Ashenfall is in turmoil. Dragons scorch the landscape. Adventurers are rallied to challenge them. You answer the call.
Wakey, wakey
As your vision clears you'll find yourself in the aptly-named Temple Woods, standing in the Temple of Saradomin. Or at least what's left of it.
Use the WASD keys and have a look around. If you need to get somewhere a little higher up, hit SPACE to jump.
There could be anything beyond that doorway.
The temple ruins have clearly been abandoned for a while; so who's that in the corner with the pointy hat and luscious beard?
The Wise Old Man
It's your guide and mentor, The Wise Old Man. Run over using SHIFT and hit E to speak to them. Remember; the E key is how you'll interact with most items, objects and people you'll meet on your journey. Speaking of your journey...
How long has he been waiting there...?
The Wise Old Man will bring you up to speed on what's happened so far; dragons are terrorising the region, and you need to stop them. Easy, right? Wrong. You'll need to slay vicious monsters, explore perilous landscapes and brave the ever-dangerous elements before you can even think about dragon slaying.
If it's your first time in Ashenfall, we'd recommend playing through the tutorial when prompted. It'll give you the knowledge you need to survive in the wild.
Lesson one: the tools and supplies you need won't just drop into your hands, and you certainly won't be able to buy them from your local friendly vendor. You'll need to gather or craft them yourself.
Doric - Scavenging and Crafting
The Wise Old Man will point you to Doric, the lone Dwarf in the region. You'll find them in their tent outside the temple.
Tip | Got lost? Check your Map with M!
Strong, stoic and keen to help.
Doric will teach you the basics of survival. You need to eat and drink regularly to avoid dehydration or starvation.
Tip | Keep an eye on your food and water meters in the bottom left of the screen. These indicate how hungry or thirsty you are - if they're too low, your health will drop and won't recover!
Doric will mark two ponds on your map. Head over there and gather some Dirty Water, then bring it back to Doric. If you happen to see a Redberry Bush on the way, grab some berries too; they might not fill you up, but food is food.
Tip | You'll see your active quest markers displayed on the compass at the top of your screen, indicating the direction you need to head (and how far away you are in metres.)
A welcome sight for any scavenger.
Now it's time to get crafting. Specifically, a Stone Club. But first you need to make a Crafting Table. Both require Ash Logs and Stone - which you'll find in plentiful supply on the ground around Temple Woods - so get scavenging!
Who knows what you could make with this?
Once you've got enough resources, enter Build mode with the B key and create your Crafting Table. Then use the Crafting Table to create your Stone Club and go show it to Doric!
Tip | Need some help getting to grips with Crafting? Check out our help article!
You've got a weapon. Now it's time to learn how to use it.
Vannaka - Cooking and Combat
Follow the road a little then take a left to find and speak to Vannaka; they'll teach you the basics of combat and cooking. Step one? Pest control.
Intimidating? Perhaps. Skilled? Definitely.
Follow the path behind Vannaka up to the abandoned windmill and kill some Rats. They'll each drop some Raw Rat Meat; you need a total of 4.
Tip | Equip your Stone Club from the hotbar, then hit Left-Click to attack and hold Right-Click to block!
Next, build a Campfire, toss in your meat and something to burn (Ash Logs, perhaps!) and hit the Start button to cook them (remember you need to make two Roast Rats!) If you have enough Ash Logs, you can also boil your Dirty Water from earlier to create Clean Water, ready to drink!
With the cooked meat in your inventory, speak to Vannaka again. They'll reward you with a Stone Axe and Dagger for your effort.
But you'll need more than a sharp axe and a pointy dagger to survive in this place. You need to learn some magic.
Zanik - Magic and Mining
Head back down to the road, and follow it until you come across a ruin-turned-campsite on your left. Inside you'll find Zanik, local survival and goblin expert. She'll also be your instructor in the basics of Magic.
One wall is all she needs.
You'll need to grab fifty Ash Logs to start. Swing your new Stone Axe with Left-Click at the trees around you to chop them down; you'll gather wood a lot faster by woodcutting than you would by scavenging!
But what if you could gather them even faster? That's where Magic comes in handy. First, you need some Runes; small but powerful stones that allow you to cast magic.
How do you get them? Head over to the floating, shimmering rocks dotted around Zanik's camp (or anywhere else in Ashenfall you see them!)
Below them, you'll see Rune Essence that's fallen to the ground. Hit them with your Pickaxe to mine some chunks of Rune Essence!
So beautiful. Now, smash them!
Tip | You can use a Pickaxe to mine boulders and other mineral deposits for other resources!
Create a Rune Alter from the Build menu and craft a stack of 10 Air and Astral Runes, then head back to Zanik, They'll give you a Spellbook and teach you the Axtral Projection spell. Now to try it out!
Head over to a nearby line of trees and hit Q to pull up your spell wheel. Left-Click the Axtral Projection spell, and when ready, Left-Click again to cast it!
Like a hot knife through butter.
Tip | Want to become a master of Magic? Check out our help article!
Start your adventure
For now, Doric, Vannaka and Zanik have nothing else to teach you. Your adventure awaits - head to Bramblemead Village and speak again to The Wise Old Man. He needs your help with a bit of construction...
Good luck. May the Gods smile upon you.