For sure. The main goal is to find clues that help to resolve your Obsession (the main goal you set for your character during character creation). So the game loop is:
- Travel to a settlement
- Complete short quests to gain resources (this is money or goods you can trade to buy equipment, pay for living expenses and gain supplies to cast Hedge Magic)
- Resolve the Plot (this is a main problem that's happening in the city or town - something like doors to endless hallways appearing around the town). When you resolve the Plot, you'll get some clues to completing your obsession.
- Then travel to another settlement, where you'll do it again with new quests and plots, and investigate the rumors from the previous settlement to see if they are true.
You'll encounter the Corrupting Powers throughout this process. Once you've encountered one, they mark you, increasing your chances of being corrupted by them, but also giving you the opportunity to corrupt yourself further in return for turning a failed roll into a success. Higher corruption levels unlock special abilities from those powers, but put you in danger of losing yourself to them.
You'll start with skills and a starter ability from your class, but as you finish quests and plots, you'll gain skill points to spend on more skills and abilities. There is some basic equipment classes you can choose from (light armor vs heavy armor, etc.), but the magic items are tied to these Corrupting Powers.
As for Journalling vs. Crunchy, you can play this game entirely without journaling if you want, though I tend to play it with some light journaling. The pregenerated settlements tell you what the problem is and what limitations you have, then you choose what to do about things and how you want to tackle the problem.
Hopefully this helps! Happy to answer any more questions you have.