Looking for a "poor man's" guide to LoD.

[WarBlade]

For example, I have a D2C Sacrifice Paladin right now that I'm thinking of porting over to LoD in the near future.  Though I'm a casual player, I still enjoy playing him in a "players 8" solo game.  Would something like this crafted weapon,

"Black"
3 Socket Clubs/Hammers/Maces
Thul + Io + Nef

  be realistically attainable by the average, casual player?  Is it a useful weapon for a beginning or middle stages of the game and character's age?  Are there any overlooked or underused, cheaper gear (non traded) that has potential as end game equipments.  That's the type of info I'm looking for.

Yes, the "Black" runeword is a realistic consideration for the casual player.

The Crushing Blow is very nice, although I tend to look for Life Steal when equipping a Martyr. Having said that, Black is still a highly valued option when dealing with skeletons. ;)

As previously noted, "Strength" and "Honor" are other easily attainable runewords and both carry Amn's for leeching purposes.

Another realistic consideration would be Blood Crafted Axes. You can easily pull a high damage, decent Life Steal, Axe out of the hat and maybe even drop an Amn in there if you get a good Elite one at the end of Hell level. Other Blood Crafted gear is worth keeping track of too, so be on the lookout for the appropriate gloves, boots etc. and collect rubies as much as possible.