Hi there,
I regularly see new players unsure of where to start on their Realism adventure. Really there's no right answer to this, however I thought I would write a guide that gives some direction for those who want to pursue the Slayer/Combat path rather than skilling. The reason for this is that skilling is, for the most part, not really too different from other game modes - the route to take for it is also far more diverse.
So without further ado...
The Beginning
If you've not made an account on Alora before then you should be given a starter pack which will include a few coins and basic equipment - if this is the case then I would skip forward to heading to the ::shops (in game command).
If you're starting with nothing then type in ::thieve for a good way to start making some money. Thieve from the stalls and sell what you get to Ali Morrisane until you have around 20-30k.
Once you've thieved some cash (or if you already had some from the start) head to ::shops. I'd recommend you have a look around what all the shops sell, it's different to other game modes so even if you're familiar with Alora you might find something suddenly missing.
For now I would head to Bob to pick up some basic equipment such as an Axe, a Pickaxe, a Hammer, and a Tinderbox.
You'll also want to head to Aubury for some Magic supplies. Buy the Magic Robe, Magic Amulet, Staff of Air, and a good lot of Mind Runes (start with around 1k).
The next thing will be to get a Tome of Fire from the Achievement shop. This item will be invaluable - not only will it provide you with an unlimited source of Fire runes, it will also increase the damage of Fire spells by 50%. It can be purchased from the Achievement Shop for 60 points, an amazing price for such a key item.
Start racking up some Achievement Points. Have a look at any that appeal to you, I recommend a lot of the earlier ones such as "Chop Chop", "The Caveman", and "The Resurrected". I'd also recommend getting 13 Magic for Fire Strike while doing "Manslaughter".
Click here for an excellent guide to Achievements.
Once you have your Tome of Fire it's time to get 43 Prayer. In my opinion the best route for this is to kill Green Dragons on a Wilderness Slayer task. Head to the Wilderness Slayer Master to the East of ::thieve and take an assignment. If it's not Green Dragons you can simply cancel it by Right Clicking her, then take a new assignment. Cancelling tasks is free throughout the earlier levels so you can really take advantage of this.
Head to the Green Dragon location of your choosing. My preference is ::grave and then heading North, though obviously there's the normal options. Just make sure you can safe spot them and start killing them with Magic. The Green Dragonhide should fetch a fair price for a new player and the bones will be excellent experience. It should also be good Magic and Slayer experience - killing many birds with a single stone.
Once you've finished your first task it's time to get Protection Prayers using the Wilderness Chaos Altar. I'd recommend using this excellent guide.
As you can see, we have access to an Altar in just level 13 Wilderness which is far safer - you can also unnote the bones on the Elder Chaos Druids for a small fee (though watch out, they're aggressive).
This method should get you in to the game with a little starting money, some Slayer levels, some Magic levels, and of course Protection Prayers. From here I would say the game really opens up but I'd like to make some points of consideration as you progress your character.
Equipment
There's lots of equipment you'll want to pick up as you go, and due to the low experience rates you'll almost certainly want to get it as soon as you can. Here's the really key pieces of gear you'll want to go for:
Elite Void
You'll want this as soon as you have 42 in all combat stats (22 Prayer) - it's a giant boost to Melee, Ranged, and Magic depending on what helm you're using and will remain relevant well in to end game content such as Raiding. You can get started by heading to ::pc.
For a full guide to Pest Control click here.
Realism Rapier
A unique weapon to Realism players, it has a required Attack level of 50 and provides stats slightly better than a Dragon Scimitar. It costs 500k from Paul in the hut to the West of Edge bank and is well worth every penny. It'll remain the best Strength training weapon until you get something like a Saradomin Sword.
Barrows Gloves
Another very key piece of equipment. The fight isn't easy and will require you to be a reasonably high level, however if you're clever it can be done surprisingly early. I managed to do it around level 65 combat using Entangle to farcast most of the bosses.
As with most things, someone has already written a basic guide on the ins and outs of completing Recipe for Disaster. Click here to take a look.
Dragon Defender
Another very key piece of equipment which will be invaluable for a long long time. You can get it for a few hundred Vote Points however it's not too inefficient to earn yourself so I would recommend keeping those points for Crystal Chests and earning it yourself.
You don't need to have a total Attack and Strength level of 130 so I would recommend at least getting a Rune defender as soon as you can equip it - it'll help a bunch with the leveling speed and can be purchased from Shanomi in the Armour Animator room for 400 Warrior Guild Tokens.
Once you have the Rune Defender you can start farming for the Dragon Defender from the Cyclops upstairs. You'll have a 50% chance for the defender drop to be Rune instead of Dragon so don't panic if that happens.
A more detailed explanation of the Dragon Defender grind can be found here.
Neitznot Helm
I wouldn't say it's a high priority piece as you'll normally either be using Void or a Black Mask/Slayer Helm, but there are still times where you might want to use it. It can be earned fairly easily by completing Lunar Diplomacy which at first glance seems like it would be tough as you can't use Prayer, however you can activate Prayer beforehand and it will not disable it. Bring a few prayer potions if you're a low level and you will have no problem at all.
Click here for a more detailed guide that also provides an alternative to the Prayer trick.
Additional Notable Guides
I could go on forever about all the intricacies of each skill and the best way to train them, but to save us both time I wanted to end by just providing a condensed list of some of the most helpful skill guides for those who might not want to fish their way through the forums themselves.
Obtaining an Infernal Cape - if you're better than me
Herblore Guide - Intended for Ironmen, however as a new player you'll probably find it's more affordable to gather things yourself
Runecrafting Guide - As you can only buy Mind Runes from the NPCs as a Realism player it can be very worth while to make some runes yourself.
Slayer Guide - An incredibly detailed guide to all aspects of Slayer. Can't recommend this enough if you're unfamiliar with the skill.
These are just a few that I'd recommend, there's always excellent new guides coming out so if you're ever unsure I'd recommend heading to https://www.alora.io...forum/9-guides/
You'll get a far more complete and detailed response than you can find in game, as well as being able to return to it whenever you need to.
I'd like to add a Money Making section to this guide in the future, with some recommended levels for each method. Keep an eye out if that interests you.
Please feel free to provide any feedback on this guide, I'm more than happy to update it. Also shout if there's any errors - I'm a little careless so there's probably one or two.
Hope this helps someone.
~Realitea