I just removed, redownloaded, and reinstalled XP32 according to the suggested settings, then ticked the XP32 mod. Then I loaded an autosave (just after char creation) and everything was fine. 100%.
Let me run the entire intro just to be 100% sure but it looks like this entire issue was caused by an error in either my initial download or my initial install.
Edit: One carriage ride later... all's well and good. Thank you for your help, everyone.
