[Edi]

I suppose Arralen covered most of your questions. Can't really add anything more since they were so general in nature.

However, if you later have any more detailed and specific questions, fire away and you'll find a lot of people willing to help you out there.

I'll also give you a tip for the early era: Do NOT choose the Vanheim or especially Helheim as one of the AI opponents unless you like getting stomped flat, because they have a tendency to get out of control and you could end up facing a fairly powerful nation with two or three times your own resources and stacked with the AI bonus modifiers. Once you get a finer grasp of the various aspects of the game, you should be able to stand up to them.

Edi