Finally got the game running in Dosbox. I think the patch still won't quite install right but I can at least get the game going.

So I have spent an hour or more with the game so far, trying out different builds to get out of the first dungeon.

Both times i've been close (I assume), i've slept to regain health and ended up with some random spawning monster -such as a ghost that I can't kill with starting weapons- blocking my way, effectively making me start over.

The game looks like it could be a lot of fun, does this ever change though., or is there something I might be missing? it's pretty annoying to not be able to advance because it plops a random monster I can't defeat in front of where I need to go.

Monster spawns are pretty random. I've gone out into the woods and slept for '99' hours just to spawn monsters to fight for loot and skill advancement, and sometimes it takes 1 hour and sometimes it takes 30, and sometimes I get a rat and sometimes something harder. But spawning a ghost in the first dungeon seems unlikely (I don't think its ever happened to be). If I was you I would just opt to run straight through the dungeon and get out into the world.

I would, but I think literally the thing is exactly where I need to go to get out, i'll start over and try again I guess!

When answering the questions during character generation you should get an option to get an ebony dagger. If you have Short Blade as a Primary/Major/Minor and have decent Speed and Agility the dagger should be enough for a ghost.

As you've noticed those (stronger) creatures will spawn only when you rest. You might try saving before resting and reload if a creature spawns.

Yeah, i'll try that next time for sure...i'll go with the ebony dagger thing, thanks!

Another tip is to always save before resting that way if you get an encounter you can just load that save and try resting again

Remember that you can hit every monster with hand-to-hand combat, so you might want not to completely neglect that skill. Also, get used to long and hard dungeons because Privateer's Hold is a breeze compared to the standard dungeons (especially the main quest ones, Direnni Tower comes to my mind).

And yes, the ebony dagger you get in the character generation is truly a lifasaver, especially at lower levels (you can even hit daedras with ebony, so if you chose short blade as one of the main skills, you're likely to use it throughout the whole game).

Speed (move faster) and agility (hit more often) help out a lot at first. Also make sure to kite when possible; that is, make some swings and back out of range before an enemy starts swinging. They are not as quick on the take as a human. I have seen Ancient Liches and Vampires appear in small packs, as early as character level 2. Daggerfall just throws the book at you sometimes. If you manage to survive or dodge their spell load, they can be killed with kiting and using either a high material or fists. Otherwise just run around them.

Thanks guys, I will keep all this stuff in mind next time I give it a whirl. I started playing Ultima 7 again on a whim and got wrapped up in that for now.

On the Ebony dagger, does it actually specifically ask if I want an ebony dagger, or do I need to answer some seemingly unrelated question first?

IIRC, there is a question asking you what it is the emperor gave you and you can choose ebony dagger ... (and IIRC, the other options are kinda worthless, just gold or not so useful items)

In the second set of questions, the ones that determine your background, I think there are variations on it but it will give you six options. There are things like a silver staff, a book, an elven flail, some money, or a gem available too.

Edit: I think the question only comes up most of the time, there may be skills you need to take for it to come up.

IIRC there are a couple of armor items you can get from those questions, but they'll always be iron. You can often find better on the first human adversary, or in the loot piles. A level 1 character won't find better than dwarven, and weapons appear before armor, so that Ebony dagger is better than anything you'll find.

People use builds other than Hand-to-Hand?

You're lucky it was just a ghost. My first time playing Daggerfall I spawned a Daedroth when I waited.

All I ever get are bats, rats, and the odd human.