TriRodent

Talking to the merchant in the pass will give you a hint where to go to get permission to go all over the pass to do your nefarious deeds...

There are two things to check. You can buy better gear as the number of the shops increases (by building them at the various forts), there is a minimum number of shops that need to be maintained to use 'x' gear effectively (so you can't go build a bunch, buy great gear, and then remove the shops). Second on the skill training page/s, on the melee/magic page over on the right will be a note that by getting a point at 'x' level, you can now use 'y' level of gear. As with the shops, you need to maintain those skills at that level to use the gear effectively. (you need to build quite a few smithies even to get to the level two arcane weapons, let alone three)

You also have to place a mill in each of the forts that you want to place a bakery/distillery in. The output of the one in Ft Haven isn't enough to supply flour to all the forts in the region. Then there is trying to transport the flour over primative roads in a timely manner. Bandits. Union trouble with all the required overtime due to the widespread distribution. Etc, etc, etc. In the end it was just easier for Queen Mom to decree that every fort had to grind their own...

I wouldn't say that they're easy, but I was able to figure them out with 2-3 restarts/resets. Serpentine pathways/progress to make sure that you hit every one is the way to go. You get 10xp for completing them early on in the game, something more valuable later on if you haven't gotten it elsewhere. Rather than three of the same type of puzzle, having a different type of option/puzzle would have been a good/better way to go for one of the areas but alas. Perhaps in QW2 if the same areas are part of it.

You cleaned out the dungeon. Going back into it, you're now in some guy's laboratory and trying to attack his research subjects... Or he's using the slimes to break down the cinnabar to make potions with it... Or... They are friendlies in this case.

Re: casting buffs. I almost always used my prince/ess for that before a (big/boss) fight started (outdoor excepted). With two levels of Haven's Blessing (?), you're getting 13 (? away from the computer at the moment) rounds of speed and blessing. As most fights are shorter than that it's worth casting right outside of combat range so he can get right into the fight (and everyone else is buffed going into it too). Along a somewhat similar vein, outside doors, have everyone stack up in the 2x2 box directly in front of it, go into combat and open the door, you'll still have a point to attack (with a bow or magic as monsters don't tend to be right next to the door).

I never asked/got an answer about a potential +3. When I gave someone a +3 in 'x', the difference between that and a +2 never seemed dramatically different so I'd usually give that item to someone else to use (or sell it/stick it in a chest for later).

About to run out the door, but a quick answer to two. Imagine the map with three circles, Ft Haven and surrounding areas. Next circle out would encompass the first forts in each of the three areas. The final and biggest circle would be the areas with the last forts. Things get progressively more difficult as you move out in the circles. Doing everything you can in one circle before moving out to the next one isn't a bad strategy. In other words, don't plan on doing everything in the Vol before ever venturing into the swamps.

If you have an item that gives you a +1 in whatever, the person that you give it to should be able to use it/benefit from it even if it isn't a racial trait for them. It may not show up on the skill screen as a +1 if, in your example, the Vol trait wasn't an option as you can't put skill points towards it. But the benefit should still be there for the player

Casting I'm fairly sure

Yes, it'll give that skill to someone who hasn't trained in it

Really? When I had say the ring that gave +1 to poison rain, if I gave it to my magic user who already had two levels there, the effective three levels didn't seem better/different than two levels (certainly nothing dramatic like the difference between one and two)

Another option is to fight through them, 'discover' the location, use the map or walk back to the fort to recover, and then use the map to bounce right back to the start of the location (assuming that the outdoor monsters did respawn) as that would put you there at full health...but yes, that kind of screws up the mental immersiveness...

The demo has some problems according to Jeff in different threads. I think he mentioned that there will be a patched version out early next week.

I 'think' outdoor encounters are unique (so you can clear the path to 'x', go back to a fort to rest, and then not have to reslog through them to get back to 'x' after you're at full health. As to the xp issue...I dunno, that's up to Jeff. It may though be him wanting everyone to be at roughly 'this' level when they reach 'that' point in the game. That's easier to accomplish if only certain events give xp. It could also be that you are royalty and should be concerned with the overall strategic vision of Queen Mom. Accomplishing things that move that forward (reclaiming a quarry for instance) means more than wiping out a few generic mirefangs along the way.

It will come back into play much later on

There are bushes that highlight when you mouse over them. Some have the pods you need. Each area (for lack of a better word) has one or two

Occasionally, while you're wandering around outside, you're going to come across what looks to be a small stack of crates/boxes*. Make sure that you go into that square at they most often give you a unit or two of some resource/gold. *at least with my monitor/my old eyes they can be tough to spot/blend into the background, so if you're in a new area look around a bit.

You'll have to switch over to the assorted, dubiously useful, somewhat pretty rocks...

Right, because being a member of the ruling royalty, one tasked with getting an underperforming colony back up and running is all about killing orcs and not the greater overall economic picture... I get that this game isn't for everyone and sincerely hope that you find one more to your liking, but did you really not read any of the intro sections that explained what your task was going to be? If it helps, think of building the buildings as a skill you need to develop/level up on, as they do impact how well you will do in the combat you desire (a part of the game that will take up most of your time...)

You're still in the tutorial...of course it's going to treat you like a simpleton, that's its purpose (well, other than teaching you how to play moving forward). Once you learn the basics, 'then' you can start doing what you want. Honestly at this point you may want to step away for a day or two and then come back with a fresh outlook of, 'its a new game, let's see what's different and how I can succeed'. Because right now you seem to be in a mental place of 'I'm not going to like this...now to find some reasons to justify that position'

I gave it to one of the other guys hanging around with me (in the party), but yeah...

Or follow Mike's link...

You don't. Pretty much the only loot is in chests, boxes, vases that you run across. Most (all?) kind of sparkle when you see them. They also highlight themselves if you mouse over them.

I guess it's good/too bad that there wasn't a Castle Anthrax/Zoot ish encounter somewhere...