best place to start is in the Tutorial and Howto forum, where you can find complete and comprehensive guides (i mean it
)
First try setting a server with standard code, database, and stuff. You'll run into several standard setup pbs, but at least they have been solved already, you can get the answers in the forums, as you know it's not because of YOUR changes.
When this is working, fiddle with database at first (just need a front-end client for that, and understanding of english), then some perl quests (pbs you can encounter will remain in limited scope), then maybe server code later (requires C++ coding, and lots of perusing through the code)
Just my 2 copper. i hope it helps.
welcome to EQEMu
