What does "some help" mean for interactive fiction newbies in Hadean Lands?
The help is just suggestions in this first room (or maybe the first few rooms) about things you can do: it reminds you to examine things, look inside or under things, put things on things, and (specific to this game) guides you through the first ritual. It does not involve any in-game mechanical changes, such as extra items. It's essentially an interactive version of Plotkin's interactive fiction postcard, which was printed on the back of the postcards he used to promote this game.
Good luck with Hadean Lands! It's fun.