Ah yes - the Rite of Passage
megan - have you done the Serpent Temple yet?
It is very tempting when you get to Ishad N'hahaha to exit out the west gate and explore but as you have noted, there are some big nasties out there that can wipe out your party before you even know they're there.
If you haven't already, finish off the stuff on the east side of Ishad N'ha to help build up your characters. Take lots of cure poison to the Serpent Temple. If you have already done the temple and really do need to start exploring west of the village - do so in daylight.
Trying to run for Shurugeon Castle is a good strategy but if you don't know how to get there, may not be that helpful.
You can try this - as you go out the west gate always stay as far to your right as possible. The path from Ishad leads west a ways and then north (to a burnt out house) and off again to the west where your options on which way to go are considerably broader. The Mantraps are lurking off to the west and a tad south, once they spot you THEY WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!! (so don't ever lead them back to the village gates!). You can avoid them for a while if you always stick to the right - that's going to take you up to the Boogre Caves which is always an interesting experience.
SAVE SAVE SAVE - use multiple slots to save your game in different places.
If you don't have any good distance spells - get them. They are most useful in fighting the Mantraps!
You might want to check out the BEST TIPS thread for ways to make $$. There are many different methods, you should find one that will be able to help you.
One good way to save on identifications it to put all items that appear to be the same into the inventory of just one character. Identifying one will then identify all identical items.
Hope that helps!
Wyv