As most new comers will testify, the rule books are large, unwieldy and quite off putting to the beginner.
In reality for a tavern night - an interest in the setting (a good look at the Derarkshire maps which can be downloaded under rules and administration - maps - derarkshire/south derrkshire), and a willingness to accept the refs decision and a rough "idea" for a character are all you need.
Weapons do specific damages - and characters have hit points to represent their resilience to the damage. However you don't really need all this for your first few tavern nights.
If you role-play the injury (see the strand on heroic melee), then even this is not really all that important.
Design a character - come up with a background - motives, frineds and family - what job do they do? why are they in the area? what are their likes and dislikes? etc.
Come and play - learn the rules later - experienced players will always help out new comers when rules need to be explained.
