First character - Warrior

[Aaramis]

Depending on where you start, there are ways to get some quick and easy cash on this server.
Antonica offers animal pelts, orc belts, spider silks, and so on. Faydwer offers orc belts / shoulderpads. Kunark offers spider silks by the thousands - although you then have to somehow get to the bazaar to sell your ill-gotten wares, which can be problematic.

Anyways, selling all of this stuff can get you your first 100p before level 10, which will get you the aforementioned weapons (Jarsath Trident or GJB). Do it again for a set of banded, and then a third and final time for your offhand. There, you're in decent shape pre-20.

Then, as others have said, you can collect stuff to sell and eventually fund yourself some hp/ac rings, haste items, and so on. Various 20+ dungeons will drop bronze armour of various sizes, or you can continue farming and buy yourself some Crusty armour.
Your weapons should be good until at least 40+, if not higher - you can probably use those 2 for a long, long time.

Oh, and invest in bandages for those times when you solo or group without a healer. They're critical to not wanting to fall asleep every time you have to med for 20 minutes to heal up.