First steps

After you select your race and class, you will get to increase some of your primary attributes. I do usually put increases into the lowest ones, because frankly you need all attributes no matter what your class is. The only small exception is that pure caster characters don't need Dexterity that much, but since it influences the chance to flee from combat and also the amount of items you can have, it is good to have it even for them.

After that you will appear in the short starter zone - read every room description, since there is often some object you can look at/interact with (like in 2nd room you should look at the sign) and read every help topic it suggests to you. Some of those helps, like e.g. help newbie have multiple sub helps (help newbieone, helpnewbietwo etc.), read all of them.

In the third room you should buy your starting class guide (e.g. Thief should buy book "Betrayal, Theft, and Backstabbing - A Thief's Life" by typing "buy th"), read it and also buy a weapon. When you type "lea" (short for learned) you will see what abilities you currently have - buy a weapon you have trained to highest (each "-" sign means that you know that ability for 10%). The only exception is Antipaladin, who should have the highest Swords skill, but should also buy a dagger and get Backstab as soon as possible using some specialty that grants Backstab early.

Wield the weapon then continue on to the goblin and kill him. Loot everything he has ("get all corpse") and wear it all ("wea all"). That should give you decent starting equipment so you can proceed through the oak to the Temple of Nevrast in city of Nevrast, which is pretty much the main hub of the game.

Back to the guide.