Thanks, Goblin. That's the read I was hoping for. You're right that the page tells the vision better than it tells what a tester can rely on today. I'll add a short "first session today" section, roughly this:
What's in the current alpha (N10b): you start in the valley with 20 coins and a 25 kg carry limit. You can start alone with a dog or an old pack horse, or with friends. You gather wood, stone, fibre and berries, make crude tools, build a fire and a shelter, then hunt, fish and sell to villagers. There's no fixed trader: any villager can buy.
Workshops (mid-game, working in the alpha): once you have coins and a village, you can set up production that feeds your trade. There are more than 25 workshop types:
Wood: logging camp to logs, sawyer to lumber, charcoal burner to charcoal.
Food: mill and bakery for flour and bread, plus a smokehouse, a dairy, a brewery, drying racks and a pie kitchen.
Hides: hunters camp to game and hides, tannery to leather, leatherworker to clothing, satchels and armour.
Iron: mine and bloomery to iron, blacksmith to axes, blades, scythes and armour.
Also: an apothecary, an herbalist, a fletcher, a bowyer, and a stable for saddles and tack.
I've built each of these, run production, and sold what they made. Anything a workshop makes can be sold, at your stall or to any villager.
Still being tested: swimming and lake edges, and hiring a carrier for your stall.
On your merchant question: the first trade is meant to be a choice in three small ways:
What you carry: 25 kg fills fast.
Where you sell: prices differ by region, and rare goods are worth the longer walk.
Who you supply: every villager is a possible customer, and stall owners set their own prices.
Why a player would ever accept a lower price, for a steady customer or for a village you want to grow, is the part the page should explain better. That's intent, not something the alpha shows yet.
Thanks. Your "one concrete session" point goes into the next page revision.