The peasant is horrible in the original game. Totally useless class. In DLRL I made him more interesting, although still dangerously weak. Peasant and ranger are amazing at food handling. When you're strong enough (say level 5 or so) and can roam the starting continent without danger, your peasant or ranger will forage for food every effectively and you won't need to buy any. The barbarian doesn't forage for food though, only ranger and peasant.
The original docs specify that:
The maximum values for these four items are: armor = 10, gold = 10,000, torches = 10. and food = 100.
And regarding the +x next to the levels:Another important aspect of experience is that the more you acquire, the closer you get to advancing another level. The higher your level, the more powerful and effective you are in your role. Fighters fight better, thieves thieve better, and spellcasters cast more powerful spells. When a character has amassed enough experience points to advance a level, you'll see a plus (+) next to the character's name. All the character has to do is find a training center and pay a fee to advance a level. (This fee is necessary to cover expenses such as supplies, training costs, spell books, religious articles, etc.)
The docs don't tell you that you get a maximum of +2 next to the levels, and the original game would wipe out any additional experience you gained when leveling. DLRL keeps it. The original game never showed you XP. DLRL shows you the XP gain in battle, and allows you to determine how much XP you are missing for level up by simply attempting to train. If you can't level up the trainer will tell you how much XP you're missing.