Without ress, you can try doing the initial tests and save after each one till the game gives you some Knights in the horsemen camp. Knights actually make pretty decent tanks provided you have some tactics at hand. Actually the knights got me through the islands and creiston mines till I found some Giants there.
Things may be different for a mage though... I doubt a mage can afford tactics by lvl 10, because you meed order/distortion/chaos magic and they require some serious rune investment. No problem for a warrior or a paladin though.
In any case, it's very important to ensure a good start of the game with as many things as possible in the starting areas
