Things you should know

There are many things about this game that are good to know going into it:
 * There is no tutorial, you have to figure it all out on your own.
 * You cannot remap keyboard control keys.
 * The game autosaves as you begin each dialog. This is overwritten if you start a new dialog.
 * The game autosaves when you gain a level. This is overwritten if you gain a new level.
 * When you level up and assign your points on the character sheet, the points will be finalized when you leave the page. Either just switching to inventory, checking on spells or quests, or exiting the window entirely - when you leave the sheet then you are done allocating your points.  You cannot change these in the future.
 * You move (walk) more slowly if your stamina pool is empty. Stamina is used by fighting and casting spells, but if it's empty you move noticeably slower.
 * Keep every health, mana and stamina potion you find. You will need them all.
 * Potions of all three kinds vary in effectiveness and are able to be put on the hotbar. When you use one potion a new one will take its place on the hotbar.  The refilling of the potion is not done in a manner that I would see as intuitive - it will not replace a 'bad' health potion with another 'bad' health potion, it will replace it with an 'acceptable' or 'perfect' health potion.  From what I can tell it just grabs one of the same kind at random, but I will experiment with inventory sorting for more information.
 * Companions will drain the potions from your inventory at an alarming rate. You are able to tell them not to auto-drink with the 'd' key.
 * You cannot control your companions directly, though you can give them commands via the keyboard.
 * Items such as armor and weapons have durability.
 * To attack you only need to click once on your target, the autoattack will have you swing/throw/shoot at the appropriate intervals.
 * To cast a spell you must first choose it by putting it on the hotbar and then using the number button, after it is chosen you right click on the target of your spell and the casting will be attempted once if you have enough mana. It is possible to fail the casting, which uses up your mana and has no effect.
 * Your journal is split into three tabs: Quests, Notes and Proofs. Pay attention to all three, as important information lies within!
 * There are four tabs to your inventory, plus your worn items screen. You can have any of the five tabs open on either side of the inventory screen at any given time, allowing for easy organization and transfer.
 * Merchants have more than one inventory tab worth of merchandise for sale.
 * Merchants have a certain randomness to their stores. When you exit the screen it resets, asking for them to open up their stocks again will give you slightly different selections.  If you don't like what you see, come back til you get something you want.  If you accidentally left the store then it may be a while before the thing you are wanting comes back, if at all.
 * It is best to avoid being poisoned at all costs.
 * Breaking barrels incurs no penalties as far as reputation, social interactions or faction is concerned.
 * Watch out for traps.
 * Time passes while you are talking to someone. Time does not pass when you are looking at your character sheet, inventory pages, spellbook or journal.
 * Almost every named in the village has either a quest, proof or rumors related to the previous two.  Finishing a quest for a merchant can lower their prices, and any of them will react positively to their request filled, some may give you more information, proof or hints as a thank you.