Andor's Trail

I haven't been able to figure out level guidelines for quests yet and the quests' difficulty levels don't scale sensibly from the start to the finish.

I've started multiple quest lines only to have to back out (or default to an old save because I'm stuck) repeatedly. I'm at lvl 20 now and as far as I can tell, there's nothing to do but grind for another 10 levels until I'm strong enough to survive: I can't figure out how to survive anywhere without dumping massive amounts of gold into Cooked Meat so I don't die from food poisoning, or running back to a bed every 5-10 fights.

I've been through the quest guides here, and they're convoluted by the fact that some are based on previous versions where things have changed since...

Really, I'm just lost right now and cannot figure out any path forward. I like the concept of the game and don't want to bail, but I'm running out of patience and ideas.

With your current level (how is your build/gear?) you should go SW of Fallhaven to Stoudtford and Blackwater Mountains.
This game is open world and when you have trouble to beat the normal mobs in an area try another first.

Put your nose in each nook and crack to find everything, sometimes even free food.

At level 20, with a decent build, you should have passed the worst mandatory grinding time of the game (somewhere between levels 5 and 15). Thorough exploration and questing should be your main concerns, as well as buying good gear.

Don't hesitate to (ab)use the permissive save system to make your life easier.

We intend on eliminating the need to grind by adding more quests, but it'll take a while.

We mostly added stuff since the old versions, so the old guides are still valid.

I am impressed you even got half way to Lodar at level 20.

As Firefly suggests, head SW from Crossglen to Stoutford and BW mountain. Also Loneford, NE of Crossglen. We could give more advice if we knew what you have done, rather than just the few places where you are stuck.

Thanks all. I thought I went SW already and hit walls, but I'll give it another run. I must have missed something. Just found the gargoyle cave and tried grinding a bit. I'll check back in later.

Mostly it's just good to know that the dearth of quests isn't just my imagination or not finding things.

Which quests have you done? If we know that, we know what area to point you at.