i'm new to programming, would anyone mind giving this basic game a review? it's pretty minimal, but i'd like to know if there are obvious places i can improve now
Don't use getters and setters in Ruby. Java is pretty much the only language where they're ever needed.
Also, instead of string concatenation and explicit calls to .to_s all the time I'd use string interpolation more (i.e. puts "Player took " + (@playerStartingHealth.to_i - @player.getCurrentHealth.to_i).to_s + " damage." simplifies to puts "Player took #{@playerStartingHealth - player.getCurrentHealth} damage." (why are you using .to_i on integers?)), but that's mostly just a matter of taste.