The question regarding ARMOUR in shops, or even at all is one I would also like an answer to. I have a world where even the big cities don't have anything and none of the bandits either. There are armour shops in some cities but they are empty with nothing for sale. Is this a world issue? Do I need to gen a new one? If this is not the case and armour is simply not available in Adv. without making it yourself, then does anyone have a mod that sorts this out? Like any rpg I want to have to earn money and afford basic armour, and then use that to earn more for the next level etc.
With regard to the ANIMAL question, there are some biomes with very little animal life. The first thing to try is sneak (S) while searching as sometimes they see you before you see them and run away, sneak helps you get closer. If you still don't find any then you have a dead area, and should either travel elsewhere, start a new adventurer from a different civ, or gen a new world.
With regard to frequent AMBUSHES, the workaround is to simply slow travel everywhere. There is no risk of anything dangerous apart from wild animals. Your pc needs to be fast enough to enable a reasonable framerate while travelling however otherwise it will make you nuts. It also has the added advantage that you can sneak the whole way (as long as you are sure of arriving during daylight, ie short distances) which means ambush skill++ and also you can see and approach all wildlife and choose which, if any, you would like to throw down with.