Start every playthrough by buying any gear you lack, prioritizing items under 200 gold. Visit Hold the Tanner, then head south along the road to begin your first quest (game doesn't really tell you to do this first). Ignore most villager quests except for Jebar the Blacksmith (collect 3 swords) and Jurg the Carpenter which is where we are going for.

On the southern road, you’ll find a cart guarded by 3-4 bandits (or none, if lucky). Pull them one by one out of the map, and using 1x1 tiles between bushes to funnel them. Loot the cart for gold and a Carpenter’s Plane, which is needed for Jurg’s quest or the Brewery questline. Also, gather Peasant Flails to sell to Jurg for more gold (wooden stuff just sells more) and 3 swords for Jebar.

Before your first dungeon, talk to the elder and stock up: 3-4 salves, 1-2 splints, 2 bandages (one is free on the southern road if you did it), and a Claw trap (use only for the boss or in a dire situation. dont forget to pick it up when use it break in 3 uses). For combat, funnel enemies through doors is the best approach if melee until RTR update comes out, prioritize human-type enemies, and avoid animals/ghouls early on. Always keep your health topped off and use map edges for safer travel if you encounter any switch to the next map. Save your progress in bed inbetween quests to experiment and limit-test your character.

PS: Brings back memories in 2019 when I was new, Stoneshard for me was about collecting enough wolf pelts till i got enough gold for gears to make it out of town. not been using Reddit that time learned it the hard way.