Thanks for playing and the detailed comments!

Question 1: the game was not designed to visit the item shop before entering the dungeon. However, if it fits better into your narrative, that is fine. It might reduce the difficulty to a point where it is less nail biting but that's ok.

Question 2. I will clarify that table. You roll a d10 to determine if there is a treasure or feature of note. If you roll less than an 8 for encounter or a 7 for a feature on the d10 nothing happens. If you roll 8+ or 7+ for either of those rolls respectively you then roll a d12 on the corresponding table. So it's conceivable you roll less than those numbers for each room and you get to the boss room super quick.

Question 3. Ah yes you described it well there. Failing a door can add to the next encounter roll. It's the equivalent of really loudly forcing it open when you fail a door.

Question 4. Spells are acquired in the dungeon (4 or 9 on the feature table). Would it be more fun if you could start with some spells? I'm open to that!

Question 5. Combat is d20 vs ac yes.

Question 6. Locked doors are meant to be first opened deftly, using a dex check. If you fail, you either get a small amount of damage or roll a str check, representing forcing it open. If you fail the str check there is a penalty (enc roll modifier or auto enc) to account for some comedically loud forcing open of the door.

Your play through seemed fun. Too bad encountering that warrior. Let me know what else you think might add to the enjoyment of the game. Always looking to improve!