low level spells at my disposal, that ice blast spell i have to my disposal does not always garantuee a hit and does even less damage, I currently have removed almost all evil beings in the vicinity of the first village leaving only that weird temple which will also be my first dungeon ....

For now i seem to must do with all i have to my disposal, i'm sure it will work out fine ;)
maybe i can see what i can find if i check all the houses and see what other spells are already to my disposal

edit
disposal, disposed... bah .. not my day

RSimpkinuk57: I recommend the standard party for first time through - I had fun with it. It lets us try out lots of the different things we can do. The game delights in throwing curve balls at us, but there is an answer to every problem, and the standard party provides it. For example, there is one type of monster we'll meet later that can paralyze people, but the standard party has two people who can learn the "Cure Paralysis" spell - insurance against Sod's Law that if we only had one, it would be that person who'd get paralyzed first!

After playing through New Sorpigal my first time, I abandoned my game and started over, just so I could do New Sorpigal again, for fun and for practice.

I start by exploring the village itself and its immediate vicinity, talking to everybody both inside and outside of buildings. This does get me embroiled with those goblins hanging out by the harbour. Then I go look for the missing child in the abandoned temple. (Since we have to fight through goblins just to get there, might as well clear out the ones on that balcony too.) It is fair to assume the child is somewhere down the open passage ahead, rather than behind those closed doors with ominous hissing sounds coming from inside. I expect to be adventuring into the evening but get the child back to her mother with time to spare before the inn closes (at 2 hours after midnight, isn't it?).

It was role-playing led me to look for the child first, but the child quest is the lowest level quest, in the sense of least experience-rewarding one in the game. Still, doing it the first day, followed by goblin-hunting all around the second (Tuesday), gets me to the gym shortly before closing time (6pm) with enough experience for 2 levels (from 1 to 3). This in turn gives 10 skill points, when 9 all put into the same skill is enough to qualify for expert training. If following the stay-in-New-Sorpigal plan, then aim to make best use of the teachers there.

Goblinwatch for its quest on Wednesday, then the candelabra from the weird temple, back to Goblinwatch for its tunnels, the temple again for the spider queen, and oh, by the way, remember all those pesky mages in one corner of the peninsula. The standard party can do all that with just the one archer able to use a bow. Make good use of the three fountains, combined with the paladin's "buff" spells, and something else found close by.

With the sorcerer having few spell points, especially before the first level-up training, I reserve them for the cold beam spell, used only to finish off already-injured enemies. Deadly swarm may soon be good, but starting earth magic will take money.

Radiance1979: Geez talk about time tables.. i was glad to be back for dinner at 6 on monday, stayed in till 8 before we went to bed!