[@Crowvette]
Look in the Hints & Tips hider, muh friend.
You can have as few, or as many, things in your "lists" (be it quiriks, equipment or spells) as you'd like. Well, okay, if you go over 10 items then I may have to ask you to dial it back. Bur, yes, you can have many novice-level spells if you want. Because they're low-level spells. It'd be a different story if you wanted to start with like, 5+ Expert Level spells, that might not be so okay - you're all supposed to be relatively young still, after all. And yes, the spells need to more "specifi" and less "versatile" in terms of what they do.

As for a carpenter. Don't worry, if nobody makes one, we can always get one of those [b][i]stinky[/i][/b] NPCs to fill that role. Or you guys could just manage by living in mud huts with straw roofs and no furniture. I don't judge.