Ha ha, that sounds great! I was looking at the 'Take Less Damage from a Fall' skill earlier and wondering what possible use it could be, but now I know!
I got around my shield issue by equipping a 'Shield Bash' skill and mapping it to the light attack key, so now at the very least I hit the enemy with my shield. Previously it was mapped to the 'Hey Enemies! Focus all your attacks on me!" skill, which was a disaster.
I have enlisted Abfackeln's mage, but my session today was mostly spent in menus levelling up and buying equipment from the vendor who I missed in the Encampment. Someone has been lost from the village, and I also fancy visiting Dripwater Cave before heading for the city.....