Newb GW Player - I'm doing it wrong?

Getting a run and switching campaigns is what you do on an alt you want up and running fast. Not on your first character.

Heroes won't help you much. Without the proper unlocked skills and the knowledge to use the limited potential, henchmen are better.

Start in Prophecies as you did. Do the missions. This campaign has the slowest learning curve, and from I've read in the OP, going up a much steeper curve doesn't sound that good an idea.

Lvl 13 is fine for Yak's on the first playthrough. A general guideline: look at the henchies, their lvl is the lvl for which the neighbor areas are designed.

OP here, thank you all again for your input. A few kind souls have sent me PMs offering in-game assistance and I've added you to my friend's list. My Necros in game name is Alura Wren, so if I contact you, I'm the clueless guy from this forum.

I tend to only log on for an hour or two most nights, but hopefully I can catch up with some folks.